Award Winners Profit Using Propane

WASHINGTON (October 19, 2010) — Los Angeles Unified School District and SuperShuttle earned “Propane Hero” awards presented by Mayor Jerry Sanders and the Western Gas Propane Association President Lesley Garland today at the Green Fleet Expo, where the latest generation of propane autogas-fueled vehicles and technology were on display. Propane autogas is a domestic fuel that cuts carbon and particulate emissions, reduces operating costs, and provides comparable performance to gasoline and diesel. The Los Angeles school district purchased 90 Blue Bird propane autogas-powered school buses last year to meet California's stringent clean air requirements and to reduce fuel costs, said Ted Olsen, alternative fuels manager for Delta Liquid Energy, who accepted the award on behalf of LA Unified. “Delta Liquid Energy is very excited to be partnering with the Los Angeles Unified School District,” Olsen said. “The district is setting a great example by running low-emission propane autogas school buses. The interest in propane autogas vehicles is growing both in the private sector and government fleets.” SuperShuttle switched to propane autogas-powered vans at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to help the company fulfill the airport’s new rules that all service fleet vehicles run on cleaner-burning alternative fuels. The company plans to convert vehicles in California to propane autogas, said SuperShuttle’s Regional General Manager John Secrest, who was on hand to accept the award. “We congratulate LA Unified and SuperShuttle for their commitment to safe, reliable, and domestically-produced propane autogas,” said Brian Feehan, vice president of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). “As these testimonies show, propane autogas-fueled vehicles are convenient, profitable, favorably to the environment, and available right now.” The Green Fleet Expo gave transportation managers the chance to test drive vehicles fueled with propane autogas, including a General Motors G-4500 cutaway van, a Ford F-250 pickup truck, and a zero-turn-radius propane-fueled Ferris riding lawn mower. Refueling dispensers were also on display. Representatives from Ferrellgas, Roush, CleanFuel USA, and Delta Liquid Energy were in the Propane Autogas Pavilion to answer questions about their vehicles, equipment, and fuel. A three-hour “Propane Autogas Road Show,” sponsored by PERC, will showcase propane autogas fuel quality, infrastructure, vehicle availability, safety, and environmental benefits on Wednesday. In addition, propane representatives spoke during the “Green Fleet Strategies” and “Real World Applications of Alternative Fuel Vehicles” sessions. Propane autogas is already the most widely used alternative fuel on roads today in the United States, powering approximately 270,000 vehicles. Worldwide, more than 14 million vehicles run on propane autogas. Up to 56,000 miles of pipeline, more than 6,000 retail dealer locations, and thousands of propane autogas fueling stations across the United States make propane readily available. PERC promotes the safe and efficient use of propane as a transportation fuel for its cost-effectiveness, efficiency and productivity, reliability, portability, and environmental friendliness. For more information on PERC and its programs, visit www.autogasusa.org. For more information on the conference, visit www.greenfleetconference.com.