While my main role at church is working with technology, I often have other things thrown my way. One of the latest projects was to get new buses for the church. We have two older buses that are unreliable and two 15 passenger vans which we know are not safe (see links below). With our winter retreat season coming up we decided that it was time to move forward, so we put together a committee and began researching our options.

The committee recommended going with two 15 passenger buses. This would allow drivers without commercial licenses to drive and would be much safer than the traditional 15 passenger vans. Our local bus dealer did not have any stock so we ended up flying down to Nashville, TN and picking up two from Carpenter Bus for around $45k each. They are 2006 Ford/Starcraft with 22′ wheelbase, 5.4L V-10 Gas Engine, rear and overhead storage.

We know that it was a large investment but safety has to come first. Just as we had made the decision to purchase the new buses, one of our vans was totaled, it got hit by a drunk driver. Thank God no one was hurt. there was only a driver and one passenger - if there had been passengers in the rear, it would not have been pretty. We took out the seats of our remaining van and relegated it to cargo duty.

Here are some links highlighting the safety issues on 15 passenger vans:
Articles on 2003 accident where 5 Coptic youth were killed in 15 passenger van rollover
15-Passenger Vans: High-Riding Death Traps
15-Passenger Van Unsafe, Drivers Need Training, Government Board Says

Front of Bus
Rear of Bus
Interior of Bus
Interior of Bus