SPECIAL REPORT
their range awareness and use each electric school bus to their best advantage. These solutions include locating where each electric bus is in real time, dis- patching electric buses based on their current state of charge, optimizing their routes by reviewing trip history, viewing how much battery each route con- sumes, and identifying electric buses that aren’t properly charged as planned. He noted that Zonar’s open API integrates with third-party maintenance systems and offers FaultIQ, a fleet diagnostics portal that monitors and prior- itizes maintenance based on a fleet’s active fault codes. Meanwhile, Brian Apunda, the director of marketing for FleetSoft, added
that the combination of telematics and maintenance data is helping schools pinpoint avoidable expenses and encourages more efficiency improvements inside and outside of the bus garage. “Since electric vehicles don’t have a front engine, it means maintenance diagnoses will focus on things like battery temperature or battery life,” he said. “That’s not to say there won’t be occasional issues with electrical issues or issues with vehicle components but maintenance on these types of vehicles will look very different.”
STN EXPO Indy Session to Link School Bus Inspections with Software
Transfinder will present a session at STN EXPO Indy on June 3, “Integrating Technology and Software to School Bus Inspections,” that looks at tools needed to manage a fleet, ensuring they are maintained, safe and in compliance. “The vision for that is going to be, where does it make sense to incorporate technology into your operation? And how well do you know your fleet? What kind of history do you have on it? How much are you managing the cost, the parts that go through your fleet every day? And these pieces are changing as we go from more mechanical to computer sys- tems and digital components,” said Zach Moren, the sales engineer at Transfinder, as he explained the session topics. “Being able to stay on top of those changes is going be harder and harder to do with the traditional ways. Your need for bringing in technologies is going to be growing every day. Cost is a big piece of that. I think we think of fuel costs, but there’s going to be major costs associ- ated with charging an entire fleet of electric vehicles. How are you managing the kilowatt hours that you’re plugging into every night? What’s the peak times that you can plug vehicles in that they’ll be available for a trip, but that you’re going to have the lowest cost for energy? There’s a lot more to juggle and technology is there to make that easier by being able to keep track of that history and keep track of the fleet.” Overall, the 40-minute interactive presentation following day two of the National School Bus Inspection Training will show attendees how fleet maintenance and inspection technology is a critical aid to ensure that nothing is overlooked. The class will feature a bus inspection using a mobile tool, so attendees can see first-hand how easy it is to submit an inspection form digitally as well as cre- ate a work order based on the inspection fault and assign the work to a technician. Learn more at
stnexpo.com/east.
18 School Transportation News • MAY 2023
He explained that FleetSoft’s
software serves as a solution for predictive maintenance by au- tomatically sending odometer readings, engine hours and report- ed problems in DVIRs to FleetSoft, which triggers maintenance re- minders that create work orders. “Thankfully, data is transmitted
instantly to mechanics in their FleetSoft mechanic user account for their school district,” Apunda said. “Whether or not the device used to access their FleetSoft account is connected by Wi-Fi or cellular does not significantly affect performance or the user experience.” He added that FleetSoft and other fleet maintenance technologies are turning mechanics into real owners of their processes. “These systems are helping mechanics see the big- ger picture when issues come up,” he said. “For instance, an issue with a new set of bus tires could reveal a widespread quality control issue with a tire vendor.” Transfinder’s Moren said mainte- nance software also tracks the total cost of ownership of the school bus and can help directors compare diesel to electric, for example. He explained that because the software works as a vehicle asset manage- ment system, technicians will be able to see all of the components, such as mileage, how often the vehi- cle is fueling up, and the work that’s being done on it, all in one place. “What I can do now is open up my
vehicle and I can see that whole pic- ture … I can see how much money I spent, how many miles this vehicle drove over the past year, how much gas is it guzzling everyday so that I can make much more informed decisions,” Moren added. “Without having that technology in place, it is much, much harder to operate and manage these fleets.” ●
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