HEADLINES Total Life Cycle Drives School Bus Procurement
By Sylvia Arroyo When money is available for districts to
procure new school buses, transportation officials aren’t taking anything for granted because they don’t know if or when they’ll have funding for future purchases. Teir main goal now more than ever is to stretch their return on investment (ROI) as much as possible without breaking their budget. “Customers are looking very hard
at their total cost of ownership of the buses for the total life cycle. They are monitoring their fuel mileage and cost per mile to be as efficient as possible,” said Glenn Matthews, president of Mat- thews Buses, a Thomas Built bus dealer for Florida and New York. Michael Shields, transportation direc-
tor of Salem-Keizer School District in Oregon, who has extensive involvement with school bus procurement, said trans- portation officials need to approach these decisions with a businesslike mindset. “Te thing that we’re approaching
more and more is that this is a business, and the more we think in terms of busi- ness, I think we’ll continue to provide a more efficient product and service to our schools,” he added. Because of fuel costs, reduced routes
and other factors, many districts are look- ing at a school bus’ maximum capacity, so some districts are procuring more Type C conventional school buses. “Tey’ve become so reliable and cost-
effective, with improved turning radiuses,” Matthews explained. “Te chassis of Type C school buses are from the largest medi- um-duty truck market segment, so parts are more economical.” Te same bus perspective rings true for
Wolfington Body Co., an IC Bus, Collins and Trans Tech Bus dealership in Exton, Pa., with a second branch in the state and another in New Jersey. “Te Type C 48- through 72-passenger school buses are selling very well with the Maxxforce en- gines,” said Dave Fitzgerald, Wolfington’s executive vice president. “And the Type A cutaway business is holding steady.”
He added that transit-style school buses
are usually not a consideration. “We of- fer special buy-back and lease programs to many school districts but do not pro- mote transit design buses in most of these programs due to the high initial purchase price and questionable resale value three to five years into the future.” In California, there have been many
regulation changes in the last seven years with three-point seat belt usage and two different emissions changes. While there has been grant money from the state, it is not enough to replace the many aging diesel school bus fleets. As a result, “Tere is an overwhelming
swing toward just offering special needs transportation services that [school dis- tricts] are mandated to do,” said Matt Essex, territory sales manager for A-Z Bus Sales, a Blue Bird dealership for California and Hawaii based in Colton, Calif., with another location in Sacramento. He noted that under California’s grant
programs, 80 to 90 percent of school buses were transit-style models until a few years ago. Now, “[districts] are turning in an old diesel bus and getting a new short- wheelbase wheelchair bus. Well over 50 percent of the grant buses are for special needs in some areas,” Essex said. Cheryl Gaines-Bell, sales coordinator at
Collins Bus dealership One Stop Bus Stop in Irving, Texas, said more districts are in- terested in alternative-fuel school buses because many districts purchase school buses based on available grant money. “If there are grants to assist them
financially, then they are extremely in- terested in making moves to alternative fuels,” Gaines-Bell said. She noted that some districts have
shown interest in electric because they may not have to spend as much on building infrastructure as they would with CNG. For districts considering propane autogas, the infrastructure is widespread throughout Texas because propane distributors will install fuel
28 School Transportation News Magazine November 2012
tanks free of charge for districts that sign longterm contracts. Te bus dealership that wins the bid is
another vital factor playing in today’s bus procurement process. More so than as- sisting transportation officials during the procurement process, bus dealers play a big role after the sale and delivery of new school buses. “I heard it said best the other day: Te
sales department sells the first bus, the service department sells the second bus,” said Gaines-Bell. Matthews added, “We view our account mangers as trusted advi- sors to the district. Tey touch everybody, from the transportation supervisor to a mechanic. Tey’re there to help districts get the lowest cost of ownership.” Pete Meslin, transportation director
for Newport-Mesa Unified School Dis- trict in California, said customers view the manufacturer as less important than the dealership when it comes to providing a service after a purchase. Te more pro- gressive companies are seeking ways to make their support stand out. “Te worse position to be in is when
you’ve bought a new bus and the dealer tells you they can’t help you because they’re not getting support from the manufac- turer,” Meslin said. “In the meantime, you have a bus that you can’t use effectively or, worse, one that doesn’t work at all.” ■
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