Equipment Makes Buses More ‘Green’

By Matt Russell, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

Feb. 20–Buses in Rochester are getting greener.

As part of a statewide project called Project Green Fleet, some buses that carry Rochester school district students, Mayo Clinic patients and employees, and public transit riders are getting new mufflers and filters approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Emissions of key pollutants from those buses could drop as much as 50 percent, according to Clean Air Minnesota, which is spearheading Project Green Fleet. Pollution levels are also expected to drop inside the vehicles. Clean Air Minnesota says emissions can be five times higher inside a school bus than in outdoor air.

Four buses used as Mayo Clinic shuttles have been retrofitted with new filters and mufflers, said Jon Goetz of First Student, the Rochester company that owns the buses.

First Student, which also serves nearly all of the Rochester school district’s bus routes, also plans to upgrade 32 of its 152 school buses, hopefully by the end of spring break, Goetz said.

The buses First Student will upgrade represent all of its buses that are eligible for Project Green Fleet, which focuses on older buses with diesel engines that still have several years of service in them. Newer buses already have emissions-reduction systems, Goetz said.

Eight city of Rochester public transit buses, roughly one-fifth its fleet, will get new mufflers and filters through Project Green Fleet, with installation expected either this week or next.

The cost for Project Green Fleet retrofits is around $2,000 per school bus for parts and installation. The cost is higher, around $2,500 total, for larger transit buses, said Bill Droessler, the project’s director.

Project Green Fleet provided parts to First Student in Rochester but the company has done the labor, which takes around two hours per bus, Goetz said. He added that Project Green Fleet gave First Student enough filters to last two or three years.

Project Green Fleet, which started in 2006, has already retrofitted around 500 buses in Minnesota with new mufflers and filters. Plans call for retrofitting more buses around the state over the next four years, with a total of 4,000 buses expected to be upgraded.

Exposure to emissions from diesel engines can cause bronchitis, pneumonia, and may increase the likelihood of developing allergies and asthma, according to Dr. Fred Nobrega, executive director of the Zumbro Valley Medical Society.

Project Green Fleet is a partnership of businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

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