Navigating Transit Industry Supply Chain Issues: How CCW Helps Agencies Stay on the Road
The North American transit bus industry has faced some recent challenges in regard to the health of its overall supply chain. From component manufacturers’ ability to supply to production lines on time to bus OEMs exiting the US market, this has created real challenges for transit agencies’ fleet strategies. Agencies across the country are grappling with extended lead times, parts shortages, and pressure to meet sustainability goals while also performing a balancing act with their capital and operating budgets in light of shifting federal and state policies in regard to public transportation.
At Complete Coach Works (CCW), we speak with agencies of all sizes, and the message is clear. Transit leaders are being asked to do more with less. Many are searching for immediate, cost-effective alternatives to traditional fleet replacement.
Here is a breakdown of the current challenges and how CCW can help bridge the gap.
Key Challenges Facing Transit Agencies
- Lead Times for New Buses: OEM production lead times have been extended recently due to fewer OEMs in the market and some challenges with component suppliers resulting in new bus deliveries in the 18–24-month range. For many agencies this creates fleet replacement gaps requiring older buses to remain on the road longer stretching maintenance budgets.
- Parts Shortages: At times, parts shortages occur especially for older equipment. Some agencies have resorted to cannibalizing other buses or reducing service to make daily pullouts.
- Aging Fleets: Many fleets are operating beyond their intended service life. This increases maintenance costs, reduces reliability, and negatively impacts the rider experience.
- Budget Constraints: Fluctuating state and federal funding are often a challenge to navigate. For bus fleets, a balanced fleet strategy that includes a mix of new buses and bus refurbishments has proven to be both cost effective and timely. More agencies are turning to refurbishments, and engine repowers to stretch their dollars further.
- Zero Emissions Strategies: Reducing emissions remains a desired goal for all of us in the industry. However, with the roll out of zero emission buses over the past few years everyone has learned that they are not a 1:1 replacement for traditional diesel buses and require significant attention in the short term for charging, route design and maintenance. For many, zero emission fleet plans have been slowed or put on hold in order to stabilize maintenance and operations groups to ensure on-time quality service to riders. This slowing has created gaps in fleet replacement plans for transit agencies.
How CCW Can Help
CCW provides fast, cost-effective solutions that help agencies respond to today’s challenges without waiting years or exceeding budgets. Our mid-life transit bus overhauls and refurbishments extend the life of existing buses through customized work scopes that improve reliability and passenger experience. These solutions are completed in a fraction of the time and at a much lower cost than new bus procurements. Further, CCW has the nation’s largest pre-owned bus inventory that can be purchased or leased with refurbishment as part of the scope of work as well.
For agencies dealing with parts shortages, we offer direct access to hard-to-find components for older buses, maintenance support, and repower services to keep fleets running. With in-house manufacturing and engineering, we deliver faster turnaround times and consistent quality.
We also support agencies in expediting procurement processes as we have a number of State Cooperative procurement contracts that can be used by transit agencies minimizing the amount of time needed to process a transaction.
Let’s Talk
If your agency is facing procurement delays, aging fleet challenges, or budget constraints, CCW is here to help and we have deployable solutions available at lower prices and faster delivery times to fill fleet gaps. Whether you need fleet overhauls, parts support, or assistance navigating complex procurement requirements, we offer real-world solutions that get results – fast.
Visit us at completecoach.com/contact to learn more!