10 Maintenance Tips for Your School Bus Fleet

Back to School for Bus Fleets

The end of summer doesn't just signify a return to school for students and teachers — the country's school bus drivers will also return to work in many parts of the country. During a typical school year, the country runs over 480,000 buses upwards of 4.4 billion miles, so back to school time means that it's also time for school bus fleet owners and operators to get their bus fleets up and going again.

No matter how many buses and routes you're running this year, preventative maintenance for school buses should be an essential back to school tradition. Safe pick-ups, drop-offs, and on-time delivery of students to school cannot be understated, so taking the time before each trip to properly inspect buses is crucial. Here's everything you should be looking for to ensure that everyone has a good year.

1. Inspect the Vehicle Bodies

Taking a walk all around the bus can give you an idea of what bumps, dents, scratches, and other visible marks are present on the bus as well as any visible inconsistencies in the:

• Mirrors
• Grills
• Windowpanes
• Head lamps
• Tires
• Reflectors
• Other visible parts and components

One of the most important elements of keeping your fleet up is catching early signs of wear and tear before they lead to part failure or unexpected downtime.

2. Check the Engines

Like any engine, a bus engine is made up of dozens of individual parts and components that should all work together seamlessly. A bus engine is only as good as its individual parts, so take the time and check your bus fleets for:

• Leaking oil
• Broken seals
• Blocked vents
• Sounds or vibrations coming from the engine area
• Valves, tubes, wires, filters, plugs and other components that don't look right or aren't working properly

When the engine's not working, the vehicle's not working, so even though it takes a little bit of extra time to do a proper engine check, it's well worth the investment.

3. Do the Lights and Horns Work?

Lights, indicators, and markers are crucial to the safety of any vehicle and certainly cannot be overlooked in this vocation. The safety of school bus drivers, their passengers, and other motorists on the road depend on the function of bus lights and horns. It's a good rule of thumb to make a list of all the lights on the bus and keep an eye on:

• Brightness
• Connections
• Wiring
• Horn capacity

The safety and compliance of these vehicles relies on swift repair when there's a light out or if the horn can't be heard.

4. Gear and Pedal Functionality

When it comes to school bus accidents, prevention is everything, and part of going that extra mile to keep your bus fleet safe on the road is ensuring that drivers can both accelerate and slow down when necessary when using the:

• Gears
• Brakes
• Clutch
• Pedals

The reputation of a school bus company can be easily affected by one preventable accident, so making sure the gears and pedals are at full functionality for bus drivers will pay off later.

5. Oils and Lubricants

It can be easy to overlook coolant, oil, and other lubricants during inspections. But this is an essential part of any vehicle, and with all the miles that school buses rack up in any given year, it's important to ensure proper lubrication in:

• Moving pedals
• Rotating joints and shafts
• Steering columns
• Wheel bearings
• And more

Don't just check the oil and gas levels – check it all!

6. Emergency/Safety

You never know what can happen on the way to and from school, and a good bus is one that's prepared for any situation. In addition to the lights and signals, ensure the presence and compliance of:

• Fire extinguishers
• First aid kits
• Emergency triangles
• Spare parts
• Emergency exit doors

Some of these must be checked on a regular basis for safety regulations, but don't wait on an annual inspection to have these supplies and parts up to date.

7. Gauge/Meter Accuracy

In order to make sure your oils and lubricants are at the right levels you also need to make sure your gauges and meters on the driver panel are working. Keep an eye on the meters and gauges that measure:

• Fuel levels
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Speed

8. Don't Forget the Wheels

Most of the attention the wheels get during a pre-trip inspection is whether the tires are inflated or not, but additional trouble can lurk inside of the wheel hub that can put buses out of service. In addition to air pressure, also be sure to also check:

• Tread thickness
• Disc condition
• Lug nuts
• Vibrations or sounds coming from the wheels

If your buses are in an area that experiences winter road salt and other debris on the roads, proper wheel end cleaning and maintenance is especially a must.

9. Proper Brake System Checks

There's no questioning that buses are heavy vehicles and carrying loads of students back and forth all day in various road and weather conditions can take a toll on brakes. School bus brakes need to always be in proper working order, and air brakes themselves require regular attention to add longevity to their performance and lifespan.

Knowing and understanding the specs of your bus fleet's air brake systems can help you better determine when something's off, which can also help you prevent dangerous situations.

10. Start the School Year Right with Aftermarket Bus Parts

No fix on a school bus is one that can wait. The safety of the students that you transport, the drivers that you employ, and the reputation of your company all depend on early detection and repair on any of the above systems. And when you need to replace, rebuild, or upgrade your school bus parts, our full haul of heavy-duty everything can help you get up and stay up all year long.

Log in or create an account today to get started on your back to school shopping for your Blue Bird, Thomas Built, and other school bus makes. Not sure what you're looking for? We're here every step of the way to make sure you go into the new school year feeling ready and confident.