This synthesis will be of interest to transit agency general managers; operations, planning, maintenance, and finance personnel; as well as to regional, state, and federal funding agencies, and others concerned with the provision of safe and efficient public transit service. This synthesis documents critical site-specific variables that influence transit agencies' spare bus ratio policies. It profiles a select group of transit agencies of varying sizes and geographic locations and describes their operating environments in order to relate how these affect the number of spare buses each agency needs to meet its service requirements. This report of the Transportation Research Board provides information to familiarise transit agency staff with the unique and different operational, environmental, and political factors that affect optimal fleet size at various transit agencies. It describes the efforts of agencies striving to achieve and maintain lower spare ratios while continuously challenged with ridership fluctuations, ageing fleets, as well as operating environments, maintenance programs, fleet mixes, roadcalls, training programs, and management and finance considerations. (A)
Abstract