IC Bus and IMMI announced a new line of seating for school buses that offers customers the capability to retrofit from IC Bus base seats to SafeGuard belted seats or integrated child seats.
The BTI Seating System gives school districts the option at any point in the future to add three-point, lap/shoulder seat belts on the existing IC Bus seating platform.
“In less than five minutes, customers can change from a base seat to a three-point belt or to an integrated child restraint seat back. Customers don’t have to reconfigure their bus floor — it’s really a simple process,” explained David Hillman, marketing director at IC Bus. “The BTI Seating system is just another example of how IC Bus is committed to supporting our customers long after the sale of the bus.”
IC Bus said it worked closely with IMMI to design, test and manufacture the line of SafeGuard belted seat backs, which work seamlessly with the IC Bus seat base and are available on all IC Bus models equipped with IC Bus proprietary base seats sold since January 2010. Replacement seat backs for three-point seat belts or integrated child restraints will be made available by IMMI starting in October 2011, when the updated NHTSA rule on school bus occupant protection goes into effect.
“Together, we’re giving IC Bus customers an exceptionally simple, affordable means of updating their fleets,” added Aaron Acton, account manager for IMMI’s SafeGuard brand.
The concept of the BTI Seating System is similar to the Safeguard XChange Seat that was announced in May as an option on models of Thomas Built Buses. The XChange also allows school bus customers to more easily upgrade to lap/shoulder restraints without the need to purchase new seats but by switching out the seat modules to add or configure lap/shoulder belts or ICS.
