The Tulsa, Oklahoma public schools have replaced their school bus fleet with vehicles running on natural gas. According to the Tulsa Journal Record “Tulsa Public Schools is converting its fleet of 177 diesel-powered buses to natural gas. The change is expected to save the district up to $1 million a year.”
The Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Chris Benge, who is from Tulsa, praised the move saying “This is just one more sign that Oklahoma is becoming a national leader in alternative energy.”
Last year, Benge authored an extension and expansion of a tax credit toward the purchase or conversion of a CNG vehicle. The law provides for a 50 percent tax credit for originally-equipped and converted qualified clean-burning motor vehicles.
Benge has also authored legislation which sets a goal of having one public CNG station located every 100 miles along the state’s interstate system by the year 2015 and every 50 miles by 2025.
“This is a national and economic security issue that our country must work to solve now, and I am proud that Oklahoma continues to be a leader in this arena,” Benge said. “Providing for energy security is good for our nation, and good for Oklahoma.”
— The Pickens Team