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Converting To Propane Has Its Problems

Propane is a cheap and clean-burning motor fuel favored by some state and local fleet managers, but two developments in Texas show that when it comes to this alternative fuel, progress is still one step forward and one step back.

Propane is a cheap and clean-burning motor fuel favored by some state and local fleet managers, but two developments in Texas show that when it comes to this alternative fuel, progress is still one step forward and one step back.

Austin took the step forward when officials broke ground on a new propane fueling station at a city-run airport in June. The station will service both "airside" and "landside" vehicles that run on propane, including a fleet of 29 shuttle buses. Austin already maintains a fleet of more than 200 pickup trucks that can run on either gasoline or propane, and city rules require them to burn propane at least three-quarters of the time.

Meanwhile, in San Antonio, one of Texas' largest school districts has decided to phase out its use of propane-powered school buses. Since 1981, the Northside Independent School District has been a propane pusher, with nearly all of its 523 buses burning the fuel. But this year, General Motors stopped making the chassis that Northside officials have been buying and converting to propane use. Now, as the district orders new buses, it is going gradually back to diesel.

Northside transportation director Al Rath says the decision to leave propane pains him. Propane is cheaper--Northside paid an average of 43 cents a gallon last year--and less engine maintenance is required since it burns cleaner than diesel. Rath was tempted to wait to see if GM would re-start production, but says that in a fast-growing school district, the market leaves him no other choice.

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