by Brianna Crandall — January 1, 2018 — The Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) has added three new videos about propane mowers and six new videos about propane autogas vehicles in recent weeks to its popular Straight Talk video series, an online library of video testimonials that let viewers learn about propane-powered vehicles directly from the fleet managers, operators, and maintenance technicians who operate them every day.
Propane mowers
The three new free videos about propane mowers include a municipality cutting fuel costs during its year-round cutting season in the southeast US, and a commercial landscape contractor enjoying reduced emissions and increased productivity by operating propane mowers and propane autogas light-duty trucks.
Jeremy Wishart, director of Off-road Business Development at PERC, stated:
Propane mowers increase an operation’s productivity while reducing fuel costs and maintenance needs in public and private applications. These videos allow landscape contractors to hear directly from their peers who are already improving their businesses with propane equipment.
Fleets highlighted in the video series are:
Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department
Miami-Dade County needed an equipment solution that could meet the needs of southeast Florida’s year-round cutting season. With propane mowers, crews can get mowing done faster and move on to other aspects of the county’s landscaping duties, and costs were reduced for fuel and maintenance.
Rotolo Consultants
After working with John Deere to participate in a research and development project with propane mowers in 2011, Rotolo Consultants found that the propane mowers exceeded expectations in terms of operations, maintenance, and dependability. Now, the company runs nearly 100 of its mowers on propane, and also uses just under 100 propane autogas trucks to transport equipment to sites in Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Bozeman Site Services
Bozeman Site Services in Montana switched its Scag ride-on mowers to propane in 2014 to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. Along with cutting emissions, the company observed reduced costs and improved crew efficiency and morale with the propane mowers. Customers now call Bozeman specifically because of its lower-emission propane mowers.
Propane autogas vehicles
The six new free videos about propane autogas vehicles include testimonials from municipalities saving money for taxpayers, a transportation company reducing fuel costs, and school districts solving the frustrations that come with operating older diesel buses in cold weather.
Michael Taylor, PERC director of Autogas Business Development, explained:
Propane autogas is incredibly versatile as a fuel for any size or type of fleet, with both OEM and after-market certified fuel systems that can accommodate many of a fleet’s existing or new vehicles, from sedans, light-duty vans and pickups, to medium-duty work trucks and school buses. We want these videos to allow fleet owners and managers to visualize the experiences they could have by using clean, cost-effective propane autogas.
Fleets profiled in the video series are:
San Diego Metropolitan Transit System in San Diego, CA
San Diego MTS transitioned 36 percent of the fleet’s minibuses and paratransit buses to new propane autogas vehicles in fall 2016. The fleet found that transitioning to the fuel was nearly seamless and allows MTS to make both a positive impact on the environment and save money.
City of Kingsport in Kingsport, TN
Since 2011, the city of Kingsport has steadily added 90 propane autogas vehicles to nearly a dozen departments, including Parks and Recreation, and Police. The mid-size city has seen benefits including reduced costs, high performance, and reduced emissions.
Metropolitan School District of Warren Township in Indianapolis, IN
About 85 percent of Warren Township’s students ride a school bus daily, but increasingly cold winters put pressure on the district’s fleet of diesel buses. Drivers now have a waiting list to switch over to driving the district’s propane autogas buses, which start with no issue in the cold, warm up quickly, and run quietly.
Indianapolis Public Schools in Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis Public Schools began replacing its fleet with propane autogas buses in 2016 to cut back on repair costs on its 12- to 13-year-old diesel buses. Along with providing students a quieter, more comfortable ride, the district can report both emissions and cost reductions to school boards and taxpayers.
Van Go Transportation Service in Richmond, VA
By using bi-fuel systems that use propane autogas and gasoline, drivers for Van Go can transport clients further distances before having to worry about refueling. The company has also saved tens of thousands of dollars from reduced fuel and maintenance costs.
Cook-Illinois Corporation in Chicago, IL
Cook-Illinois Corporation first purchased propane autogas school buses in 2014 and says it hasn’t looked back. The company services districts around the Chicago area, and observes less downtime with its propane autogas buses than its diesel buses. Cook-Illinois intends to switch at least 50 percent of its fleet to propane autogas.
View the new Straight Talk videos or visit the Propane.com Web site to learn more about propane autogas, how landscape contractors can benefit from using propane equipment, or how municipal fleet managers can use propane equipment to benefit communities, schools, and parks.
