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.
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.
IC Bus is an American bus manufacturer. Headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, IC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar International. Established in 2002 by Navistar through the reorganization of subsidiary manufacturer American Transportation Corporation (AmTran), IC currently produces school buses and commercial-use buses for multiple applications.
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.
Van Hool NV is a Belgian family-owned coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers.
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 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.
The Blue Bird Vision is a school bus that is manufactured and marketed by Blue Bird Corporation in North America and exported worldwide. In production since 2003, the Vision became the first cowled-chassis bus built on a proprietary chassis designed and manufactured by the same company. While it is sold primarily in a school bus configuration, the Blue Bird Vision is also offered with various commercial and specialty seating and design configurations.
Off Campus College Transport, Inc., or OCCT, is Binghamton University's student driven, managed, and operated bus service for Binghamton University students, faculty, and staff. OCCT offers "safe, reliable, convenient, consistent, and courteous transportation to the Binghamton University community." OCCT offers additional services such as Lift service for passengers with disabilities and Charter services for organizations and groups associated with Binghamton University. The transportation service is provided at no additional cost to students, although service is paid for through fees collected with tuition. The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Student Association of Binghamton University, Inc.
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 Blue Bird All American is a series of buses produced by American school bus manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation since 1948. Originally developed as a yellow school bus, versions of the All American have been designed for a wide variety of applications, ranging from the Blue Bird Wanderlodge luxury motorhome to buses for law enforcement use.
The ThomasMinotour is a bus body manufactured by Thomas Built Buses since 1980. The smallest vehicle sold by the company, the Minotour is a bus body designed for cutaway van chassis. Primarily sold for school bus usage, the Minotour is also produced as a MFSAB or in specialized configurations specified by the customer.
The Gillig Low Floor is a transit bus manufactured by Gillig since 1997. The second low-floor bus design introduced in the United States, the Low Floor originally served as a second product range for the company alongside the Gillig Phantom. As transit bus operators shifted toward low-floor designs, the Low Floor has replaced the Phantom entirely, becoming the sole vehicle platform offered by the company since 2008.
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.
Proterra Inc. was an American electric vehicle and powertrain manufacturer based in Burlingame, California. The company designed and manufactured battery electric transit buses, battery systems for other heavy-duty vehicle builders and charging systems for fleets of heavy-duty vehicles. Founded in 2004, it became a public company in June 2021. The company delivered 199 new transit buses and battery systems for 1,229 vehicles in 2022. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2023. In November, its assets were split into three divisions and sold off to Volvo Battery Solutions, Phoenix Motorcars, and Cowen Equity.
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 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.
The ENC Axess is a line of low-floor transit buses available in 35-foot and 40-foot nominal lengths manufactured by ENC in Riverside, California starting from 2003. In addition to the different available lengths, the buses are sold with a variety of prime movers, ranging from conventional diesel, LNG/CNG combustion engines, diesel-electric hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell with a traction motor.
