[Southsider2k12]

https://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/laporte...56bb977f12.html

Five new school buses running on cleaner burning propane began hitting the streets Monday afternoon in Michigan City.

Three more of the propane-fueled buses should be here by summer.

The buses are replacing much older models powered by diesel fuel.

A $206,699 grant from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management helped offset the $817,296 cost.

Denise Willis, the driver of a diesel engine school bus for 22 years, said not only do the propane models produce less emissions but they get up to highway speed just as quickly and run much quieter.

“I see a whole bunch of benefits. I don’t see any real drawbacks,” she said.

A propane filling station at the school district transportation garage at 1100 S. Woodland Ave. was provided at no cost by Co-Alliance, a longtime central Indiana based provider of propane for heat and other uses on farms, homes and businesses.