BUSRide Road Test:O F F I C I A L

Small Bus Ambulette

The TransitWorks

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The TransitWorks

Small Bus AmbuletteProprietary features to the Ford Transit improve traditional paratransit design.

By David Hubbard

BUSRide Road Test:O F F I C I A L

Operating on its mission of 18 years to “make the world accessible,” MobilityWorks, Akron, OH, has built its business on serving the wheelchair community. The company reestablished its

manufacturing operations as TransitWorks in 2014 as a separate manufacturing and sales entity to build accessible shuttles, mobility vans and transporters from its Ohio and Kansas locations. Since TransitWorks’ inception in 1998, MobilityWorks and TransitWorks have built over 25,000 vehicles.

“TransitWorks focuses on innovative solutions for paratransit providers,” says TransitWorks Vice President and General Manager Denny Summers. “We sell to public transit entities across the country and have a national private dealer network with over 140 locations.”

The Ford Corporation has recognized TransitWorks as its number one mobility builder for 13 consecutive years as a certified Ford Qualified Vehicle Manufacturer (QVM).

BUSRide traveled to Akron, OH, to meet with TransitWorks for this Official Road Test of the company’s newest product offering — the Ford Transit Small Bus Ambulette. The vehicle is available in two lengths — the Transit 350 and 350 Extended, which seats up to 15 passengers including the driver. According to TransitWorks, the Ford Transit essentially replaces the former Ford E Series cutaway.

BUSRide also called on Akron Metro RTA as its third-party reviewer. The agency enlisted senior driver Walt Young to

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test drive the new Ford Transit and offer his observations and comments. Young has earned high praise for his 25 consecutive

years of safe driving without a preventable accident.Michelle Stiles, a lifelong wheelchair rider, was aboard to evaluate this new vehicle in light of her experience and

interest in accessibility. Stiles works regularly with Akron Metro RTA as a service coordinator for the

local Board of Developmental Disabilities.Young is passionate about his work in

paratransit transport.“Driving paratransit involves a

lot more than moving passengers from Point A to Point B,” he says. “For me, I enjoy the interaction and communication with our customers in seeing to their needs I appreciate the relationships I have developed over the years.”

Stiles is equally passionate over her participation in public transit and the services she provides.

“The people I work with require the same services that

I do,” she says. “I have been in a wheelchair all my life. That’s

why I take a very active role in Metro’s paratransit program and am

enthused to share my perspective. At this time, I have lived the first half of my life prior to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and the second half of my life in the years after its implementation.”

The ADA is Stiles’ benchmark for when her life began to improve with the mandated changes public transportation began making for the disability community.

Lifelong wheelchair passenger, Michelle Stiles counts on public transit to move her career and lifestyle forward.

TransitWorks developed its new Ford Transit Small Bus Ambulette in response to requests from the public transit and wheelchair transport industries.

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“If it weren’t for this type of transportation service I would not have my job,” she says. “Because I have my job, I have money to do what I enjoy — meet my friends at a restaurant or go shopping like anyone else. Paratransit is hugely important to me. At the end of a single day I may have made as many as 10 trips, being loaded and unloaded off a bus.”

According to Bambi Miller, director of Metro RTA Customer Services and Paratransit, Akron Metro RTA, provides an average of 1,200 demand response trips per day.

“We take our responsibility very seriously to ensure safety, accessibility and comfort for our customers,” she says. “Our passengers and operators are of equal important for our success. We need passengers, of course, and we need operators who understand their needs and can make it happen for them. In turn, the needs of both groups influence our choice of paratransit vehicles.”

Young says he was comfortable with the TransitWorks vehicle as soon as he slipped into the driver’s seat.

For the test drive, he drove a route through Akron that he typically covers transporting passengers to and from appointments at various facilities and medical offices. Those stops include the expansive Cleveland Clinic, as well as the newly opened Metro RTA Robert K. Pfaff Intermodal Transit Center in downtown Akron. The forward-looking structure is strong testimony for public transportation.

“For a commercial vehicle, handling isn’t an issue,” Young says. “This is more like the pickup truck I drive, which I really can’t compare to the bus I drove over here this morning. I also think the narrower body makes it much easier to maneuver in the tight spaces we find ourselves as demand for our services grow.”

TransitWorks says it has developed its Small Bus Ambulette in response to requests from the public transit and wheelchair transport industries. As a result, the custom entry door, AMF Bruns SmartFloor assembly, Freedman seats on wheeled AMF

Above: The AMF Bruns of America SmartFloor system allows an operator to easily rearrange these lightweight seats with wheels within minutes without lifting.

Left: The AMF Bruns of America wheelchair securements.

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Bruns seat bases, and the Braun Ability power wheelchair lift are the defining features of TransitWorks’ modification of the Ford Transit platform.

The patented modular SmartFloor floor system by AMF Bruns of America, Hudson, OH, is available exclusively on TransitWorks vehicles. The technology makes it possible to relocate seats and wheelchair positions nearly anywhere within the vehicle easily and quickly.

“Our SmartFloor system offers hundreds of possible seating configurations,” says Peter Haarhuis, chief executive officer of AMF Bruns of America. “The aluminum profiles allow an operator to easily rearrange these lightweight seats with wheels without lifting, which minimizes the chance for injury.”

TransitWorks says the capability to change the seating layout within minutes increases the opportunities for a transit operator.

The flexibility to move, remove or reconfigure the seats as needed throughout the day was not lost on Young.

“I am very impressed by the ease with which the driver arranges the seats to fit different groups of passengers,” he says. “Some can be removed to accommodate a mix of ambulatory and wheelchair passengers. Then quickly refit the seats into position to transport a busload of students. I think any driver would appreciate this kind of versatility.”

TransitWorks replaced the standard sliding door entry for most vans with its proprietary lighted 38-inch wide door entry with a non-slip step and stainless steel grab bars. A remote control allows the driver to operate the side bus doors from inside or outside the vehicle, and be in a better position to assist the loading and unloading of passengers.

Stiles says she found her ride in this vehicle to be very comfortable and especially quiet.

“Many of the buses with lifts that I ride tend to rattle and get

a little noisy over time,” she says. “This was very smooth, and we were able to talk in a normal voice.”

TransitWorks says Stiles’ comments are attributable to the additional insulation and added sound-deadening materials meant to improve comfort and enhance the ride.

“We feel these are all important improvements, and our engineers work hard on these areas,” says TransitWorks Marketing Manager James Cermak. “Michelle and Walts’ observations seem to bear out our mission to offer an impressive vehicle for operators to serve their customers — and one that is reliable and economical.”

Stiles concluded her day with TransitWorks in support of Cermak’s claim.

“It is nice to ride in a vehicle that feels special,” Stiles says. “This van does not stand out as much as the typical paratransit vehicle.”

“People like Walt and Michelle are the people TransitWorks wants to serve from our heart,” Cermak says. “Our intent far surpasses simply being ADA compliant.”

Akron Metro RTA paratransit driver Walt Young found the TransitWorks Small Bus easy to maneuver in tight spaces along his routes.

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