Every contractor knows roughly what the shop costs in a year. Far fewer know what each bus costs. That's the number that tells you which bus to replace next, whether a district contract still pays, and whether the shop's bill went up because of one bad bus or across the whole fleet.
This guide shows how to work out the maintenance cost per bus, what to include, how bus age changes it, and how to use it to decide when a bus has become more trouble than it's worth.
What goes into it
| Cost | Include | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Parts | Filters, oil, brakes, tires, belts, lights, anything fitted | Work orders, parts used from stock |
| Labor | Your mechanics' hours at a loaded rate (pay plus taxes and benefits) | Hours on each work order |
| Outside repairs | Dealer work, body shops, glass, towing | Vendor invoices |
| Inspections | State inspections, re-inspections after a fail | Invoices or your own labor |
| Downtime (optional) | A spare bus or a rental while it's in the shop | Your own estimate |
Keep fuel, insurance and the driver separate. They're part of the full cost per mile, but mixing them in hides which buses are hard to keep running.
A worked example
Three buses over one school year (the numbers are an example, not an average):
| Bus | Age | Work orders | Parts | Labor | Total | Per mile (12,000 mi) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus 104 | 3 years | 6 | $1,900 | $1,400 | $3,300 | $0.28 |
| Bus 109 | 8 years | 11 | $4,200 | $3,100 | $7,300 | $0.61 |
| Bus 112 | 13 years | 19 | $7,800 | $5,600 | $13,400 | $1.12 |
Same routes, same miles, and the oldest bus costs four times as much to keep. On its own that isn't proof it should go, but it's the start of the question.
How age changes it
- The first few years: mostly scheduled maintenance, and many repairs are under warranty.
- The middle years: brakes, tires, batteries, suspension parts and the first bigger repairs.
- Later: engine, transmission, emissions systems, rust and wiring, with more days in the shop.
- Your state's age limit: some states and districts set a maximum age or mileage for school buses in service.
Tip: Look at repair cost by category across the fleet too. If brake jobs cost far more than they should, the problem may be how buses are driven or the parts you buy, not the buses' age.
Using it to decide when to replace a bus
- Work out each bus's cost per year and per mile for the last two or three years.
- Add the days out of service, and what covering them cost.
- Compare with the payment on a newer bus, plus its lower maintenance and fuel costs.
- Check what's coming: a big repair due soon, an emissions part, or a state age limit next year.
- Check the contract: how many years are left, and whether a district asks for newer buses.
- Decide each year, before the budget, not when the bus breaks down in October.
Good to know: Replacement decisions also depend on financing, resale value and grants such as clean-bus programs. Talk to your accountant before you decide.
Doing it in FleetCommander
Every work order carries its parts, labor and outside cost, so the reports add it up per bus. Under Reports › Maintenance, Maintenance costs shows each vehicle's Work orders, Labor, Parts and Total for work opened in the period you choose. Repair costs by category groups the same spend by repair category, with an Average / order.
Under Reports › Fleet, Vehicle costs puts each bus's Fuel, Maintenance (completed work orders) and Other expenses side by side with a Total, and Vehicle age lists each bus's year, age, mileage, purchase price and current value. Cost per mile divides each bus's total cost by the miles it drove. Every report can be sorted and printed, or exported as CSV, Excel or PDF. See the Reports guide, the Work Orders guide and the cost per mile calculator.
Ava (Beta), the assistant in the app, answers Any open work orders? or Which work orders are waiting for parts?. More on her page.
Related reading
Questions people ask
- How much does it cost to maintain a school bus per year?
- It varies a lot with the bus's age, miles, type and your labor rate. Work it out for your own buses from parts, labor and outside repairs on each one; a newer bus often costs a fraction of an older one on the same routes.
- What should be included in maintenance cost per bus?
- Parts, your mechanics' labor at a loaded rate, outside repairs and inspections. Keep fuel, insurance and drivers separate, so you can see which buses are hard to keep running.
- When should a school bus be replaced?
- When its yearly maintenance and downtime cost more than a newer bus would, a big repair is coming, or a state or district age limit says so. Look at two or three years of costs per bus before deciding.
- How do you find the most expensive bus to maintain?
- Add up each bus's work orders for the year, parts and labor, and sort from highest to lowest. Compare per mile too, so a bus that simply drives more isn't blamed unfairly.