The Department of Transport Maintenance (DTM) trains specialists who organize and manage the processes of maintenance and repair of vehicles and their components in car fleets and car services.

Considering the place of road transport in the country's economy and the relevance of the tasks of maintaining its performance, graduates of the department are in demand by specialized enterprises and occupy positions from highly qualified diagnosticians of electronic systems and service engineers to directors of service stations and from specialists and heads of departments to chief engineers and specialists in technological design at automobile enterprises.

During its 60-year history, the department has passed an interesting and eventful path, each of the stages of which left its contribution to the treasury of knowledge and helped the formation of scientific and pedagogical potential.

Beginning of history - 1960s

The training of specialists for the field of motor transport at SPbGASU (then LISI) began with the creation in January 1961 of the Department of Automobiles and Engines. Its first head was DSc in Engineering, Professor, student of Academician A.E. Chudakov, one of the founders of the Russian automotive scientific school N. A. Bukharin. Responding to the needs of the automotive industry of that time, the direction of the department was associated with the improvement of the design of cars and their components, the study of the reliability of new models of equipment.

From the Department of Automobiles and Engines, taking as an example the highest level of the specialists who created it, several modern departments of the Faculty of Automobile and Road Building, including the Department of Transport Maintenance, began their history.

The Department in 1970-1980s

From 1973 to 1989 the Department was headed by DSc in Engineering, Professor M. A. Masino. The educational process was adjusted to better meet the main task - the training of mechanical engineers for the technical operation and repair of vehicles. In this regard, the name of the department was also changed - it became the Department of Technical Operation and Repair of Automobiles (TORA).

It was during this period that the profile of the department changed from a predominantly design direction to an operational one, which it is to this day. And the indicated period itself is characterized by active research activities and practical developments. Cooperation was carried out with many domestic automobile plants (ZIL, MMZ, MAZ, LAZ, KamAZ, VAZ). With the participation of the department staff, the design of the ZIL-MMZ and KamAZ-5511 dump trucks was improved.

At the Leipzig exhibition in 1977, a new version of the dump truck hydraulic cylinder, developed by MMZ in cooperation with the department, was awarded a gold medal. Recommendations have been developed to improve the operational reliability of dump trucks, to improve the design of buses of the Lvov plant. On the basis of long-term tests for VAZ vehicles, manufacturing technologies for a number of parts and assemblies have been improved, warranty and resource runs have been increased, a methodology for determining the need for spare parts has been developed, and technologies for restoring a number of parts have been developed together with the Department of Metal Technology.

Beginning of the modern period - 1990-2000s

In 1989, due to an objective increasing need for specialists in the field of organization of transportation, management and security in road transport, the TORA was divided into two departments. One of them (the Department of Automobiles and Road Transport, later - the Department of Organization of Transportation, Management and Safety in Road Transport, today - the Department of Transport Systems) focused on training specialists in the organization of transportation and road safety.

The second one retained its former name (TORA) and profile. The management of the department in 1989 passed to PhD of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor N. I. Veryovkin. During the difficult period of the 1990s the department could maintain its educational and scientific potential, laboratory facilities, and links with leading enterprises in the industry. The level of training of graduates of the department, set in previous decades, has not decreased. In 1997, taking into account the trends in the development of the automotive market, a new promising specialty "automobile service" was launched.

In the 2000s a new period in the development of the department began, associated with the reform of the higher education system and the introduction of new requirements for its quality. Curricula for the preparation of bachelors and masters were developed and implemented. At the same time, research and practical developments of the department's specialists continued to be in demand. Methods for determining the required power for the city system of technical inspection of vehicles were developed, the developed throughput standards were used by the traffic police when regulating the operation of inspection points, the specialists of the department were chairmen and members of the relevant city and regional expert commissions, buses and operating materials were tested by order of St Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise "Passazhiravtotrans" and other enterprises.

Department today

In 2012, due to structural changes at SPbGASU and the entry into force of new educational standards, the TORA department was renamed the Department of Transport Maintenance (TM, head - I.O. Chernyaev). An active process of re-equipment of the laboratory and educational base has begun: modern interactive and innovative teaching methods are being introduced, laboratory equipment is being formed taking into account the latest industry trends.

To ensure that the content of graduate training complies with the latest trends in the industry, the main directions for the development of the department are:

• alternative and electric power in road transport;
• digitalization and expansion of the use of highly automated vehicles (mechatronic and robotic systems);
• development and implementation of new systems and technologies for the transport maintenance (adaptive maintenance and repair systems).

As part of the alternative energy research, specialists of the department (PhD of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor S. A. Vorobyov, PhD of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor A. L. Penkin) are developing in the field of using natural gas, hydrogen, multicomponent fuel mixtures in road transport . Research is carried out, among other things, at a research base created on the basis of the partner enterprise of the department JSC "Autopark No. 1 "Spetstrans"". Thus, in recent years, a number of bachelor's and master's degree graduates have traditionally defended their graduation theses devoted to evaluating the effectiveness of the use of natural gas and Brown's gas in various combinations both with traditional fuels and with each other. Headed by PhD of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor S. A. Vorobyov, one of the first Russian-assembled electric garbage trucks, ELECTROMUS, was developed (it was presented in March 2021 at the Ecology of the Big City exhibition), and several issues of the popular illing show video blog were devoted to the ElectroZHIGE, assembled with the participation of students of the department. The corresponding material base is formed at the faculty. In the course of negotiations with the Association for the Development of Electric, Unmanned and Connected Transport and Infrastructure, agreements were reached on the possible implementation of training programs for specialists in the maintenance and repair of electric vehicles within the framework of additional education programs on the basis of the department.

The direction associated with digitalization is developing at the department in the context of a whole range of tasks. So, PhD of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor A. V. Marusin formulated and systematized the tasks that need to be solved in the field of controlling the movement of vehicles on the road network (RN) and digitalization of the road infrastructure, which will contribute to the introduction of "unmanned" vehicles; as part of the preparation of a doctoral dissertation, a direction is being developed related to the analysis of RN data using neural network algorithms to solve problems of ensuring road safety and vehicle operation. With the direct participation of senior lecturer I. S. Graevsky, a material base is being formed to provide the possibility of diagnosing modern electronic control systems for vehicle components. Led by PhD of Engineering Sciences, Associate Professor L. E. Torosyan, the introduction of modern software into the educational process in the field of organizing information flows at road transport enterprises and in the field of monitoring the operation of vehicles is ensured.

Algorithms for the functioning of adaptive maintenance systems that provide individual accounting for the operating conditions of vehicles in real time are being developed under the guidance of PhD of Engineering Sciences, head of the department I. O. Chernyaev. For their practical implementation, methods are being developed for analyzing information received, including that from standard or additionally installed sensors on vehicles. In one of the master's theses, a method for monitoring the type and condition of the road surface was developed. Methods are being developed for taking into account traffic conditions, controlling the degree of loading. Modern digital technologies are also used to solve problems.

In addition to following modern trends in the development of the industry, the conditions for ensuring high-quality training of graduates are created through the introduction of a practice-oriented approach into the educational process. Instead of laboratory work and traditional practical classes, on-site training is gaining more and more weight - the performance by students of certain types of work related to future professional activities, and not only as part of summer practice. Thus, classes on diagnostics of modern electronic systems of vehicles, maintenance and repair technologies are held at the SPbGASU training car service on Huyndai Solaris training vehicles and are devoted to the analysis of specific practical cases. A number of classes on the technical operation of gas-engine vehicles and the repair of car bodies are held at the production base of partner car enterprises. Project-based learning is also being actively introduced - with the direct participation of the students of the department, the SP/ACE team was created, which developed and manufactured a racing car for participation in the "Formula Student" competition. It should be noted that this project has become multidisciplinary, attracting students from various fields of study, which in modern conditions is also the key to the success of a future specialist. Currently, students of the department continue to participate in a similar project - the creation of a youth car under the Interuniversity Student Engineering and Technology Corporation (MSITK), of which SPbGASU is a member.

An integral part of the department's activity is maintaining relations with leading enterprises in the industry and promoting the employment of graduates. On the basis of the largest automobile passenger carrier of the city - St Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise "Passazhiravtotrans", a basic department of passenger automobile transport was created. Close partnerships are maintained with the largest auto enterprises (Autopark No. 1 Spetstrans JSC, Tretiy Park JSC), key players in the auto service market of both the passenger car and truck segments (the federal franchise network of EuroAvto auto service enterprises, the Avtopole dealer complex ”, Union of car services), manufacturers and suppliers of equipment for car service. For more than 20 years, cooperation with the professional association of technical inspection operators in St Petersburg has continued. As part of employment assistance, a mechanism of assessment sessions has been developed and is being successfully implemented, during which graduate students get the opportunity to demonstrate their qualities to representatives of a whole pool of specialized employers - representatives of the automotive business. For the employers themselves, the department successfully implements advanced training and professional retraining programs - for specialists operating gas-powered vehicles and electric vehicles, for diagnosticians of electronic systems of automatic telephone exchanges, for controllers of the technical condition of vehicles, for instructors of driving schools, for experts in technical control and diagnostics of motor vehicles. For the latter program, a separate video course was developed and mounted at the SPbGASU video studio, posted on the department's YouTube and VK video channels, which, together with distance learning technologies, makes the material accessible and in demand for specialists throughout Russia. In cooperation with specialists from other universities, the industrial cluster "Avtoprom North-West" and the Union of Car Services, the department takes an active part in correcting existing and developing new professional standards. With the participation of the department, on the basis of SPbGASU, an examination center of the Qualification Assessment Center under the Council for Professional Qualifications in the Automotive Industry was created, on the basis of which it is possible to pass the procedure for an independent assessment of qualifications. In recent years, graduates of the department can do this free of charge.

On behalf of the Federal Educational and Methodological Association of Higher Educational Institutions of the Russian Federation of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia in an enlarged group of specialties and fields of study 23.00.00 "Land transport technique and technology", the department conducts a regional round of the All-Russian review-competition of final qualification works in the field of study 23.03.03 "Operation of transport and technological machines and complexes” in the Northwestern Federal District, which indicates the recognition of the level of the department in the interuniversity community.

Thus, as at the time of its foundation, the department of TM today makes every effort to ensure the training of highly qualified, competitive and in-demand specialists in the automotive industry in the field of technical operation of vehicles, for which there are no trends to reduce demand in the foreseeable future.

During its work, the department has released more than one thousand specialists.

The most famous graduates of the department are:

Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fedorov – graduate 1970. From 1991 to 2002 - Head of the Main Directorate of the Traffic Police (GIBDD) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. Since 2002 - Representative of the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia in the Federation Council. Police Lieutenant General. PhD of Engineering Sciences. Honored Worker of the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation;

Aleksandr  Makarovich Datsyuk – graduate 1973. From 1988 to 1997 - Head of the production association of bus transport 2. Since 1997 - General Director of the St Petersburg State Enterprise of Passenger Automobile Transport (SE Passazhiravtotrans). Since 2003 - Chairman of the Transport Committee under the Government of St Petersburg. Since 2010 - Head of the branch of the Association of International Road Carriers (ASMAP) in the North-Western Federal District. Has government awards;

Leonid Pavlovich Bogdanov – graduate 1975. Since 2003 - Chairman of the Committee on Law, Order and Security under the Government of St Petersburg. Has government awards;