Collins Bus at Frontlines of Alternative Fuel Technology

By Ryan Gray

With recent statements made by school bus manufacturers that they expect an additional 20- to 30-percent downturn in school bus production this year amid the struggling economy, things seem to be looking up for Collins Bus Corporation. Today's news that company will be bringing to market a propane-powered Type A school bus represents the second first-ever moment for the nation's largest manufacturer of small school buses.

Earlier this year, Collins announced a deal with Azure Dynamics to produce the first-ever, straight-from-the-assembly-line hybrid electric drive train for a Type A school bus. Built for the Ford E-450 cutaway chassis, the NEXBUS hybrid runs on gasoline power and is already in use in Napa Valley (Calif.) Unified School District and at Durham School Services contracts in Rosemead, Calif., in the Los Angeles area.

Following no the heels of the NEXBUS is the yet named liquid propane Type A that company officials said will go into production this fall, likely as of Nov. 1 when the company begins its 2009-2010 production year. Certainly Collins has schematics drawn up, at least, as rumors of a propane-powered small school bus have been making the rounds for a couple of months. Up until now, the only straight-from-manufacturer propane school bus came in the form of Blue Bird's Type C Vision. Blue Bird also manufactures a Type A school bus, the Micro Bird, but so far the company has yet to say it has plans to transition the propane technology to a smaller load vehicle. And, for years, there has been propane conversion kit technology. But recent advances by Blue Bird in solving engine power issues and a partnership with propane distributor and infrastructure specialist CleanFUELS USA, which Collins is also working with, has made the alternative fuel more attractive to fleet owners, not to mention a 50 cent per gallon federal tax rebate and a big investment by the feds and some states.

Speaking of which, Collins is already concentrating on interested school district and private fleet customers in Texas, which has one of the largest propane infrastructures in the nation. The Lone Star state is receiving upwards of $25 million from U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities grants for new propane vehicles and fueling stations, plus California and New York. And the company has a dealer network of 70 to fall back on.

Amid buzz that GM could go the route of offering a hybrid electric diesel chassis for school buses, but nothing concrete yet, Collins certainly appears to be taking the reigns of the Type A alternative market.

The 'New GM' Out of Bankruptcy, Still Committed to School Bus Market

As the industry has been closely watching the demise of GM, there seems to be some good news coming out of Detroit: the automaker is remaining dedicated to its small school bus business as it was emerging bankruptcy sooner than expected. A company spokesman recently told STN that the commitment to manufacturing chassis for the school bus market has not changed [Look for this article in the August STN issue].

Going forward, the big purchasers of GM cutaway chassis on the Chevy Express and GMC Savana platforms are Girardin Minibus and Trans-Tech. Thomas Built Buses also uses some GM. But in filing for bankruptcy, GM was separated from Opel, the German manufacturer responsible for much of GM's diesel expertise dating back to 1929. What could that mean for the diesel business?

Competition is stiff elsewhere, too. As GM's works hard to keep its head above water, the sharks are circling. That's not necessarily in the best interest of the taxpayers, which now effectively own GM, but it could be an impetus to truly a "New GM," as the company is now calling itself.

Speaking of competition, Collins Bus Corporation announced earlier this spring that it is developing a Ford gasoline-hybrid, as the automaker has slowly but surely been leaving the diesel market. Collins Bus as well as its line of Mid Bus and Corbeil products, have also traditionally built bodies on GM chassis, so it will be interesting to see how the recent deal with Azure Dynamics to develop the gasoline hybrid drive train for Ford will play out. Then there's potential Type A chassis production capabilities at Daimler Truck/Freightliner for Thomas and Navistar for its IC Bus line.

Meanwhile, Girardin Minibus is publicly, at least, reaffirming its relationship with GM because the auto manufacturer is staying true to diesel engine technology, at least in theory. As reported in the July issue of STN, Girardin said it is eyeing a GM diesel-hybrid to compete with Collins' gas-hybrid, the latter expected to be unveiled this summer. GM retained it's two-mode diesel hybrid technology originally slated for the Saturn VUE. This same technology could fuel GM's SUV business, which could in turn have strong implications for the school bus industry.