Schetky Bus & Van Sales hosted an open house at its Pasco, Washington location to share an overview of the Thomas Built Buses Jouley electric school buses with school district representatives. The event included a technical orientation and ride and drive.
“Thomas is going to update their Type D body, which is a huge investment. They listened to us as their conduit to the customer and worked with us.” When chassis and component shortages were caus-
ing long build times with very little inventory against the backdrop of a massive nationwide need for vehicles, Schetky advocated for its customers with orders at dif- ferent factories to ensure they were prioritized. That collaboration between dealer and manufacturer
requires a very strong relationship built on the trust that the dealer is providing accurate and responsible infor- mation, Schetky said, adding to accomplish that requires a dealer to listen, understand, and advocate for custom- ers’ current and future needs. “The pupil transportation landscape is changing
rapidly,” Schetky explained. “School districts are facing pressures from their communities and politicians, no one could have predicted even a decade ago.”
Suffolk’s Smith, meanwhile, noted it is essential to
have service options for body work, mechanical, wheel- chair retrofits, and air conditioning installations and know the industry’s top performers to help provide solutions to challenges. It is also important to be a team and communicate challenges or successes to the OEM, which can build the next generation of vehicles know- ing how to modify challenges. As one of the first operations in the Northeast to op-
erate Blue Bird electric buses, Suffolk’s feedback enabled the OEM to incorporate improvements into a sec- ond-generation vehicle for the region, yielding success, Smith said. With technological advances such as electric buses,
product demonstrations are key, Smith noted, adding driver concerns may be safety-related. It is important as the bus gets more complex to understand those battery differences and true range to help a school district or
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