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The Pennsylvania Transportation Institute (PTI) operates the Bus Testing and Research Center for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The objective of this paper is to present a summary of important findings during the first eight years of Center operation. This paper presents an overview of the test procedures and a descriptive matrix of vehicles submitted for testing. A summary of test results is provided, which includes a distribution of failures classified by severity and subsystem type. The paper briefly describes the developmental status of including brake performance and emissions testing as well as future plans for the implementation of electric and hybrid-electric bus testing.

It is a common practice throughout the vehicle manufacturing industry to perform full-scale durability tests on new model vehicles. Durability tests are initially conducted on prototype vehicles for design validation and then later, on production units to ensure it's structural integrity and to obtain data that can be used for future design improvements. In the case of commercial and transit vehicles, this information can be particularly useful for projecting it's minimum expected service life. Vehicle durability testing typically involves subjecting the vehicle to stress inducing inputs similar to those that would normally be encountered in an expected service environment. These inputs are applied to the vehicle at an accelerated rate to reduce the total testing time. Vehicle inputs for a durability test are imparted through either a test track or a mechanical road simulators such as four-post shakers. Each method has its advantages and limitations.