What is a short bus you may ask? Short busses should be allowed to post their relationship status to Facebook because “it’s complicated”.

When someone says “short bus”, they are normally talking about a group of school busses that are shorter than the standard full size school bus. The term “short bus” may refer to a couple types of busses depending on who is saying it.

There is the Type A school bus which is basically a bus build on the chassis of a van but that also has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of less than 10,000 lbs. These busses are easily recognized by the van-like front end and the lower ground clearance of the vehicle.

Above: Type A School Bus

Another bus type that may be colloquially called a short bus is the Type B school bus. These busses have a GVWR of greater than 10,000 lbs and are designed to carry more than 10 passengers. This bus is either a longer version of a Type A bus or one that would be more recognizable as a school bus. They generally have the higher ground clearance, longer nose, and continuously boxy feel of a full size bus. If they are not the extended Type A bus look, they look as though someone took a full size bus and chopped off the end of the passenger compartment.

Above: Type B School Bus

Since this blog is ultimately geared toward me eventually buying a bus I will be clear that I am looking for a Type B bus that is not built on a van chassis, but rather one that looks like a conventional school bus  because I want the traditional school bus look, without the length of a full size school bus.

And now the hunt for a bus begins!