Clean School Bus USA initiative will stall unless school districts get financing: Cellitti

May 1, 2003
Delivering the diesel engine and school bus industry's perspective, Tom Cellitti of IC Corp, a subsidiary of International Truck and Engine Corp, told

Delivering the diesel engine and school bus industry's perspective, Tom Cellitti of IC Corp, a subsidiary of International Truck and Engine Corp, told participants at a recent school bus summit that if the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus USA initiative is to succeed in replacing and retrofitting bus fleets, there must be financial support for school districts already struggling with costs.

International showed summit participants its Green Diesel Technology school bus, which meets EPA 2007 particulate and hydrocarbon standards. More than 120 of these buses, using the ultra-low-sulfur fuel that EPA rules will require beginning in mid-2006, have already been sold to school districts in California.

“Diesel will continue to be the fuel of choice for school buses,” said Cellitti, noting that over the past 10 years more than 98% of school buses sold have been diesel-fueled.

Cellitti said diesel school buses are preferred because of several benefits: the lowest cost of operation, safety of diesel fuel compared with other fuels, reliable performance, and the amount of energy diesel delivers, resulting in 40% to 60% less fuel per mile. Going forward, the engine and bus industry must continue technology achievements that have already cut more than 90% of emissions since 1988.

Cellitti said that as government mandates regulations, and initiates programs such as the EPA School Bus USA initiative, a focus on financing is essential.

Schools are encountering financial crises as costs rise and state money is restricted, Cellitti told the EPA conference.

In his opening conference remarks, Cellitti urged participants to encourage the use of sound science in policy decisions on fuel choice, noting that International and others have encouraged new studies on emissions that are peer-reviewed, published in recognized journals, and now open for inspection and analysis.