IN IT FOR THE LONG RUN


WRITTEN BY SEAN GALLAGHER | SEAN@STNONLINE.COM T


he school bus is an investment. It’s a contract with the future. It’s a tightly held bond with the promise that, over the course of the vehicle’s lifespan, the thousands of children who hop on board will safely return home at


the end of the day. Transportation departments are tasked to fulfill this obligation. Te range of responsibilities overseen by directors and supervisors, and delegated to managers and mechanics and drivers, take com- mitment and expertise. All the moving parts converge on two simple acts—keeping buses on the road for as long as possible balanced with the fleet op- erating at its highest capacity in terms of safety and performance. Buses break down. Buses need repairs. Buses require upgrades.


Buses demand replacement. What each of these potential issues have in common is that they take money to solve. For districts nationwide, money is an element that is often in short supply. According to the 2016 Fleet Managers survey conducted by


School Transportation News, more than 60 percent of the 162 responses to a question asking the biggest challenges facing mainte- nance operations said aging vehicles and out-of-date software were the most pressing issues for the impending school year. Tis challenge was closely followed by budgetary concerns, with


44 School Transportation News • AUGUST 2016


roughly 55 percent of respondents listing the financial situation as a subject that needs addressing. School buses aren’t cheap, and the ability to purchase new


vehicles is frequently hindered by lack of the necessary resources. Due to this frequent shortcoming, transportation departments have become quite proficient at stretching the funds until the fiscal circumstances change. It must be noted that school buses are amazingly resilient and built to last. Even after all-important warranties expire, as some transportation directors and fleet managers have stated, mechanics on staff work magic at keeping the buses on the road. With the right attention from experts either in-house or outsourced, fleets can seemingly last forever. Tere are dozens of options to allay the inevitable. But when the time comes to address that one pesky vehicle, one fact remains: Fewer operations are currently buying used buses. Tis was con- firmed by a number of transportation directors and fleet managers. “We do not purchase used school buses,” said Keith Sterling,


director of communications and public information at Anaheim Elementary School District in Southern California. Tis aversion was reinforced by Peter Lawrence, transportation director for Fairport Schools, near Rochester, New York, who declared


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