With the debut of the highly anticipated Detroit™ DD5™ and DD8™ diesel engines earlier this year came one of the most advanced remote diagnostic service available on the market, the Detroit^™ Connect Virtual Technician^℠ remote diagnostic service.  This new service, which is now standard and factory-installed on all school buses equipped with either the DD5 or DD8 engine, helps take the guesswork out of bus maintenance, increasing uptime and reducing maintenance costs.

At the same time, the Detroit Customer Support Center provides fleet managers with the cause of the fault code, recommendations for fault resolution and, if necessary, what parts are needed to fix the issue and where to find them.

Sometimes the Detroit Customer Support Center will recommend that the driver pull the bus over immediately for safety reasons or to avoid further damage.  Other times, they will recommend that the fault is resolved when the bus returns to the lot later in the day.  This allows you to service your buses when needed and to prioritize severe maintenance issues. It also saves you time, money and provides a safer riding experience for the students onboard.

“Many of our customers are finding that the benefits of having a remote diagnostic service on their school bus not only make their jobs easier but also decreases the total cost of ownership of their fleet,” said Caley Edgerly, president and CEO of Thomas Built Buses. “Real-time transmission of fault data provides huge savings in maintenance costs.  Being connected in this way is becoming invaluable for many of our customers and soon will be a must-have for all districts across the country.”

To learn more about Detroit Connect Virtual Technician or other innovations on Thomas Built buses, school districts should speak with their local Thomas Built dealer.