Transit Steering and Suspension develops the competencies required to inspect, diagnose, service, and repair the steering and suspension systems of transit vehicles: steering gear and linkage, power steering, air suspension and levelling, axles and wheel ends, alignment, and the wheel and tire service that goes with them.
Within the SCNS taxonomy, DIM is the Diesel Mechanics prefix, and the 0-level number identifies this as postsecondary adult vocational (PSAV) coursework — zero college credits, 120 clock hours. It appears at approximately three Florida institutions.
Steering and suspension on a transit bus carries a distinctive requirement that lighter vehicles do not: the vehicle must kneel and maintain a consistent floor height for accessible boarding, which makes the air suspension a passenger-access system as well as a ride-quality system. That, plus the mass involved and the constant curb-strike duty of urban service, is what makes this a specialization.
These are PSAV clock-hour courses within Florida's Transit Maintenance programme, structured as a series of occupational completion points (OCPs) — each a discrete, employable competency block rather than a term of general study. A student may complete one OCP and go to work, or stack several. Colleges commonly package them as Bus Transit Technician I and II certificates.
| Course | Title | Clock hours |
|---|---|---|
| DIM0810 | Transit Equipment Preventive Maintenance Technician | 200 |
| DIM0811 | Transit Basic Electrical Systems Technician | 120 |
| DIM0812 | Transit Wheelchair Lift/Ramp Technician | 60 |
| DIM0813 | Transit Diesel Engine Preventive Maintenance Technician | 120 |
| DIM0814 | Transit Steering and Suspension Technician | 120 |
| DIM0820 | Transit Hydraulics Technician | 60 |
⚠ These hour values are derived, not quoted from a fetched framework. The FLDOE curriculum frameworks are the authoritative source, and fldoe.org currently refuses automated retrieval — the values above were assembled from search results reporting the OCP structure, cross-checked against the Hillsborough Community College programme listing. They are internally consistent, but verify against your own institution's published framework before relying on the exact number, and note that FLDOE frameworks are revised on a published cycle.
Note also that DIM0812 (Wheelchair Lift/Ramp) is part of the series but is not currently in this repository's queue, and that the transit series is distinct from the general diesel series this repository already carries — DIM0101C, DIM0102C, DIM0104C, and DIM0105C — which run at 150 to 300 hours per block. Same prefix, different programme. SCNS equivalency does not cross numbers.
Two things distinguish transit air suspension work, and both matter.
It is accessibility equipment. The kneeling system and ride height control are what allow a bus to lower to the curb and present a consistent floor height for boarding, including for ramp deployment. A suspension fault that prevents kneeling is not a comfort complaint — it is an ADA compliance issue with the same operational urgency as a lift defect, and agencies track it accordingly.
It is a stored-energy system. Air suspension components hold substantial pressure, and a vehicle can move unexpectedly when air is released or applied. The safety discipline is specific: chock the wheels, support the vehicle on stands rather than on the suspension, relieve system pressure before disconnecting components, and never work under a bus supported only by air springs — a bag failure or a valve actuation drops it. Compressed air injuries are severe and are entirely preventable.
The most transferable diagnostic skill in this course. Abnormal tire wear is a symptom with a specific cause, and a technician who can read the pattern diagnoses the vehicle without instruments.
The standard patterns: wear on both shoulders indicates underinflation; centre wear indicates overinflation; one-sided wear indicates a camber problem; feathering across the tread indicates a toe problem; and cupping or scalloping indicates worn shocks or an out-of-balance condition. Each points at a different repair.
The economic argument matters in a transit fleet: tires are among the largest consumable costs, and a misaligned bus destroys them at a rate that dwarfs the cost of the alignment. A technician who catches a wear pattern at a PM inspection and escalates it has saved the agency real money — and the case for the repair is the wear pattern itself, documented.
The related discipline is inflation, which is the largest single controllable factor in tire life and in fuel consumption, and which is checked at every PM for exactly that reason.
The single most important current safety content, and one that older training material does not cover adequately.
Transit fleets are electrifying. Battery-electric and hybrid buses are in service across Florida agencies, and they operate at voltages that are lethal — traction battery systems run at hundreds of volts DC, far beyond anything in a conventional diesel bus. The hazards are different in kind from 12- or 24-volt work:
Conventional hazards remain and are also serious: lifting and jacking a vehicle of this mass, compressed air systems that store substantial energy, diesel exhaust in an enclosed shop requiring ventilation, hot surfaces and coolant under pressure, and working under a raised vehicle, where the discipline is that a jack is a lifting device and a stand is a supporting device. Verify current manufacturer procedures rather than relying on general guidance.
A practical requirement students frequently do not anticipate. Transit maintenance technicians move buses — into and out of bays, onto lifts, and on road tests — and most transit agencies therefore require or strongly prefer a commercial driver's licence with a passenger endorsement.
Three things to know. The CDL is obtained through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, not through the college, and federal Entry-Level Driver Training requirements apply to new applicants for a Class A or B CDL and certain endorsements — training must be delivered by a provider listed on the FMCSA Training Provider Registry. It carries a DOT medical certification requirement, which is a genuine disqualifier for some conditions and is worth checking early. And transit agencies operate under federal drug and alcohol testing rules for safety-sensitive positions, including pre-employment, random, and post-accident testing.
Rule 11 applies — CDL and ELDT requirements have changed and continue to; verify current requirements with FLHSMV and FMCSA rather than relying on this guide. The practical advice: find out what the agency you want to work for requires before you finish the programme, because the CDL takes time.
The PSAV certificate demonstrates training; ASE certification demonstrates verified competence, and it is what transfers between employers and frequently what determines pay grade.
The relevant series for this work is the ASE Transit Bus (H-series) certification — H1 through H8, covering compressed natural gas engines, diesel engines, drive train, brakes, suspension and steering, electrical/electronic systems, heating and air conditioning, and preventive maintenance and inspection. Certification requires passing the examination and documenting relevant hands-on work experience, and certifications must be renewed periodically.
Two practical points. Employers frequently pay for testing and offer certification pay differentials, so ask. And begin documenting work experience from the first job, because reconstructing it later is difficult — the same advice this repository gives for PMI credentials and for Florida addiction counselling hours.
Worth stating plainly because it is the most attractive feature of this pathway and students often do not know it.
Transit maintenance technicians typically work for public transit agencies — county and regional authorities — or for the contractors that operate service for them. That produces a set of employment characteristics unusual among skilled trades:
Florida-specific: agencies including Miami-Dade Transit, HART in Tampa, LYNX in Orlando, Broward County Transit, JTA in Jacksonville, and Votran in Volusia County maintain substantial fleets, and the statewide technician workforce has an ageing profile — which is the underlying reason these programmes exist. Note also that transit maintenance is federally funded in part, which brings FTA requirements and a documentation culture with it.
DIM0814C is 120 clock hours of combined classroom and shop instruction. Assessment is by demonstrated inspection, measurement, and repair — components measured against specification, adjustments performed to tolerance — with written assessment on systems and alignment theory. Measurement accuracy is graded strictly, and for good reason: a wear specification is a safety limit, and judging it by feel is how a worn component stays in service.
The 0-level SCNS number identifies this as postsecondary adult vocational coursework, measured in clock hours with zero college credit. PSAV coursework does not transfer into a college-credit programme the way a 1000- or 2000-level course does. What exists instead is articulation — Florida's Gold Standard Career Pathways and local agreements may award credit toward a related A.S. for completing an entire programme or occupational completion point, not for individual courses, and never automatically. Get a written evaluation from the receiving institution before assuming.
In this trade the certificate matters less than what an employer can verify you can do. ASE certification, a CDL, and demonstrable diagnostic ability are the currency — see below.
The first digit of an SCNS number denotes the year of offering, not transferability. Courses at the 1000 and 2000 levels transfer transparently between Florida public institutions; the boundary that matters is 2000 to 3000. A 0-level number sits outside that system entirely — it is PSAV clock-hour coursework carrying no college credit.
Generated September 2, 2026 · Updated September 2, 2026