Tech-to-tech instruction and partnering with neighboring school districts for training exercises provide easy opportunities to develop employees’ skills and knowledge. Having good equipment and taking advantage of resources available through state pupil transportation associations are also worthwhile.

Pupil transporters say that technicians should have a desire to learn, and they discuss methods and resources for instruction. They also say that employee communication, a strong preventive maintenance program and performance benchmarking are essential to achieving well-maintained school buses.

This year for our annual series, we shine the spotlight on five maintenance programs with dedicated staff members who have established efforts to save their operations money, work well with their colleagues and earn excellent fleet safety inspection ratings.

This year for our annual series, we've profiled five maintenance programs at school district and contractor fleets around the country that have led them to excel on state inspections. They have also helped to reduce the operations' costs and enhance safety.

A chemical now being applied to roads can cause expensive damage to buses over time. Bolster vehicle safety and service life by conducting corrosion inspections and choosing the right protective products.

Photo above: Ann Arbor Garage Crew Chief John Nikolich (center) and Transportation Director Brad Mellor (to Nikolich’s immediate left) credit their...

Reliability engineering is a discipline based on the use of data and averages to make predictions about unit and system failures.

Small Community Plus Ship-Shape Operation Equals Success

Riverside Community School District
Oakland, Iowa

It’s been said...

Operators of small buses who implement a thorough, well-considered preventive maintenance (PM) program can reap substantial savings. Worn or damaged c...

Building character, repairing buses

Cleveland Municipal School District
Cleveland

The motor oil program is a cornerstone of any maintenance routine, but today’s market offers so many products and best practices that it’s difficult t...

When it comes to purchasing a used school bus, you may already know a lot more than you think about making the right choice.

Executives seasoned i...

Sometimes the best solution to a specific school bus maintenance problem can’t be found in instruction manuals or previous training. Shop staffers oft...