The Proactive Maintenance Strategy and its impact on the Performance in Public Transport

Abstract The availability of public transport is one of the most important strategic goals of transport companies in terms of mobility, quality, safety, and environmental sustainability. Satisfying customer requirements for mobility and sustainability, while also achieving an acceptable level of environmental protection and quality of life, is the main goal of public transport. The breakdown of public transport vehicles represents a fundamental barrier to meeting the goals of public transport sustainability. The main goal of the article is to optimize the maintenance process in a transport company in Slovakia with an orientation to cost reduction from the perspective of the ineffective maintenance process. An important role in the elimination of faults is played by the maintenance process of public transport vehicles and the setting of a maintenance strategy in terms of minimizing costs and the number of vehicle faults. The results of economic analyses pointed to increasing costs for the maintenance process, increasing vehicle kilometers, increasing maintenance costs per vehicle kilometer, and increasing spare parts costs for public transport vehicles. Improving the economic and technical parameters of public transport vehicles makes it possible to increase the overall performance of the transport company in Slovakia. The proactive maintenance enriched with autonomous and predictive elements creates the basis for maintenance strategy in public transport with environmental, social, and economic sustainability.