Overall County-Owned Fleet
In general, industry sets standards for the number of active
“spares” that should be available for regular fleets at
between 10-15%. The following standards are recognized:
-
Law Enforcement and Public Safety. The number of
vehicles assigned to Law Enforcement and Public Safety
should include a recommended level of spare vehicles of 10
%.
-
Solid Waste Transfer Trailers. The recommended
level of spare vehicles is 10%.
-
Passenger Vehicles. The recommended level of spare
vehicles is 10%.
Federal Transit Administration Criteria
In general, transit industry sets standards for the number
of active “spares” that should be available in case of
routine maintenance / unanticipated breakdown(s), as well a
certain number of inactive vehicles known as a “contingency”
fleet. The latter represent vehicles that are placed in an
inactive status in preparation for emergencies and are not
considered as spares or part of the active fleet. The
transit industry does not have a uniform spare ratio,
however, the recognized transit industry standard for the
number of spare buses in a transit fleet should not exceed
between 10 to 20% of the total number in operation at
maximum service levels (for STS, typically 18 buses are in
operation at peak periods).
-
STS Contingency Fleet. According to the Federal
Transit Administration, buses may be stockpiled in an
inactive contingency fleet in preparation for emergencies.
However, no bus may be stockpiled before it has reached
the end of its service life.
-
Buses held in a contingency fleet must be properly stored,
maintained and identified as a contingency plan to meet
service needs. These vehicles would not count in the
calculation of the “spare ratio”. As such, identifying 3
of the 5 existing STS buses as contingency fleet vehicles
would ensure the spare ratio is between the recommended
12-15%.
Non-Public School Bus Transportation
A school transportation system should operate a fleet of
buses, which is limited to a size and can effectively be
used to provide safe, economical, and efficient
transportation. In view of the cost to purchase and maintain
a bus, the number of spare buses should be based on actual
needs. Bus fleets should be sized to provide more vehicles
than re-assigned for operational use each day. A minimum
10-15% spare ratio is recommended to ensure spare buses
are available in cases when; a bus(es) is in the shop for
repairs or maintenance or a bus(es) is involved in an
accident or experiences a mechanical breakdown.
Contractor buses that are identified as eligible spares
should be the buses in the best mechanical condition. The
selected dedicated buses should receive the appropriate
compensation.
