New Research
SURTC to Study Bus Industry
Transit providers in suburban areas, small cities and rural areas rely on small buses and vans to provide mobility to their customers. From 1995 to 2001 the Federal Transit Administration helped fund more than 50,000 vehicles and more than 26 percent of those were buses smaller than 30 feet long. More than 35 percent were vans and other small vehicles used for rural and specialized transportation services.
 "Unfortunately, the transit bus supply chain is not a stable healthy industry," notes Jim Miller, the SURTC affiliate researcher who developed the concept for the study. "Frequent changes in ownership of bus manufacturers, low profitability and wide swings in demand have contributed to a decline." Miller will work with SURTC researchers Del Peterson and Jill Hough on the study.
Transit agencies are concerned about the health of the manufacturing industry because of potential impacts on the availability and quality of buses, costs, loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs and the inability of weak firms to conduct research and development and adopt new technology.
"The supply chain for small transit vehicles has not received the same attention as that of the larger vehicles though it shares many of the same issues," Peterson notes. "In addition to the issues faced by large bus manufacturers, small bus and van suppliers face unique challenges because of the relatively small size of individual orders and the large number of competitors."
The 18-month study will be guided by a steering committee of representatives from transit agencies and the bus manufacturing industry. The study will look at the financial health of the industry and examine bus purchasing trends of the last 20 years. It will also examine FTA and local procurement policies and their impact on the manufacturing industry. The study will also evaluate the impact of other laws and regulations, especially the Clean Air Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Buy America requirements.
The study will attempt to identify incentives to adopting new technologies and the impact that standardization of bus specifications would have on production efficiency and cost. Other factors that will be studied include excess capacity in the industry and competition and subsidies.
 A program to develop software and training to improve school bus routing is moving ahead despite funding setbacks.
"The North Dakota Legislature did not provide funding for the program, so we're moving forward with a scaled back program," says Dave Ripplinger, coordinator of the program. "As districts continue to consolidate, the issues of efficiency and cost in bus routing will continue to grow."
SURTC is in the process of choosing a single school district to work with in testing the program. "Originally we had hoped to work with at least two districts to gain broader experience," Ripplinger says. "In working with a school district we hope to sharpen our efforts as well as illustrate the potential for improving school bus routing in districts across the state."
SURTC staff members are developing custom software to assist in designing efficient bus routes. The software builds on the center's expertise of rural roads and transportation as well as transit operations and mobility.
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