rolling resistance to support the range of EV vehicles. If load capacity and/or other requirements for electric school buses change moving forward, additional sizes may be added to the lineup.”
Monitoring Is Crucial Experts stress that thinking about tire maintenance for
electric buses just underscores the attention that should be given to tires for buses of all types. “When it comes to EV tire maintenance, just like all
tires, the most important thing to check frequently is your fleet’s tire pressure and treadwear,” explained Johnny McIntosh, senior director of commercial services for Goodyear North America. “Those two factors directly in- fluence fuel efficiency, performance and ultimately, cost.” Salt Lake City’s Martinez is among multiple respon-
dents to a recent School Transportation News reader survey who cited alignment problems as causing undue wear on tires. “Alignment is a large factor in tire wear, and we have the alignment checked anytime we see a need, or any suspension work has been completed,” Martinez said. Uys at Continental said that the biggest stresses on school bus tires can be from overloading, especial- ly when tires are not properly inflated. He also cited heat transfer from brakes due to constant stop-and-go operations, “and structural damage due to curbing can
24 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2023
compromise the total life of the tire, bringing more costs to the school bus fleet,” he noted. Experts say that tires should be retreaded or replaced
when they’ve reached 4/32 of an inch for steering tires and 2/32of an inch for other tires. Goodyear and other companies offer a tire monitoring service since measur- ing treads can be “labor intensive,” McIntosh said. Goodyear offers a Total Mobility program that includes
tire monitoring, analysis and a service network. Mean- while, Zonar offers real-time tire monitoring through its ContiConnect program from parent company Continen- tal. This will soon include digital monitors for tread depth. Bridgestone’s Fleet Care program provides real-time tire pressure data and other support services. Martinez called monitoring and service support crucial and a major determinant of which tires Salt Lake City buys. Martinez is also among the respondents to the STN survey who said they use an outside service to replace tires. Most respondents replace the tires themselves, with a replacement typically taking a “couple hours,” and they generally try to keep a spare for each type of tire on hand. “All the school districts can purchase the same tire
for the same price nationwide,” Martinez said. “I already know what I’m going to pay for every tire, so it’s about finding the vendor who will give me the best service, who goes through every tire in my fleet at least four times a year, checks pressure, wear, makes recommen-
COURTESY OF SALT LAKE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN UTAH
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