A new school bus costs well over $100,000, and an electric one far more, so nobody replaces buses on a whim. But without a plan, buses get replaced when they fail: three of them in the same summer, all at once, with the money found at the last minute. A school bus replacement plan spreads that out so a few buses are replaced every year, the oldest and most expensive first.
Here's how to decide when a bus is due, what the states use as a guide, and how to turn it into a schedule you can budget for.
The three things that decide it
| What | Why it matters | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Older buses miss newer safety features, and many states and districts set a limit | The model year and purchase date |
| Miles | Engines, transmissions and frames wear with miles, and some states count them | The odometer |
| Upkeep cost | When a bus costs more each year to keep running than it's worth, it's time | Work orders and fuel, per bus, per year |
Add the things that don't show in a number: a bus that keeps breaking down on its route, parts that are hard to find, rust in the frame or floor, and a new contract that asks for newer buses, cameras or a lift.
What the states use as a guide
- North Carolina replaces state-funded buses at 20 years or 250,000 miles.
- A widely used NASDPTS paper on replacement suggests about 12 to 15 years for full-size buses and 8 to 10 years for small ones, adjusted for miles and the roads they run on.
- Many districts' contracts set a maximum age for a contractor's buses, often 10 to 15 years, and some ask for a newer fleet average.
Good to know: Age and mileage limits, inspection rules and grant programs differ by state and district, and change. Check your state's rules and your contracts before you set your own numbers.
Building the plan
- List every bus with its year, odometer, purchase price, what it's worth now, and what it cost to keep running last year.
- Give each bus a replacement year: the earlier of its age limit and its mileage limit at the rate it's driving.
- Move a bus earlier when its upkeep is climbing fast or it's often in the shop.
- Spread the years out so you replace about the same number of buses each year. A fleet of 30 buses on a 15-year cycle replaces about 2 a year.
- Put a price next to each year, less the trade-in or sale of the old bus, and set money aside for it.
- Look at it again every year, before you bid on contracts and before you order buses, since new buses can take months to arrive.
Tip: When the oldest bus is replaced, it often makes a good spare for a year or two before it's sold, as long as it still passes inspection.
Doing it in FleetCommander
The numbers for each bus. Each bus's record has its Year, Odometer (mi), Engine hours, Purchase date, Purchase price ($) and Current value ($). Under Reports, Vehicle age lists every bus with its Make / model, Year, Age (years), Odometer, Purchased, Purchase price and Current value, so the oldest are at the top when you sort by age.
What it costs to keep. Maintenance costs shows the labor and parts on each bus's work orders for the dates you choose, Vehicle costs puts fuel, maintenance and other expenses side by side, and Cost per mile divides each bus's total by the miles it drove. Every report can be exported as CSV, Excel or PDF to sit next to your budget. See the Reports guide and the cost per mile calculator.
Ava (Beta), the assistant in the app, answers Bus 104 engine hours or Any maintenance overdue on Bus 104?. More on her page.
Related reading
Questions people ask
- How long does a school bus last?
- Full-size buses are often replaced at about 12 to 15 years and small buses sooner, though some states allow up to 20 years or a set number of miles. Upkeep cost and state and contract rules decide it.
- What mileage should a school bus be replaced at?
- It depends on the state and the bus. North Carolina, for example, replaces state-funded buses at 250,000 miles or 20 years, whichever comes first.
- How many buses should we replace each year?
- Divide the number of buses by your replacement cycle in years. A fleet of 30 buses on a 15-year cycle replaces about 2 a year.
- What should a replacement plan include?
- Each bus's year, miles, purchase price and current value, what it cost to keep last year, its planned replacement year, and the expected price for each year.