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CoachCpt
New Member
USA
4 Posts |
 Posted - 04/22/2002 : 3:51:11 PM
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I am trying to bid on a contract where the state, California, is asking for an 88 - 95 passenger bus.
As I come from the Motorcoach side of this industry can anyone tell me if there is a schoolbus that carries this many passengers?
Can you also please inform me of the age limit for the passengers? I can see, maybe, that many passengers (3 to a bench seat) if they are very young, but I do not believe that it is legal to carry that many when they are Jr.High & High School kids
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B. Busguy33
Top Member
USA
3444 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2002 : 5:59:31 PM
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quote:
I am trying to bid on a contract where the state, California, is asking for an 88 - 95 passenger bus.
As I come from the Motorcoach side of this industry can anyone tell me if there is a schoolbus that carries this many passengers?
Can you also please inform me of the age limit for the passengers? I can see, maybe, that many passengers (3 to a bench seat) if they are very young, but I do not believe that it is legal to carry that many when they are Jr.High & High School kids
Hi CoachCpt,
Welcome aboard the SBF Forums.
There are actually a few topics right here that answer your question, if you take the time to search a little while back. But I will go over the basics, and perhaps others here can elaborate more on this topic for you.
First of all, the highest capacity rated school bus you can purchase today seats up to 90 passengers (3 to a seat). These buses are usually about 40' long. The front-engine (FE) transit-style buses seat up to 90, while the only rear-engine (RE) school bus to seat 90 passengers would be the Thomas Saf-T-Liner ER/HD. There is not a whole lot of space between the seats, though...but it is still possible.
Every state has different laws when it comes to capacity. Some states may even allow a school bus to be 10% over capacity, meaning that there would be students standing or "sitting" in the aisle. Other states prohibit standees and/or exceeding a manufacturers capacity rating. It does vary from state to state. There are some other members here that would be more familiar with California's laws, since I am from MA.
As far as how many passengers you can fit to one seat, for the most part, 3 elementary-aged school children would be able to fit in one seat. Most high schoolers and even junior high kids will usually only get by with 2 to a seat. For adults, it's the same -- 2 to a seat. For a bus with a 90 passenger capacity rating (with 3 passengers to a seat) sitting 2 to a seat, would translate to a capacity of about 60.
I hope this will be of some help to you.
__________________________________________
-Bob
(a.k.a. B. Busguy33)
Edited by - B. Busguy33 on 04/22/2002 6:07:00 PM |
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Buskid
Top Member
USA
3368 Posts |
Posted - 04/22/2002 : 6:39:11 PM
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Hi CoachCpt, welcome to SBF. 
Since you're in California, you might want to look for a used 40' Crown or Gillig (tandem axle). The post-1976 models have a cap. rating of 90 passengers (3 students to a seat). And the pre-1977 models have a cap. rating of 91 to 97 passengers.
But, as Bob pointed out, there are a variety of new buses also available that have cap. ratings from 84-90 passengers.
It's legal to have three students per seat here in Calif., whether they be elementary, junior high or high school students. Although, as I'm sure you've already figured out, squeezing three high school students into a seat would be a bit of a stretch & can make for a very crowded bus.
Anyway, I hope this helps you a little bit. Good luck.
Crown Supercoach - The “Royalty” of Pupil Transportation |
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International_02
Senior Member
USA
77 Posts |
Posted - 04/23/2002 : 5:51:14 PM
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As Buskid & B. Busguy33 you can purchase a 84- 90 passenger transit school bus today. But however i wouldnt recomend putting three high schoolers in one seat. Due to my experience on a field trip today.But as BK said look for Crowns from per 1977. Otherwise goodluck Coachcpt.
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cowlitzcoach
Advanced Member
USA
325 Posts |
Posted - 04/24/2002 : 10:03:42 AM
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If you have not purchased a bus yet, please do not purchase a pre-1977 bus if you are going to be using the bus exclusively for school bus use.
Starting in 1977 the Federal government mandated many changes in school bus design to provide a safer compartment within which students could ride. That is not to say a pre-1977 bus isn't safe. The pre-1977 buses don't have what is known as compartmentalization. To achieve proper compartmentalization the seat construction and spacing was changed which reduced the carrying capacity from 91-97 passengers in 40' Crown and Gillig buses to a maximum of 90 passengers.
I only ask you think long and hard about your purchase because you may be required to update your equipment to a post-1977 bus fairly soon. It would be a real shame for you to invest in a perfectly good bus only to have the contract taken away within a short period of time because your equipment wasn't new enough.
If the contract is in the greater L.A. area, clean air is going to be a real consideration. Older buses may not "cut the mustard" when it comes to emissions and may be just cause for your contract being cancelled.
As far as seating capacity goes, under the school bus spe'c's in the different states it will state how much space exactly each persons back side should take up. That usually translates to three little people or two big people per seat.
Good luck on your contract.
Mark O.
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CoachCpt
New Member
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2002 : 01:06:11 AM
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I'm not looking to buy buses as I have motorcoachs with SPAB drivers. This is only a 45 day Summer Contract (Mon - Fri).
I just do not feel that I should have to supply a 91 passenger bus as requested in the contract. They cannot tell me how many passengers each day but we will be using 2 buses. It sound like the contract is written for a specific company in that area who uses school buses.
Brian G. - Bay Area Bus Service.
"We Turn Our Wheels For You"
Edited by - CoachCpt on 04/25/2002 01:08:20 AM
Edited by - CoachCpt on 04/25/2002 01:11:05 AM |
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Skewl Bus Boi
Advanced Member
USA
323 Posts |
Posted - 04/25/2002 : 08:05:38 AM
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Even if it's written for a specific company, you can still provide.
International just won a bid for new FE and RE school buses that had written in the specs: no overhead switches, toggle-style instead of rotary air-door switch, and air-door emergency release located in front header as near as possible to the door. Those specs were written for Thomas Saf-T-Liners, but Intl was still able to win the bid.
—Phil
"It's clear that you have a strong relationship with the school bus. Perhaps you should try picturing other people as school buses to strengthen your interpersonal relationships." —My Ex-Shrink |
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Bus size for passengers
