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Home >Pupil Transportation >Approval Criteria and Decision Factors

School Facilities Services/Transportation Team

School Bus Purchase Requests

Approval Criteria and Decision Factors

Approval Criteria and Decision Factors for Replacement Buses:

  1. Age and mileage of the vehicle(s) being replaced

    • Type A and B School Buses – 10 years, 125,000 miles minimum.
    • Conventional School Bus – 10 years, 125,000 miles, minimum.
    • Transit type School Bus – 15 years, 300,000 miles minimum.
  2. Average age and average mileage of the SAU’s school bus fleet and average replacement cycle (number of years to completely replace the fleet at the historical rate of replacement).
  3. Percent of the SAU’s fleet that exceeds the replacement thresholds in Criteria #1.
  4. Condition of the bus(es) being replaced (considers repair costs to keep the vehicle roadworthy for another year as well as the most recent state inspection report on the vehicle).
  5. Average incremental miles per year for the vehicle being replaced.
  6. Average seat utilization in the SAU’s fleet (# of students transported divided by the number of seats available counting all buses in the SAU’s fleet).
  7. Lift equipped vehicle needs.

Approval Criteria and Decision Factors for Fleet Additions:

  1. New disabled student transportation need
  2. Non-conforming Van replacement.
  3. Average incremental miles per year per bus and number of spare buses in the SAU’s fleet.
  4. Average seat utilization in the SAU’s fleet (# of students transported divided by the number of seats available counting all buses in the SAU’s fleet).
  5. Buses to accommodate increased enrollment or changing demographics of student population.
  6. Buses to replace contracted services.