Letter: Propane is planet-friendly answer for school buses

It would seem the answer to the question on Sunday's front page is obvious - electric school buses are just too expensive, even with incentives, for most area school districts and bus contractors, especially in underserved areas.

If the true goal of suburban Chicago districts is decarbonization - not electrification - then propane school buses make the most sense because they get the most dirty diesel buses off area roads faster. One electric school bus costs an average of $375,000. Conversely, one propane bus costs an average of $126,000. That means for every one diesel bus displaced by an electric bus, three diesel buses can be displaced by propane models.

Propane buses eliminate that black smoke you remember from the diesel buses of your youth, but what's more, they drastically reduce emissions like nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide, according to a 2019 studyconducted by West Virginia University.

Consider also that propane buses don't require expensive recharging infrastructure - up to $20,000 for a level 2 charger for one electric bus only. Plus they are as simple to refuel as diesel, have three times the range of electric buses, and don't place more pressure on the state's strained electric grid, nearly half of which in Illinois is generated by burning fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, per the U.S. Department of Energy.

Propane buses are already here, with nearly 600 already running on state roads. That includes Township High School District 211 in Palatine. That's a good sample size, considering the 22,000 propane buses operating nationwide, transporting 1.3 million kids to school in 49 states.

Perhaps Chicago suburban school districts and bus contractors, along with the rest of Chicagoland and the state, should take a more vigilant look at propane buses because they are the fastest path to decarbonization.

Tucker Perkins, President & CEO

Propane Education & Research Council

Washington, D.C.