The Delaware Transit Corporation (DTC) has opened a new propane fuel station in New Castle. The station goes along with the agency’s plans to increase its fleet of propane-powered paratransit buses. By FY18 the agency will operate 130 propane buses within it’s DART paratransit service. The decision was made following a two-year pilot program that tested five buses. DTC then purchased an additional 50 propane powered paratransit buses. By 2018, after adding another 75 buses, half of DTC’s fleet will run on propane autogas.

“Our first five propane-fueled buses collectively traveled 450,000 miles with no fuel system-related failures, and saved $15,000 in fuel costs alone,” said John T. Sisson, chief executive officer of Delaware Transit Corporation during a ribbon cutting ceremony. “That, combined with the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, made it an easy decision to expand the propane program with our new private fuel stations and 130 buses by 2018.”

Today DTC pays $.78 per gallon for propane autogas compared with $1.75 per gallon for gasoline.

The entire propane paratransit bus fleet is built on the Ford E-450 chassis with 6.8L V10 engine, and equipped with a ROUSH CleanTech propane autogas fuel system. To date, the company has deployed almost 11,000 propane autogas vehicles to fleets across the country with nearly 800 operating in the transit industry.

“This event celebrates the private / public partnership between Delaware Transit Corporation and ROUSH CleanTech,” added Todd Mouw, vice president of sales and marketing at ROUSH CleanTech. “The agency has chosen a clean-burning, American-made and abundant fuel to power its paratransit buses.”