How to Get $ for DOC, DPFs, heaters, etc ...

Missed the STN Webinar that discussed the grant applications necessary to get a piece of $300 million diesel emissions reduction funding? Catch up and download the presentations online.

School Bus Mechanic on the Benefits of Diesel Mechanic Colleges

John Wheelan is one of the most fascinating school transportation bloggers on the web. His blog, logically titled School Bus Mechanic, offers the insights from his 32 years in heavy-duty automotive industry. In his most recent post he highlights the benefits of diesel mechanic colleges:

Back in 1977 I entered Diesel Mechanic School at the local college. This was the start of my 4 year apprenticeship as a Heavy Duty Mechanic. This first step was called a pre-apprenticeship which would last 6 months. I had never touched a diesel engine before and had some automotive/small engine experience from high school.

...if you're interested in getting into this trade I would go down to the nearest diesel mechanic college or technical school and ask some questions about the curriculum and cost ... I'm content now after working in this trade for 32 years and find myself telling a lot of stories about experiences and aha moments & wouldn't trade it for the world!

Well worth reading the whole story at his blog.

California Utility Preps for Surge in Hybrid Electrics

More on our ongoing discussion of hybrid-electric infrastructure. Southern California Edison is spending $5 million to purchase hybrid-electric cars and research changes needed to make a seamless shift to powering the new vehicles, USA Today reports. Some of the challenges include storage and sudden tugs on the system. Researchers don't seem worried. They say between the prep work they're doing now and the time it will take for a shift to occur, the state should be alright.

Better, Faster, Cheaper: New Battery May Technology May Be on Horizon

A better battery may be coming for the next generation of hybrid-electric school buses. Several sources report on a new report in Nature from scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a new design for lithium ion batteries that allows the batteries to recharge more quickly. The similar lithium ion batteries are already in some hybrid-electric school buses and scheduled to to be in the Chevy Volt. But these can't accelerate quickly says Professor Gerbrand Ceder . The paper discusses a solution which has applications for laptops, cell phones and hybrid-electric vehicles. A great report at MSNBC, explains the science the behind the idea. The report also says that hybrid vehicle applications have some complications because the batteries are electricity-chuggers:

The ideal situation would be to have a network of high-power electric charging stations, which would allow you to juice up your electric vehicle on the road much as people fuel up their gas guzzlers today. Ceder and Kang estimate that an 180-kilowatt power source could give a full charge to the typical plug-in car's 15-kilowatt-hour battery in five minutes.

For school buses, with dedicated, regular runs, this probably wouldn't be as much of a problem. According to Scientific American story on the same report, the batteries would also be cheaper. This, coupled with increased production, would likely drive down vehicle costs. [On a side note, for willing to dirty their hands with the coments from the peanut gallery, comments below on the MSNBC story have a fascinating discussion of the real "greeness" of hybrid technology.]

Take a Seat: M2K, Takata Buy SynTec Seating Solutions

The exclusive seat provider to Thomas Built Buses is now formally known as Syntec Seating Solutions LLC, following a joint acquisition by M2K Seating Solutions LLC and TK Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Takata. Company owner Ron Lampartner says, " “We intend to be a major seat supplier to entire industry ... Whatever any OEM might possibly want in seating, we are going to be in a position to give it to them.” Read the whole article

Mark Your Calendar: CNG Best Practices Workshop

AFVi and NGVi have announced a best practices workshop online. The 90-minute session will examine proper maintenance of CNG infrastructure. Leo Thomason, Executive Director of NGVi and Director of Training and Consulting for AFVi, are scheduled to lead the Webinar. Topics to include:

• CNG Fueling Station Components and Their Function
• Standard Maintenance Procedures for Pressure Relief Valves, Dryers, Compressors, Control Systems, Storage and Dispensers
• How to Identify and Trouble Shoot Oil Carryover
• Solving Oil Carryover at the CNG Fueling Station

Webinar runs on Tuesday, March 24, 1:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. PT. Sign up online for $49.95. Can't wait until then? Check out this from our August 2008 issue on what it takes to fill alt fleets.

Plugging Into Hybrid Futures

In 2009, everyone is talking plug-in hybrids, but do we have the infrastructure ready? Cheryl Jensen at the Washington Times automotive section reflects on the theme after a major auto show, asking whether she's pulled a Rip Van Winkle and "missed the years of the necessary infrastructure being put in place - and awoke to an electrified future." She asks, "How would my mother-in-law recharge one from the 33rd floor of her New York City apartment?"

Pupil transporters don't often find themselves in an office on the 33rd floor, but they want hybrids and they may have to prep to get their yard ready for hybrids. In Napa Valley, Calif., Ralph Knight had to change his power breakers from 110 volts at 10 amps to 220 volts at 30 amps to enable a four-hour rather than eight-hour charge. But Knight already had the charging stations set up from his experiments in all-electric school buses. What would it take to get your yard up to snuff?