Section 071-85-3 - Minimum Program Qualifications for SAUS to Apply for the School Bus Purchase Program1. School buses owned by SAUs shall be qualified for and complete the School Bus Refurbishment Program before being qualified for the School Bus Purchase Program. If a school bus fails the minimum field joint visual inspection qualification for the School Bus Refurbishment Program, the bus may qualify for the School Bus Purchase Program. 2. The minimum qualifications to apply for a school bus replacement are: A. Passenger vans shall have a minimum of seven (7) years useful life and accumulated 100,000 miles. End of life passenger vans shall be replaced by Type A or Type C school bus. B. Type A school buses shall have a minimum of ten (10) years useful life and accumulated 125,000 miles. Type A school buses shall be replaced by Type A, Type C, or Type D school bus. C. Type C (conventional) school buses shall have a minimum of ten (10) years useful life and accumulated 125,000 miles. Type C school buses shall be replaced by Type A, Type C, or Type D school bus.D. Type D (transit style) school buses shall have a minimum of fourteen (14) years useful life and accumulated 245,000 miles. Type D school buses shall be replaced by Type A, Type C, or Type D school bus.E. SAUs that purchase Type D buses through the School Bus Purchase Program must: (1) Provide a school bus preventative maintenance program,(2) Employ or contract with school bus mechanics,(3) Be capable of stocking school bus parts, and (4) Use the fleet maintenance module of the state issued School Transportation Operations Program software.F. The existing end of life bus shall be decommissioned and removed from fleet service within one year of the SAU taking possession of the new approved school bus. If a SAU does not retire the existing end of life bus during the one year time period, subsidy for the approved bus purchase will be cancelled.3. The minimum qualification to apply for an addition to fleet school bus is when a SAU has one of the following needs: A. Buses equipped with a wheelchair lift,B. Buses to accommodate increased enrollment,C. Buses to transport persons with disabilities,D. Buses to replace contracted services (emergency), orE. Buses to replace contracted services (planned).4. SAUs shall have a planned school bus maintenance schedule that is updated annually in order to qualify for the School Bus Purchase Program. A. High cost school bus maintenance need is not a criterion for buses being retired in the School Bus Purchase Program. SAUs are responsible for school bus maintenance. 05- 071 C.M.R. ch. 85, § 3