Thomas Built Buses announced that a total cost of ownership calculator is now available through its dealer network to allow customers to gauge real costs tied to fuel, maintenance, financing and capital costs regardless of the brand of school buses in their fleets.
School buses are designed to last more than 20 years and, though this is not optimal from a safety and technology standpoint, Thomas said in a statement, but school districts may be forced to keep buses in service this long because of budget cuts. The total cost of ownership (TCO) calculator factors in these costs as well as those for parts, durability, corrosion repair, etc. — in essence, the total cost associated with running a much older bus.
“Adding newer school buses with better fuel efficiency to your fleet is a great way to save money and increase overall efficiency,” said Paul Start, market growth development manager for Thomas Built Buses. “However, we at Thomas Built understand that not all fleets are ready to upgrade to newer buses. So, we want to give fleet managers tools today that they can use to understand and lower their TCO.”
Kelley Platt, CEO of Thomas Built, said any of the company’s bus dealers can now work with fleet managers to determine what factors most affect a fleets overall cost of operation. This, in turn, helps fleet managers plan for the life cycle of each bus and take immediate steps toward lowering fuel and maintenance costs to stay within budget.
“Put simply, our goal is to educate every customer on how to run a more cost-effective fleet,” she added.
Earlier this year, Start outlined the program for School Transportation News as an additional KPI, or key performance indicator, for school district use to lower these costs, the initial purchase being only the beginning. He said measuring TCO is more than just about recording metrics. Fleet managers, he added, must shift their reference points to “really see a change.”
“For example, some commercial fleet managers drive down their expenses to get to the lowest cost per mile. After all, fewer dollars per mile mean more money in their pockets,” he said. “However, many school bus fleet managers are focused on meeting or spending just below set budgets (capital, maintenance, fuel, etc.).
“What some school bus fleet managers don’t realize is that if they looked at all of their transportation budgets as one larger budget, and worked on decreasing their total cost per mile, they would end up saving more money in the end.”
