MTI Funded by U.S. Department of Services Transit Census California of Water 2012 Transportation and California The US Transit Bus Department of Transportation Manufacturing Industry MTI ReportMTI 12-02 December 2012 MTI Report 12-66 MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE MTI FOUNDER LEAD UNIVERSITY OF MNTRC Hon. Norman Y. Mineta The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) was established by Congress in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation MTI/MNTRC BOARD OF TRUSTEES Equity Act (ISTEA) and was reauthorized under the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century (TEA-21). MTI then successfully competed to be named a Tier 1 Center in 2002 and 2006 in the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Founder, Honorable Norman Joseph Boardman (Ex-Officio) Diane Woodend Jones (TE 2019) Richard A. White (Ex-Officio) Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). Most recently, MTI successfully competed in the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011 to Mineta (Ex-Officio) Chief Executive Officer Principal and Chair of Board Interim President and CEO be named a Tier 1 Transit-Focused University Transportation Center. The Institute is funded by Congress through the United States Secretary (ret.), US Department of Amtrak Lea+Elliot, Inc. American Public Transportation Transportation Association (APTA) Department of Transportation’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), University Transportation Vice Chair Anne Canby (TE 2017) Will Kempton (TE 2019) Centers Program, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and by private grants and donations. Hill & Knowlton, Inc. Director Executive Director Bud Wright (Ex-Officio) OneRail Coalition Transportation California Executive Director Honorary Chair, Honorable Bill American Association of State The Institute receives oversight from an internationally respected Board of Trustees whose members represent all major surface Shuster (Ex-Officio) Donna DeMartino (TE 2018) Art Leahy (TE 2018) Highway and Transportation Officials Chair General Manager and CEO CEO (AASHTO) transportation modes. MTI’s focus on policy and management resulted from a Board assessment of the industry’s unmet needs House Transportation and San Joaquin Regional Transit District Metrolink and led directly to the choice of the San José State University College of Business as the Institute’s home. The Board provides Infrastructure Committee Edward Wytkind (Ex-Officio) United States House of William Dorey (TE 2017) Jean-Pierre Loubinoux (Ex-Officio) President policy direction, assists with needs assessment, and connects the Institute and its programs with the international transportation Representatives Board of Directors Director General Transportation Trades Dept., community. Granite Construction, Inc. International Union of Railways AFL-CIO Honorary Co-Chair, Honorable (UIC) Peter DeFazio (Ex-Officio) Malcolm Dougherty (Ex-Officio) MTI’s transportation policy work is centered on three primary responsibilities: Vice Chair Director Abbas Mohaddes (TE 2018) (TE) = Term Expiration or Ex-Officio House Transportation and California Department of CEO * = Past Chair, Board of Trustee Infrastructure Committee Transportation The Mohaddes Group United States House of Research Representatives Mortimer Downey* (TE 2018) Jeff Morales (TE 2019) MTI works to provide policy-oriented research for all levels of sity system. With the active assistance of the California President CEO Chair, Nuria Fernandez Mort Downey Consulting, LLC California High-Speed Rail Authority government and the private sector to foster the development Department of Transportation, MTI delivers its classes over (TE 2017) of optimum surface transportation systems. Research areas in- a state-of-the-art videoconference network throughout General Manager and CEO Rose Guilbault (TE 2017) Beverley Swaim-Staley (TE 2019) Valley Transportation Board Member President clude: transportation security; planning and policy development; the state of California and via webcasting beyond, allowing Authority Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Union Station Redevelopment interrelationships among transportation, land use, and the working transportation professionals to pursue an advanced Board (Caltrain) Corporation environment; transportation finance; and collaborative labor- degree regardless of their location. To meet the needs of Vice Chair, Grace Crunican (TE 2019) Ed Hamberger (Ex-Officio) Michael Townes* (TE 2017) management relations. Certified Research Associates conduct employers seeking a diverse workforce, MTI’s education General Manager President/CEO President the research. Certification requires an advanced degree, program promotes enrollment to under-represented groups. Bay Area Rapid Transit District Association of American Railroads Michael S. Townes, LLC gener-ally a PhD, a record of academic publications, and Executive Director, Steve Heminger* (TE 2018) Marlene Turner, Ph.D. (Ex-Officio) profession-al references. Research projects culminate in a Information and Technology Transfer Karen Philbrick, Ph.D. Executive Director Interim Dean, College of Business Mineta Transportation Institute Metropolitan Transportation San José State University peer-reviewed publication, available both in hardcopy and MTI promotes the availability of completed research to San José State University Commission on TransWeb, the MTI website (http://transweb.sjsu.edu). professional organizations and journals and works to integrate the research findings into the graduate education Education program. In addition to publishing the studies, the Institute Directors The educational goal of the Institute is to provide graduate-lev- also sponsors symposia to disseminate research results el education to students seeking a career in the development to transportation professionals and encourages Research and operation of surface transportation programs. MTI, through Associates to present their findings at conferences. The Karen Philbrick, Ph.D. Hilary Nixon, Ph.D. Ben Tripousis Executive Director Research and Technology World in Motion, MTI’s quarterly newsletter, covers National High-Speed Rail Connectivity Center San José State University, offers an AACSB-accredited Master of Transfer Director Science in Transportation Management and a graduate Certifi- innovation in the Institute’s research and education pro- Peter Haas, Ph.D. Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Ph.D. cate in Transportation Management that serve to prepare the na- grams. MTI’s extensive collection of transportation-related Education Director Brian Michael Jenkins National Transportation Finance Center tion’s transportation managers for the 21st century. The master’s publications is integrated into San José State University’s National Transportation Safety and Security Center degree is the highest conferred by the California State Univer- world-class Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the information presented MNTRC herein. This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation, University Transportation Centers Program and the California Department of Transportation, in the interest of information exchange. This report does not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the U.S. government, State of California, or the Mineta Transportation Institute, who assume no liability MINETA NATIONAL TRANSIT for the contents or use thereof. This report does not constitute a standard specification, design standard, or regulation. RESEARCH CONSORTIUM REPORT 12-66 THE US TRANSIT BUS MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY David Czerwinski, PhD Xu (Cissy) Hartling, PhD Jing Zhang, PhD October 2016 A publication of Mineta Transportation Institute Created by Congress in 1991 College of Business San José State University San José, CA 95192-0219 TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. CA-MTI-16-1234 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date The US Transit Bus Manufacturing Industry October 2016 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Authors 8. Performing Organization Report David Czerwinski, PhD, Xu (Cissy) Hartling, PhD, and Jing Zhang, PhD MTI Report 12-66 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Mineta Transportation Institute College of Business 11. Contract or Grant No. San José State University DTRT12-G-UTC21 San José, CA 95192-0219 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered California Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Final Report Division of Research, Innovation and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Systems Information Research and Technology 14. Sponsoring Agency Code MS-42, PO Box 942873 University Transportation Centers Program Sacramento, CA 94273-0001 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 15. Supplemental Notes 16. Abstract Manufacturing buses for the US transit market has been a challenging business over the last several decades. It is a small market with volatile demand. Many manufacturers have gone bankrupt, left the market, or been acquired by competitors. Manufacturers of transit buses in the US must comply with a wide range of operational and design regulations. The most salient policy areas include regulating emissions, disabled access, procurement, alternative fuels, the Altoona Test, pooled purchases and piggybacking, spare ratios, workforce training, minimum useful life, Buy