Bus Technology Center

For the past 26 years TRC has worked successfully with virtually every bus manufacturer that provides transit buses to the North American market. Our professional staff consists of 38 engineers, managers, maintenance specialists and bus inspectors who work on bus quality assurance projects, maintenance audits, fuels and emissions studies, and Buy America audits. Our nationally known experts are the finest in the nation and have worked with transit agencies of all sizes.

TRC’s Bus Technology Center is now staffed by a group of recognized experts who have worldwide experience in bus engineering and bus technology. Core members of TRC’s engineering staff include the following:

Mr. Ralph Malec
Mr. John Schiavone
Mr. Dan Denman
Mr. Al Rodi

The Bus Technology Center provides experienced engineering and technical assistance in such areas as:

Technical liaison with FTA and state DOT’s on bus capital grants.
Analysis of transit bus duty cycles.
Development of bus performance requirements.
Development of bus specifications – both performance based and prescriptive based.
Evaluation and testing of fuel alternatives for transit buses.
Hybrid bus technology evaluation.
Development of bid documents for bus purchases, including draft contracts.
Evaluation of approved equals and exceptions requests by manufacturers.
Evaluation of bids by bus suppliers.
Contract negotiations with bus manufacturers and dealers.
Evaluation of production capacity and financial capability of bus manufacturers.
Preparation of Buy America Pre-Award Audits.
Management of pre-production meetings with manufacturers.

Providing in-plant quality assurance inspections services.
Providing engineering guidance during the manufacturing phase of new bus production.
Post-Delivery acceptance inspections of new buses.
Post-Delivery Buy America Audits.
Periodic fleet maintenance audits, including fleet condition inspections during contract turnover.
Preparation of fleet-specific preventive maintenance plans.
Warranty administration and dispute resolution.
Fleet defect analysis.
Emissions testing.
Bus fire and accident investigations.
Maintenance staff evaluations.
Shop safety and regulatory compliance audits.
Maintenance technician training programs.
Development of bus maintenance training manuals.
Preparation of comprehensive bus maintenance programs.
Advisory services on bus maintenance shop design.