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emissions and safety. Some operators prolonged the inevitable by pre-buying before the mandate deadline and extending the life of the school bus fleet, which to- day stands at a usable life of 12 to 15 years depending on geographic and other operating practices. In extending useful life safely, the one constant is the ever-chal- lenging area of parts and supply cost and its impact on budgeting and procurement. The last maintenance benchmarking survey conducted


by STN in 2016 showed an average maintenance expense of $3,975 per bus per year. When adjusted for inflation, conservatively by 3 percent per year the figure becomes $4,750/bus/year. This does not include a huge variable for labor cost. Using a conservative fleet estimate for the industry’s 480,000 buses, the total market for maintenance and supply items spent annually on items including oil, tires, bus body and chassis parts, etc. is approximately $2.3 billion. To further put this in perspective, the total school bus industry expenditure for new buses each year is approximately $4.8 billion. Our industry is supported by hundreds of product suppliers necessary to keep our school buses safe, both OEM and aftermarket. By any- one’s standard, this is a huge industry served by many OEM’s and aftermarket suppliers. There is no “better” level of quality when it comes to


OEM or aftermarket parts. OEM replacement parts are made by the manufacturer of a vehicle or for the manu- facturer according to the manufacturer’s specifications. Aftermarket parts can be made to similar specifications or in some cases may exceed OEM specifications, and sometimes there is no OEM equivalent to an aftermar- ket part. To help guide you in gaining a perspective on the


availability of procurement programs and to better manage quality, selection, purchasing and inventory, I suggest you contact your regional, state, and national school bus trade association. All can be found in the STN buyers guide or through your state transportation department. These associations have been working hard to get value for their members and in many cases offer training and have developed procurement benefit plans exclusive to its members, lowering cost based on the combined purchasing power of its membership. Additionally make an attempt to attend at least one


of the national school bus trade show events held each year. The benefit you will gain in becoming an educated consumer by interacting with your peers and with all the school bus industry OEM and aftermarket suppliers, will be invaluable. ●


Bob Pudlewski is a consultant to and technical editor for School Transportation News. A retired maintenance and procurement executive for Laidlaw, he is a member of the National School Transportation Association Hall of Fame.


www.nswash.com 310.330.1240


www.stnonline.com 33


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From small to large fleets experience the Unmatched Expertise of N/S Corporation, the leader in the School Bus and support vehicle washing systems.


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