1. School buses
owned by SAUs shall be qualified for and complete the School Bus Refurbishment
Program before being qualified for the School Bus Purchase Program. If a school
bus fails the minimum field joint visual inspection qualification for the
School Bus Refurbishment Program, the bus may qualify for the School Bus
Purchase Program.
2. The minimum
qualifications to apply for a school bus replacement are:
A. Passenger vans shall have a minimum of
seven (7) years useful life and accumulated 100,000 miles. End of life
passenger vans shall be replaced by Type A or Type C school bus.
B. Type A school buses shall have a minimum
of ten (10) years useful life and accumulated 125,000 miles. Type A school
buses shall be replaced by Type A, Type C, or Type D school bus.
C. Type C (conventional) school buses shall
have a minimum of ten (10) years useful life and accumulated 125,000 miles.
Type C school buses shall be replaced by Type A, Type C, or Type D school
bus.
D. Type D (transit style)
school buses shall have a minimum of fourteen (14) years useful life and
accumulated 245,000 miles. Type D school buses shall be replaced by Type A,
Type C, or Type D school bus.
E.
SAUs that purchase Type D buses through the School Bus Purchase Program must:
(1) Provide a school bus preventative
maintenance program,
(2) Employ or
contract with school bus mechanics,
(3) Be capable of stocking school bus parts,
and
(4) Use the fleet maintenance
module of the state issued School Transportation Operations Program
software.
F. The
existing end of life bus shall be decommissioned and removed from fleet service
within one year of the SAU taking possession of the new approved school bus. If
a SAU does not retire the existing end of life bus during the one year time
period, subsidy for the approved bus purchase will be cancelled.
3. The minimum qualification to
apply for an addition to fleet school bus is when a SAU has one of the
following needs:
A. Buses equipped with a
wheelchair lift,
B. Buses to
accommodate increased enrollment,
C. Buses to transport persons with
disabilities,
D. Buses to replace
contracted services (emergency), or
E.
Buses to replace contracted services
(planned).
4. SAUs shall
have a planned school bus maintenance schedule that is updated annually in
order to qualify for the School Bus Purchase Program.
A. High cost school bus maintenance need is
not a criterion for buses being retired in the School Bus Purchase Program.
SAUs are responsible for school bus maintenance.
