BACKGROUND 

Over the past several years, the public transportation industry has made significant progress in establishing industry standards for transit vehicle maintenance--both bus and rail.  Among the multiple efforts to  establish industry standards for transit bus maintenance technicians is TCRP Project E-6,"Transit Bus Mechanics: Building for Success — The Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Transit Bus Maintenance Certification Test Series." TCRP Project E-6 brought transit expertise to the table with experts from ASE to develop transit-specific standards and established ASE as the certification body for transit bus mechanics. In parallel with TCRP Project E-6, a joint labor-management committee for bus maintenance training standards began work in 2004.  The joint labor-management training standards committee was convened by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) to develop detailed learning objectives in vehicle maintenance subject areas.  As a result of these various efforts, there is a program to become ASE certified as a transit bus maintenance technician. Other efforts to establish industry standards for transit vehicle maintenance include, TCRP Project E-7, "Establishing a National Transit Industry Rail Vehicle Technician Qualification Program: Building for Success."  Similar to TCRP Project E-6, TCRP Project E-7 is currently underway and focuses on certification for rail vehicle technicians.  

 
The industry now needs to define and establish credentials for a national training and certification program for transit vehicle maintenance instructors.

OBJECTIVE

TCRP Project F-19, A National Training and Certification Program for Transit Vehicle Maintenance Instructors, seeks to develop a business plan for potential implementation of a vehicle maintenance instructor training and certification program.  The deliverables will include (1) a feasibility study; (2) a best practices report; (3) a training and certification program plan; and (4) a business plan for implementation of a vehicle maintenance instructor training and certification program.

STATUS: The final report has been published as TCRP Report 178, A National Training and Certification Program for Transit Vehicle Maintenance Instructors.


PRODUCT AVAILABILITY

TCRP Report 178, A National Training and Certification Program for Transit Vehicle Maintenance Instructors, is available for download from the TRB website.