[IMAGE]Roush-2.jpg[/IMAGE]ROUSH CleanTech and the Mich.-based Flint Mass Transportation Authority (MTA) unveiled its first propane autogas paratransit vehicle at the 2011 BusCon Expo, in Chicago earlier this month.

The shuttle on display will be in service by October, while a second propane autogas vehicle has already hit the streets, serving Michigan’s City of Flint and Genesee County. With the help of a $5 million federal grant, Flint MTA plans to add at least 48 more 16-passenger propane autogas shuttles to its fleet by early 2012.

The ROUSH CleanTech propane autogas buses, built on a Ford E-450 chassis, with a 6.8-liter, V10 engine and 41-gallon propane fuel tank, are part of the transit authority’s decision to become a leader in environmental stewardship and reduce costs to the areas it services.

Along with domestic fueling and cost reduction benefits, propane autogas vehicles emit less carbon dioxide, about 20 percent less nitrogen oxide, 60 percent less carbon monoxide, and up to 24 percent less greenhouse gas, when compared with gasoline-fueled vehicles. They also release fewer smog-producing particulates, reducing short-term and long-term health effects in passengers.