Clean Vehicle Success Stories
Last Updated: February 23, 2012
Brazosport ISD
John Craig, in his new position as Transportation Director of Brazosport ISD, was faced with a large, aging bus fleet. Some of the district’s buses were even older than its high school students and were puffing some pretty bad soot into the air. This fleet needed an upgrade—fast! But where to get the money in the middle of a recession? Budget cuts were everywhere, especially schools. Mr. Craig had worked with the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) Clean Vehicles program before, and he hoped they could help him. He got on the phone and started asking questions.
The determined Transportation Director sent in an application to Clean Vehicles, pushing hard to get better buses for his students. His efforts were rewarded when over $1.2 million was approved to help Brazosport ISD to purchase 15 buses. When asked about his experience with the project, Mr. Craig noted that "The staff from H-GAC were very helpful and informative through the whole process. Any questions I had they were there to answer, as well as accommodating and helpful with changes that were needed during the process."
High Island ISD
Located at the northern-most tip of Galveston county, High Island ISD was hit hard by Hurricane Ike. The little one-building school district continued to struggle because many of its residents were forced to permanently relocate, taking most of the tax base with them. When we went out to meet the district’s staff, we were surprised to find that most staff did double-duty, administrating and teaching, to be sure there were enough funds for the students to get what they needed.
At that time, what they needed was buses! Though damaged, many of their buses were still running miles a day in the widespread, rural district. High Island ISD was awarded $77,000 which they used to purchase a brand-new lower-emission diesel bus, their first new bus since before the hurricane!
Magnolia ISD
In February 2008, Kevin Kreitz, Director of Transportation for Magnolia ISD, saw that his bright, yellow buses were putting out some foul exhaust. But the buses were too young to take off the road! He’d attended a few meetings at H-GAC and heard they had funding for projects to clean up school buses.
Mr. Kreitz applied that February, and by November, 7 buses were retrofitted and running clean! Out and about, they were much more comfortable for students, teachers, and parents. The retrofits cost less than $6,000 altogether, and Mr. Kreitz was so happy with the project, he came back to H-GAC a year later to replace three more buses.
Feedback from Clean Vehicles Program survey participants
"We are very excited about our first venture into the world of alternative fueled vehicles. This grant is essential to our ability to build the foundation of data that will guide our future plans for alt fuel buses and other vehicles. We look forward to many more grant opportunities and the chance to become a leader in the region in transitioning from diesel only to a diversified, clean fleet. Thanks for all your help in achieving that goal. P.S. The "somewhat agree" response to number 5 is due to the fact that we received a larger grant than the original application indicated due to additional funding being found."
"All H-GAC staff members were very helpful and responsive to all of our questions and needs."
"The manner in which this process was handled far exceeded my expectations."
Clean Vehicles Press Coverage Archive:
February 22, 2012, Dallas Business Journal - Central Freight Lines Grant Project
October 24, 2011, Galveston County Daily News - Clear Creek ISD Grant Project
February 22, 2010, The Facts - Brazosport ISD Grant Project
August 3, 2008, Houston Chronicle - City of Lake Jackson Grant Project
February 15, 2005, Beverage World - Silver Eagle Distributors Grant Project
November 29, 2004, Fleets & Fuels - Bealine Services (see page 9)
December 22, 2003, Automotive Fleet- UPS Grant Project
December 12, 2003, Fleet Owner- UPS Grant Project
Ready to get started on your own success story? Learn more...
Clean Cities/Clean Vehicles is a program of the
Houston-Galveston Area Council
3555 Timmons, Suite 120, Houston,
TX 77027
713.627.3200 • Fax 713.993.4508
