Bus Procurement:
The View
from the
Supply Side
Price still reigns king; right-sizing
and electric power the trends.
By Brian A. Sullivan, Contributing Editor W ELECTRIC
HEN IT COMES TO BUS PROCUREMENT, WE
all know that the buy-side of the equation sets
the expectations for the market, and the original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and
the component suppliers must react to those
demands. To get a sense for the latest trends
in procurement, however, it is the sell-side of
the equation that has the fi nger on the pulse,
so it is important for the industry
to survey and assess what OEMs
and suppliers are recognizing as
VEHICLES are
increasing in
trends when transit buyers are
popularity,
developing their specifi cations
suppliers work to
and soliciting bids and proposals.
help customers
For example, it is no secret
understand the
that the demand (and even the
specifications.
mandate, in some cases) for zero
emission and electric-powered vehicles continues
to grow, but the one-size-fi ts-all approach to standardizing
fl eets is fading and right-sizing for the needs of
the operation is clearly the trend.
Procurement Process Status Quo;
Price Remains Paramount
Th e fi rst and most fundamental question when assessing
purchasing trends is to analyze the procurement
process itself. While the equipment and the technical
features continue to change and evolve, the process
of purchasing vehicles for transit agencies has not
changed much, if at all. “Procurement of transit vehicles
is not radically diff erent today than it has been
for last ten years,” said Patrick Scully, MCI Executive
Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “But while the
24 | Mass Transit | MassTransitmag.com | NOVEMBER 2018
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