After a successful inaugural launch last year, METRO Magazine and BusCon announced the Transit Maintenance Forum (TMF) for senior transit maintenance professionals will return to this year’s conference at Indianapolis’ Indiana Convention Center Sept. 11 to 13 with an expanded program that begins Monday afternoon with a training session each from Cummins and Allison Transmission officials.

Topics include the shaping of zero-emission bus procurement and workforce development training standards, with the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Jeff Hiott and the Southern California Regional Transit Training Consortium’s Nina Babiarz, which will provide an update on APTA’s work to create standards for the procurement of electric buses, as well as how the industry is working to develop new courses to fill the need for both basic and advanced training.

Meanwhile, “A Look at Conductive and Inductive Charging of Electric Buses,” featuring Michael Masquelier, CEO for WAVE, and David Warren, director, sustainable transportation, for New Flyer, will give attendees a look at the latest technologies on the market that use both conductive and inductive methods to charge vehicles, including how these solutions work, how they are evolving, and how they are being implemented at other operations. 

The program continues on Wednesday with a federal regulatory update from Federal Transit Administration officials on both the Transit Asset Management Rule and bus testing. Also on Wednesday, “How the Industry Can Tackle Labor and Staffing Needs” will discuss how training programs have been developed both regionally and at individual transit agencies to keep technicians on pace to growth their skills and careers.

For an economical $98, attendees have the opportunity to not only attend the Transit Maintenance Forum, but also all of BusCon’s networking events and the Keynote Address — How Connected/Automated Vehicle Technology Will Impact Transportation — with WSP USA’s Scott Shogan.

For more information and to register, click here.