ALLEGAN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Sept. 4, 2023) – When one thinks of vehicles powered by alternative energy sources, the first thing that comes to mind is electricity.
However, Allegan County Transportation is going in a different direction. Late last month, the reservation-based bus system providing accessible and barrier-free transportation for all county residents six days a week deployed seven new vehicles powered by propane autogas. This will be about a quarter of the agency’s current fleet.
According to Roush CleanTech, the suburban Detroit-based manufacturer who converts traditional powered-vehicles to this new technology, using propane autogas would emit fewer greenhouse gases, less nitrogen oxides, less carbon monoxide, and fewer particulate emissions, as compared to other fuels. County officials say it will save about 50 percent on fuel costs and as much as 70 percent on maintenance expenditures.
This move is seen as a response to recent federal Environmental Protection Agency rulings that certain ozone levels in Allegan County are above safe standards, requiring new regulatory restrictions on consumer and commercial emissions. Efforts are being made on several governmental levels to try and prevent such sanctions from being enacted in the county.
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