Rural transit regional maintenance center economic modeling

Rural transit providers continue to face challenges with the increase in rural, elderly and disabled population. Due to road conditions and distance traveled, rural transit vehicles often require frequent maintenance and repair work compared to urban transit vehicles and thus require a higher maintenance and repair budget. One proposed method to address rising maintenance cost and to simultaneously increase quality is the centralization of maintenance and repair operations, performed in strategically located regional maintenance centers (RMC) with resident technical expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and software, and managerial expertise. Operating a RMC involves large capital investment. The expected return will be better service, lower costs and increased vehicle longetivity. This study identifies the critical factors to constructs an economic model to study the feasibility of operating a RMC for rural transit vehicles compared to current maintenance practices. The goal of this study is an economic model that provides insights into the financial performance of RMC and potential financial peculiarities.