DRIVING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1991
STN: What do you see for the school bus industry in the near-
term? What trends are you noticing? McKinney: More than anything, state and school district
budgets have become smaller—that’s the new reality today. For the industry, this means customers aren’t purchasing school buses as frequently, and our products have to last longer. Te average school bus now has a life cycle of around 15 years. With longer lifecycles, customers are relying on our dealers more than ever before, as those older buses naturally need more parts and better service support. Luckily for us, our dealer network is our greatest asset. Not only do we have more than 290 IC Bus dealers across the U.S. and Canada, but we are also are able to leverage the service and support networks of our truck dealers to support our customers and their products throughout the lifecycle.
STN: Alternative fuels and technology are always at the fore- front of transportation. What do you see for school buses in the
way of alt fuels? McKinney: We are always looking at new technologies, and
there are certainly a number of alternative fuels and advanced tech- nologies that show some promise and could push transportation in a new direction. But it’s also important to read through all the hype. Less than 1 percent of all C/D school buses on the road today are powered by something other than diesel. Diesel is the backbone of our industry. I don’t see the diesel engine going away anytime soon, especially when our customers are expecting their school buses to run longer than ever.
STN: Can you discuss the company's decision to stop offering
the hybrid options? McKinney: Hybrid buses were introduced in the industry sev-
eral years ago, and IC Bus had a part in that. What we saw is anal- ogous to what we’re seeing with natural gas today—the acquisition price, due to the technology, was high and, as a result, the customer payback story was not as advantageous as diesel. Consequently, the demand was low and we, like others in the industry, decided to focus our efforts on the diesel market.
STN: What advice do you give to your customers regarding
alternative fuels? McKinney: Customers simply need to do their homework and
know the risks upfront. Alternative powered school buses are still very much in the early phases of adoption, and there are still many unknowns. Will the manufacturer still support that propane bus 15 years from now? Will customers still be able to get the parts and service support they need? Will the government incentives still be in place? Right now, nobody knows for sure. So I would simply encourage customers to ask these questions today, before they make a commitment.
STN: Tank you.
Fleet Maintenance/ Field Trip
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