Most of the transit critical success factors mentioned in the Operations Overview are directly related to a well-managed maintenance program. The factors related to maintenance are:
- Reliability of vehicles
- Safety of vehicles and therefore of passengers
- Security and comfort of the passenger
- Cleanliness of stations and vehicles
This relationship implies that managing maintenance costs requires intelligent trade-offs--an effective maintenance plan emphasizes preventive costs.
Maintenance costs are affected by the scale of service, vehicle reliability, maintenance policies, and prevailing cost rates.
Example: WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) has implemented policies for overhauling parts rather than replacing them. High-value parts such as fan motors for bus heating/air conditioning units can be overhauled every few years instead of replaced, extending the value of the parts and generating many thousands of dollars in cost savings without sacrificing vehicle reliability.
The categories and proportions of maintenance costs shown on the pie chart below would be typical for most transit agencies. Salary-related costs are clearly the dominant ongoing cost element--about 49% in this case, considering both salaries and benefits.
