Transit Concept

Why Buy a Transit Bus?

Blue Bird built America’s very first transit-style school bus in 1948. Over the next five decades, Blue Bird perfected the transit style with consistent modifications and improvements. Today Blue Bird transit buses provide greater safety, are more economical, and are easier to operate.

Blue Bird AAFE (All American Forward Engine)	Blue Bird AARE (All American Rear Engine)

Safety

• Visibility – by removing the hood obstruction of the conventional bus, the transit bus provides clearer, safer sight lines of the danger zone — the areas to the front and the right side of the vehicle. The Blue Bird All Americans provide greater visibility to this area. The entrance door is ahead of the front axle, allowing students to board the bus before the front tire crosses the loading zone. The driver also has a clearer view of crossings and intersections. A large panoramic windshield gives the driver a more comprehensive field of vision, and the exterior mirror system provides sight lines to areas behind the driver.

• Construction – the Blue Bird transit bus consists of a custom-built body and a custom chassis built by Blue Bird for school transportation. Blue Bird’s rugged all-galvanized-steel body construction and straight-rail chassis construction provide a higher floor line, thus raising the passengers above collision level.

Economy

The Blue Bird transit bus provides maximum seating capacity. Four 84-passenger transit buses can transport more passengers than five 65-passenger conventional buses of similar length. This translates into fewer buses to transport the same number of passengers.

• Fewer Buses – fewer buses require fewer drivers, which means fewer salaries and fringe benefits, thus reducing:
  • the greatest cost to school transportation, and
  • one of the most difficult resources to acquire and retain.
• Lower Maintenance Costs – fewer buses require less maintenance, and Blue Bird’s carefully-coordinated components and heavy-duty construction provide maximum dependability for reduced maintenance costs.
• Lower Fuel Costs – fewer buses and efficient routing create a reduction in fuel costs.

Operation

• Maneuverability – the Blue Bird transit buses have shorter wheel bases, providing excellent turning radiuses, greater visibility in turns, and increased maneuverability.
• Driver Advantage – Blue Bird has engineered their transit buses with the driver in mind. The design of their transit buses provides maximum driver comfort, visibility, and ease of operation.
• Activity trips – the Blue Bird transit buses are perfect for activity trips. Some of our more popular activity bus options include:
• • large under-body storage compartments,

• • larger fuel tanks, and

• • activity seats for improved comfort.