Kings Canyon Unified School District is a K-12 school system that serves students from a 600 square-mile area and is geographically one of the largest school districts in California. The district serves the cities of Reedley, Orange Cove and the foothill and mountain communities of Navelencia, Squaw Valley, Dunlap and Miramonte. The district employs approximately 1,500 staff members and has a student population approaching 10,000. The district operates a school bus fleet currently consists of 74 vehicles, which includes 37 compressed natural gas buses and 33 diesel buses equipped with diesel particulate filters to meet the California Air Resources Board’s Truck and Bus Regulation.
An important aspect of natural gas vehicle deployment in California is the lack of supporting infrastructure. There is limited access to this infrastructure in the surrounding regions of Kings Canyon Unified School District. This enormous barrier deters the adoption or expansion of advanced technologies by school bus fleets located in the Central Valley. As a result, the district sought to expand alternative fuel use and availability through the creation of the Central Valley Transportation Center. The Central Valley Transportation Center seeks to provide the City of Reedley and surrounding communities with green jobs, clean and low carbon energy and green education training. The Central Valley Transportation Center will also serve as the home of the district’s fleet of school buses and service vehicles with alternative fuel dispensers located on site.
The newly compressed natural gas time-filled infrastructure has created more opportunities for our fleet to expand and help service the local municipalities and communities. The City of Reedley, where this project was implemented, is one of the largest disadvantaged communities of Latino/Hispanic residents in California with poor air quality and scarce economic development. The District seeks to better provide healthy living for its students and surrounding community members through the Central Valley Transportation Center by providing alternative fueling options rather than petroleum-based fuels.
