Collins Bus Delivers First NEXBUS® CNG Type A School Bus to Pennsylvania School District

New natural gas-powered buses feature the Westport WiNG Power System.

Collins Bus Corporation has delivered the first four production units of its new NEXBUS® compressed natural gas (CNG) Type A school bus to the Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County, Pa. With more than half of its 117 vehicle fleet fueled by CNG, the Lower Merion School District boasts one of the largest fleets of alternative fuel school buses on the East coast.

“We are excited to see the delivery of the first Ford Factory OEM approved CNG Type A school bus,” said John Walsh, vice president of sales for ASV Bus, the parent company to Collins Bus. “The Collins NEXBUS CNG model demonstrates ASV’s commitment to meeting customer demands for environmentally friendly vehicles powered by clean alternative fuel systems that reduce carbon emissions.”

Back-to-School Is Easy with Collins Type A School Bus Featuring Westport WiNG

Largest Ford Qualified Vehicle Modifier Delivers Solutions with Collins Bus Corporation

The Back-to-School season is here and school districts are busy planning for the next academic year. For some school systems new transportation budgets may be identified, while others may need to replace old school buses unexpectedly.

In either case, school districts and municipalities are increasingly looking for school buses with alternative fuel options, such as compressed natural gas, to support their sustainability efforts while decreasing fuel costs.

Free Webinar: The Advantages of CNG for Your School Bus Fleet Presented by Collins Bus and Westport

Switching to natural gas for transportation can provide a safer, cleaner and less expensive fuel option for a wide range of public transportation organizations such as school districts, child and senior care facilities, municipalities and other businesses that rely on the Type A school bus.

Fleets interested in learning more about the new Type A compressed natural gas (CNG) Collins Bus with the Westport WiNG™ Power System, can attend a free, live webinar on January 29, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. PST / 12:00 p.m. CST / 1:00 p.m. EST.

Training Day - Westport Dallas

As part of the recently-announced new Type A compressed natural gas (CNG) Collins Bus, with the Westport WiNG™ Power System, Westport Dallas staff organized a three-day training session with our partner installers from Olathe Ford during the last week of October. Olathe’s Jeff Johnson, Service Foreman, and Kevin Davis, Installer Technician, joined Westport’s Service Training Manager James Trott along with the Westport installation team on the factory floor to review several essential topics, skills and procedures.

James says the purpose of the training was twofold: an instructional course on how to build the bus and an update in service training on any new programs and diagnostic methods.

“We have a really strict protocol for quality control,” James says. “When they finish building the unit and drive it, they have to monitor the data, capture it, and send it back to us so we can verify it’s within specifications before they ship it.”

Westport's Stefan Yarbrough show's Olathe's Jeff Johnson and Kevin Davis installation and servicing procedures in the
Type A CNG Bus from Collins: here they learn how to remove hardware and start preparing to install the tank saddles.

Collins Bus and Westport to Display NEXBUS® Type A CNG School Bus at NAPT 2014 Summit

Collins Bus Booth #111 to Feature Westport E-450 Cutaway Chassis

Demonstrating the National Association for Pupil Transportation’s 2014 Summit theme of Driving Innovation, Collins Bus and Westport are partnering for the first time to display NEXBUS®: the Collins Type A compressed natural gas (CNG) school bus equipped with the Westport WiNG™ Power System. NAPT runs from November 8 – 11, 2014 at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown.

The chassis on exhibit at Booth #111 gives attendees a chance to see the unique Westport CNG system. With NEXBUS® agencies such as school districts, child and senior care facilities and municipalities can enjoy the benefit of the historical price stability of natural gas and decreased emissions.

“We are very pleased to partner with Westport to begin offering a CNG bus model in the fastest growing segment of the alternative fuel school bus market,” said Kent Tyler, president and CEO of Allied Specialty Vehicles’ bus division and interim president of Collins Bus. “As Ford’s largest qualified vehicle modifier, Westport’s CNG expertise and proven technology allows us to offer the most reliable clean energy Type A school bus model available to meet the evolving needs of our dealers and diverse customer base.”