The report provides an overview of electronics and its application to buses and other transportation sectors. The report then addresses electronic integration, potential benefits offered by integration, and transit agency experiences with the technology. The report concludes with guidelines for implementing transit bus electronics. It is intended to be a primer on the subject, providing essential background information to serve as a starting point for acquiring additional knowledge.

The purpose is to document training practices at a sampling of transit agencies concerning the application and repair of advanced on-board electronics so that key personnel have the knowledge needed to make informed decisions. The objectives of the synthesis were to examine the level of E/E training being provided by transit agencies to highlight innovative and effective training approaches and, based on findings from the conclusions, to provide agencies with the opportunity to improve their training programs. Because maintenance is an area that is often overlooked, this synthesis gives it the greatest focus.

This synthesis reviews the state of the practice in how data are analyzed. It addresses methods used to analyze data and what computer systems are used to store and process data. It also covers accuracy issues, including measurement error, and other problems including error in estimates. This document from the Transportation Research Board addresses agency experience with different data collection systems, giving attention to management error, the need for sampling, and methods for screening, editing, and compensating for data imperfection. Sample reports from selected U.S. and Canadian transit agencies are reproduced in this synthesis.

This synthesis will be of interest to transit agency staff responsible for vehicle maintenance and planning at their agencies. Staff can use this report to learn from the experiences of other agencies, as well as to compare their experiences with those of other agencies. It documents and summarizes transit agency experiences, using various maintenance productivity improvements and programming. The report summarizes the experiences of agencies that vary in size, union affiliation, and operating conditions. It provides descriptions of successful programs and creative modifications to existing programs.

This report should be of interest to transit bus maintenance managers and others interested in the development of written transit bus maintenance procedures, or "practices," and the sharing of these practices with others in the transit industry. The report provides guidance on how to develop effective transit bus maintenance practices tailored to one's local operating environment. It provides seven sample practices developed using the guidance. Complementing this report is an on-line Web Board sponsored by the Transportation Research Board's Committee on Transit Fleet Maintenance. This Web Board allows transit agencies to post their maintenance practices for others to review, revise as necessary for their own operating conditions, and use. The report provides instructions on how to access the Web Board, use it to develop maintenance practices, and share these practices among transit agencies.