Case Study: St. Louis Metro achieves 300% uptime increase and $4M cost savings with AssetWorks FleetFocus

How the Metro Transit system of St. Louis leveraged AssetWorks FleetFocus and became the Federal Transit Administration’s model for best practices in the U.S. transit industry

Metro Transit St. Louis operates the region’s public transportation network—including light rail, buses, paratransit and supporting facilities—managing a 6,600‑unit fleet across 225 shops. The agency struggled with frequent breakdowns, poor engine reliability (average life ≈100,000 miles) and high rebuild rates, which drove up costs and threatened service reliability.

In 2003 Metro implemented AssetWorks FleetFocus and FuelFocus to enable browser‑based preventive and predictive maintenance, parts management, electronic work orders and RFID fuel tracking. The result: uptime rose 300%, average engine life climbed to ≈450,000 miles, annual engine rebuilds fell from ~120 to nine, maintenance costs were cut by about $4M, first‑year fuel savings were $600K, mechanic productivity improved, and the Federal Transit Administration cited Metro’s program as an industry best practice.

St. Louis Metro

Carl Thiessen

Chief Maintenance Officer