A sixth Type-A school bus manufacturer has hit the market, and it’s a Titan. Literally.
Titan Bus Company, LLC. announced its official formation on Monday, marking increased competition in the small school bus space that saw the most body builds last year since the 2000-2001 production year, as tracked by School Transportation News.
Leading the venture is industry veteran Brian Barrington, who said Titan bus is looking to fill “a niche” in the Type-A market that saw 9,402 small bus builds from Nov. 1, 2015 through last Oct. 31. The new bus will be built in single-and dual rear-wheel configurations on Ford and GM chassis. A Ford Transit model will be one of the Titan Bus options later this year and the company added that it is also building flat-floor buses on the GM and Ford E-Series chassis for special education routes.
Titan Bus models, which Barrington said will go into production within the next six weeks, offer standard 5/8-inch plywood floors, tinted glass, LED lighting, one-piece flooring and multiplex electrical system. The dual-rear wheel model will offer a 92-inch-wide interior with 14-inch aisles to accommodate 39-inch seats as well as a 30-inch wide entrance door to ease loading and unloading.
The single-rear wheel model will come with three-two seating configurations for a 20-passenger capacity in a four-window section body.
The new bus line will be displayed at industry trade shows this spring and summer, including the STN EXPO in Reno, Nevada on July 11.
Barrington, whose father Fred was one of three founders of Mid-Bus in 1981, is partnering with Ed Verhoff, owner of Verhoff Machining and Welding in Continental, Ohio. Verhoff supplies the likes of General Dynamics, Braun Ambulance and Crown Lift Trucks.
