There are many different types of buses used to transport school aged children, and each bus differs meaning they require different bus parts and bus maintenance. Knowing the difference helps you better understand how parts and maintenance may differ. Some of the different types look similar but there are a few distinct things that makes them different. Read below to see the difference between common school buses used for student transport.
Small
Smaller buses are designed to carry around ten people. These buses are shorter than normal buses, therefore they are usually not used to transport children to and from school in the morning and evening. They are used for smaller transports such as special needs children and field trips, events and outings where the number of children on each bus are smaller than a class size.
Long
There are a few types of long buses, but the one thing that sets these buses apart from the first kind is they are long. They are designed to carry more than ten children so they are ideal for field trips and transporting students before and after school. These are the typical buses that you see along the housing routes picking kids up and dropping them off. The major differences between the different types of long buses is where the engine sets compared to where the driver sits. The thomas saf t liner c2 is considered a long bus. The thomas saf t liner c2 looks like all the traditional long buses but actually falls into only once category.
Type B has an engine that sits beneath or slightly behind the windshield. The other part of the engine sits next to the driver. The door to enter the bus is behind the front wheels of the bus.
Type C school buses are very similar to type B and are traditional school buses that are most commonly seen. The main difference is that the engine for this type of bus sits in front of the windshield. The doors still sit in the same spot behind the front wheel for students entering and exiting. The thomas saf t liner c2 is considered a type C bus.
Type D buses are much different than traditional long style buses therefore it is easier to spot the differences. Type D buses appear to have no hood so the front is flat. The engine of these buses sits in one of two places. It is either located next to the drivers seat, or it is located in the rear of the bus. The doors sit in front of the front wheels on the bus.
Knowing the small differences help you differentiate between the different types of school buses. Some differences are so minor that one wouldn’t know until the begin working on them, while others are more significant. Different styles require different maintenance, so knowledge about the styles is vital for anyone involved with bus transport.