When the economy is good school districts buy new buses, but for the past 24 months we’ve seen an increase in school bus re- furbishing. I’ve seen the pendulum swing several times, and each time it’s been driven by the economy.” Ray Miller, director of operations for
Longview (Texas) ISD, is refurbishing 10 buses at TCI at about $5,000 per bus. “Tis is my first time using them but my
shop foreman says he’s always had good results with them. It is money well-spent when you have buses that still have a lot of miles left in them.” Beaumont ISD is currently refurbishing
60 buses at TCI that includes safety up- grades such as roof hatches and installing air conditioning. BISD Shop Manager Bennie Huckabay says similar work in the private sector would have cost $40,000 per bus. “We are real heavy into refurbishing and
they’ve given us wonderful service. Any- thing you want done to a bus you can get it done there.”
❝
When the economy is good school dis-
tricts buy new buses, but for the past 24 months we’ve seen an increase in school bus refurbishing. I’ve seen the pendulum swing several times, and each time it’s been driven by the economy. ❞
— Ray Miller, Longview (Texas) ISD Critics say a good preventive, or even predictive, maintenance program is the answer
and that school districts should wait and spend their money on new buses — that is when the industry finally recovers from current economic pressures. Meanwhile, school officials and bus dealers know that whatever the industry resembles when the economy returns, things will not be quite the same. Necessity might actually improve some pro- cedures and service. “We are transforming some of the ways we do business like other industries,” Reppert
says. “All of us in the industry need each other. When this economic downturn is over, the manufacturers will still be in business, but the landscape will be entirely different from what it was five years ago.” n
Often imitated,
never duplicated. With tens of thousands of seats already in field service, SafeGuard is leading the way in belted seating for school buses. SafeGuard seats, equipped with exclusive SmartFrame™ technology, offer advantages unmatched by any other seat in the industry.
• The only belted seats offering full compartmentalization for unbelted passengers in school buses and motorcoaches.
• Lowest total cost of maintenance with modular design for quick, first-in-class serviceability.
SafeGuard FlexSeat® Patent Pending. Resolving the capacity issue since October 2007.
• Proven in side-by-side dynamic testing to outperform all competitive products on the market.
Clearly a step ahead, SafeGuard innovates practical solutions to real transportation problems, redefining what school districts expect from belted seating.
safeguardseat.com One seat fits all.® 38 School Transportation News Magazine September 2010 Equipped with exclusive SmartFrame TECHNOLOGY ™
©2009 IMMI All rights reserved. 07/09
3269P
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60