(Business Wire)  92 Blue Bird (Nasdaq: BLBD) propane-fueled school buses will now power the youngest and largest ‘green fleet’ of school vehicles in Colorado. Student Transportation of America, Inc. (STA), has been awarded a new $6 million annual contract with Mesa County Valley School District 51 in Grand Junction, Colorado to provide school transportation services.

The five year contract starts in July, and provides for customer paid fuel. The school district was able to qualify for additional incentives, such as the “Innovative Motor Vehicle and Alternative Fuel Vehicle Credit”, as identified by STA’s Innovation Team. This allowed STA to lower the total cost of the proposal to the school district, since the buses are a qualifying motor vehicle.

“Blue Bird’s proven propane solution will save the district thousands of dollars per year, per bus,” said Trey Jenkins, Vice President of Alternative Fuels for Blue Bird Corporation. “In addition, we are delighted that this district was able to benefit from one of the many incentives that state and local authorities offer to alternative fuel vehicle solutions. We are excited to have Mesa County experience the industry’s best, and most cost-effective, alternative fuel system.”

While this is the first operation in Colorado for STA, they are experienced with other large propane autogas fleets. In 2013, over 400 Blue Bird propane buses were delivered to STA’s operation in Omaha, NE. STA also operates other large fleets in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Meridian, Idaho.

"This is a great bid win for us and we are excited about expanding our operations in Colorado. We will be looking to show other school districts in the state how our public-private partnership can not only upgrade their fleet and improve service, but lower their cost of operation," stated Don Kissell, Senior Vice President at STA. "Our talented team in operations is looking forward to getting started and forging a strong local relationship while drawing upon our years of experience and demonstrating our outstanding culture of compassion, caring and customer service.”

About Blue Bird:

Blue Bird offers a complete line of Type A, C and D school buses in a variety of options and configurations. For more than 85 years, Blue Bird Corporation has continued to set industry standards with its innovative design and manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, Blue Bird provides comprehensive financial solutions through Blue Bird Capital Services. Today, Blue Bird has more than 1,700 employees, Georgia-based manufacturing facilities and an extensive network of Dealers and service-parts facilities throughout North America. Its global presence can be seen in more than 60 countries through sales into Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit the Blue Bird Corporation web site at www.blue-bird.com.

About Student Transportation Inc.

Founded in 1997, STI is North America's third-largest and most progressive provider of school bus transportation services, operating more than 12,000 vehicles. STI's family of local companies delivers safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation solutions to school districts throughout the U.S. and Canada. Services are delivered by drivers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, terminal managers and others who are caring members of their local communities. For more information, please visit www.RideSTBus.com.