A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus. Various configurations of school buses are used worldwide; the most iconic examples are the yellow school buses of the United States which are also found in other parts of the world.
Freightliner Trucks is a US semi truck manufacturer. Founded in 1929 as the truck-manufacturing division of Consolidated Freightways, the company was established in 1942 as Freightliner Corporation. Owned by Daimler AG from 1981 to 2021, Freightliner is now a part of Daimler Truck subsidiary Daimler Truck North America.
The Chevrolet Express is a series of full-size vans produced by General Motors since 1996. The successor to the Chevrolet G-series van, the Express is produced in passenger and cargo variants. Alongside the standard van body, the line is offered as a cutaway van chassis; the latter vehicle is a chassis cab variant developed for commercial-grade applications, including ambulances, buses, motorhomes, and small trucks.
The Wayne Corporation was an American manufacturer of buses and other vehicles under the "Wayne" marque. The corporate headquarters were in Richmond, Indiana, in Wayne County, Indiana. During the middle 20th century, Wayne served as a leading producer of school buses in North America.
Thomas Built Buses, Inc. is an American bus manufacturer. Best known for its production of the first ever rear engine Type C school bus. Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages. Currently, its production is concentrated on school buses and activity buses, along with their commercial derivatives.
The Thomas Vista is a model line of buses that was manufactured by Thomas Built Buses from 1989 to 1998. Produced nearly exclusively as a school bus, the model line was also sold in commercial-use configurations. To improve forward sightlines for drivers, the chassis design of the Vista combines elements of conventional buses and transit-style school buses.
Girardin Minibus Inc. is a Canadian bus manufacturer. Based in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, Girardin forms part of the Micro Bird joint venture with Blue Bird Corporation. As part of Micro Bird, Girardin is a manufacturer of bus bodies for minibuses for cutaway van chassis.
The Wayne Busette is a minibus that was assembled by Wayne Corporation from 1973 to 1990. During its production, many examples of the Busette were produced as school buses. One of the first examples produced with a cutaway van chassis, the Busette mated a purpose-built school bus body with a dual rear-wheel van chassis. In North America, this configuration is now preferred by manufacturers for many other types of minibuses in addition to school buses.
Cutaway van chassis are used by second stage manufacturers for a wide range of completed motor vehicles. Especially popular in the United States, they are usually based upon incomplete vans to be bigger or smaller than pickup trucks and SUVs made by manufacturers such as Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors which are generally equipped with heavier duty components than most of their complete products. To these incomplete vehicles, a second stage manufacturer adds specific equipment and completes the vehicle. Common applications of this type of vehicle design and manufacturing includes small trucks, school buses, recreational vehicles, minibuses, and ambulances. The term "cutaway" can be somewhat of a misnomer in most of the vehicle's context since it refers to truck bodies for heavy-duty commercial-grade applications sharing a common truck chassis.
The Chevrolet and GMC B series was a series of cowled chassis that were produced by General Motors. Produced across three generations from 1966 to 2003, the model line was a variant of medium-duty trucks marketed under the Chevrolet and GMC nameplates. Initially derived from the medium-duty C/K series, later examples were derived from the GMT530 architecture.
The Thomas Saf-T-Liner C2 is a cowled-chassis bus manufactured by bus body manufacturer Thomas Built Buses. Introduced in 2004, the vehicle is produced primarily as a school bus; other configurations of the model line were developed for commercial use and specialty configurations.
The Thomas Saf-T-Liner is the name of the transit-style school bus product line produced by Thomas Built Buses. Introduced in 1978, the Saf-T-Liner marked the transition to in-house chassis production by Thomas. In addition to school bus applications, variations of the Saf-T-Liner have been produced as activity buses, specialty vehicles, and commercial/transit buses. It can also be used to describe the Saf-T-Liner C2 or Saf-T-Liner FS-65, but they are not considered part of the Saf-T-Liner family.
A multi-stop truck is a type of commercial vehicle designed to make multiple deliveries or stops, with easy access to the transported cargo held in the rear. They are usually vans or trucks designed to be used as fleet vehicles by businesses within local areas. They typically use commercial truck chassis with a generally larger, taller body and sometimes also a longer or shorter wheelbase. Though they have traditionally been powered by internal combustion engines, into the 21st century many multi-stop trucks have begun shifting to electric truck platforms.
The bus chassis variant of the International S series is a cowled bus chassis that was produced by International Harvester from 1979 to 2001. Produced primarily for school bus applications, the chassis was also produced for other applications, including commercial-use buses and cutaway-cab buses. In addition, the cowled chassis formed the basis for front-engine and rear-engine stripped chassis produced for bus applications.
The Freightliner C2 is a Type C conventional bus chassis manufactured by Daimler Truck North America, used for school bus applications. It was introduced in 2004 as the replacement for the FS-65. The C2 uses the hood, firewall, steering column, and dashboard of the Freightliner Business Class M2 medium-duty conventional.
Daimler Truck North America LLC is an automotive industry manufacturer of commercial vehicles headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and LLC of the German multinational Daimler Truck AG.
The Wayne Lifestar is a product line of buses that was manufactured and marketed by Wayne Corporation and its successor company Wayne Wheeled Vehicles from 1986 to 1995. Produced nearly exclusively in a school bus configuration, the Wayne Lifestar used a transit-style body configuration with a front-engine chassis. Marking the return to transit-style production, the Lifestar adopted the single-piece body stampings of the Wayne Lifeguard in its construction.
The Freightliner FS-65 is a cowled school bus chassis that was manufactured by Freightliner from 1997 to 2008. Derived from the Freightliner FL-Series medium-duty trucks, the FS-65 was produced primarily for school bus applications, though commercial-use buses and cutaway-cab buses were also built using the FS-65 chassis.
The Blue Bird Micro Bird is a bus body produced in the United States and Canada by Blue Bird Corporation. First introduced in 1975, the Micro Bird body is combined with a cutaway van chassis, with passenger capacity ranging from 10 to 30 passengers. While most examples are produced as a school bus, the Micro Bird has been sold in various configurations, including commercial-use minibuses and as a MFSAB. MFSABs are alternatives to 15-passenger vans; examples have come into use by child care centers and other organizations due to updated safety regulations.
The Freightliner Business Class M2 is a model range of medium-duty trucks produced by Freightliner since the 2003 model year. The first generation of the Business Class developed entirely by Freightliner, the M2 replaced the FL-Series introduced in 1991. Serving as a Class 5-Class 8 product range, the M2 competes primarily against the International MV and the Ford F-650/F-750 Super Duty.
