Earlier this week, we took notice of the latest round of stimulus funds that are going to a few but which could positively affect the many in the field of school transportation.
Of the total pot of $187 million dollars announced by U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Monday, nearly two-thirds is going to three companies that are big players in the school bus manufacturing segment.
Now the money is destined for research and development that would increase fuel efficiency for Class 8 heavy-duty trucks, so on the surface one might conclude that school transportation was left out in the dark, especially in a year that just saw another decrease in school bus manufacturing, albeit about a 4 percent dip. Still, over the last two production years, production has fallen by more than 20 percent.
Yet, on Monday, we learned that Cummins, DaimlerTrucks and Navistar won more than $33 million dollars each to advance clean diesel engine, hybridization and electric vehicle technologies, a fact that industry insiders say is a very good sign for the industry. While the heavy-duty truck sector tends to receive the most attention from the federal government, any technological advancements have a way of quickly trickling down to the medium-duty, and hence school bus, market.
And, of course, Cummins is a major player in producing medium-duty engines for school buses, and DaimlerTrucks and Navistar represent two the the Big 3 school bus manufacturers with their respective subsidiaries of Thomas Built Buses and IC Bus.
While this most recent stimulus won’t find its way to school buses specifically, the attention given to these manufacturers should not be lost in the conversation of how and why the feds are continuing to pump money into the economy, albeit ultimately taxpayer funded relief.
Take, for example, that alloy advancements in engine block alloy, compact graphite iron, made a couple of years ago to the big bore MaxxForce 11 and 13 are today seen in the 2010 compliant MaxxForce 7 engines for school buses.
School buses remain very much a piece of the puzzle, albeit at times it can seem to be an obscure one.
Yes, the jury is still out on the question of whether or not the economic stimulus is working. School districts continue to be decimated by state and local budget cuts, and 2010 is forecast as another dismal year. While there have been some positive gains, unemployment is still very bad.
ompanies, especially the small ones, are still having trouble securing loans from banks. Far too many of us are still hurting financially. But still, there are some encouraging signs, such as the infusion of funds for fuel efficiency.
It’s a very good thing that Cummins, DaimlerTrucks and Navistar are receiving more cash to stimulate, if you will, R&D because it not only paves the road for the next greatest school bus innovation but it keeps people employed. If you think things are bad now, imagine what it might do to the school transportation industry if any of those three companies went out of business.
Thank you, but I’d rather not.
