About that Hydrogen Powered School Bus II ...

The U.S. Department of Energy will drop its research into hydrogen powered cars, the New York Times reports. Discussing the Department of Energy's budget, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said DOE will focus on small labs, a power plant that would turn coal into gas and separate out carbon dioxide and other projects [more details as we sift through the budget]. The New York Times notes:

The retreat from cars powered by fuel cells counters Mr. Bush’s prediction in 2003 that “the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free.” The Energy Department will continue to pay for research into stationary fuel cells, which Dr. Chu said could be used like batteries on the power grid and do not require compact storage of hydrogen.

Earlier this year, the Department of Energy specifically said hydrogen powered school buses did not have a viable future.

Given these issues [public health and fuel economy], school bus operators are increasingly receptive to new technologies, but their willingness to demonstrate and deploy advanced technologies and alternative fuels must be balanced with strict financial and operational considerations

Also online, John Whelan shows how to replace power steering hoses on a pusher school bus.

Fire On the Bus Demonstration

Last month over on Daily Routes, we posted a story on school bus fire extrication procedures from a fire fighter's perspective. One of our new readers expressed excitement about putting this issue out there:

"Our goal, of course, is to always keep kids safe. Can we do a better job?? You bet. We can work with our "community partners" to better plan and prepare. If you don't know who your emergency manager, fire chief, police chief is, today is a good day to get acquainted. Ask permission to go to one of their staff meetings. They want to help us and in doing so, we help them."

On the same note, we recently posted a video of Denny Coughlin from Minneapolis Public Schools discussing the importance of training for school bus drivers. In this demonstation from the 2007 School Transportation News EXPO and Trade Show, he expands on the idea and shows what it's actually like inside a smoke-filled bus.

About That Hydrogen Powered Bus...

This week we look at a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy on the hydrogen-powered school bus. It seems operators looking for the next green thing are going to have to wait a bit. The technology is too expensive and not durable enough, the report notes:

"Given these issues [public health and fuel economy], school bus operators are increasingly receptive to new technologies, but their willingness to demonstrate and deploy advanced technologies and alternative fuels must be balanced with strict financial and operational considerations."

Greater availability may lead to greater viability for the alt-fuel, however. Read the whole report to Congress or a separate report that looks at progress and plans for the future [both PDFs].

In the meantime, one product, a kids' DVD on how IC Buses are made is nearly ready to ship. How'd They Build That School Bus? goes on sale later this month. A preview from our YouTube site below.