Blue Bird Micro Bird
| Blue Bird Micro Bird | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Blue Bird Body Company (1975-1992) Blue Bird Corporation (1992-2010) Micro Bird, Inc. (Blue Bird/Girardin joint venture) (2010-present) |
| Production | 1975–2010 (Blue Bird Micro Bird) 2010-present (Micro Bird by Girardin) |
| Assembly | see listing |
| Designer | Blue Bird |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Type A |
| Body style |
School bus/MFSAB Mini bus |
| Layout |
|
| Platform | see listing |
| Related | Blue Bird MB-II/MB-IV |
| Chronology | |
| Successor | Micro Bird by Girardin |
The Blue Bird Micro Bird is a school bus produced in the United States and Canada by Blue Bird Corporation since 1975. It is based on a cutaway van chassis, with passenger capacity ranging from 10 to 30 passengers. The Micro Bird was originally designed as a school bus, but it is also sold as a MFSAB (Multi-Function School Activity Buses). MFSABs are alternatives to 15-passenger vans that along with school systems that have come into use by child care centers and other organizations due to changing safety regulations.
Since 2010, the current version of the Micro Bird has been produced in Quebec as part of a joint venture with Blue Bird and Girardin Minibus, called Micro Bird, Inc.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, small school buses in the United States and Canada were heavily derived from production vehicles. Along with full-size vans such as the Dodge A100, the Chevrolet ChevyVan/GMC Handi-Van, and the Ford Econoline, large "carryall" SUVs were also used (such as the Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Carryall and International Travelall). To increase the safety of small vehicles transporting students, bus manufacturers chose to design a bus body that mated a production vehicle chassis with a body designed with the same reinforced internal structure of a large school bus.
In 1973, Wayne Corporation introduced the Wayne Busette, the first school bus to successfully use a cutaway van chassis with a school bus body. To increase its stability over a van or an SUV, the Busette chassis (the Chevrolet/GMC G30) utilized a dual rear-wheel axle.
As a response to the Busette, Blue Bird designers sought to develop their own body for a cutaway chassis. Dubbed the Micro Bird, the body distinguished itself from the Busette with several key features, many of them geared towards aiding the loading/unloading process. Rather than use the stock van door as part of the entrance, Blue Bird designed the Micro Bird body to utilize a standard school bus door, the same design used on Conventional and All American full-size buses. Ahead of the entry door, two windows were added, further aiding visibility; to this day, this layout is copied in virtually all cutaway-chassis buses. While the Busette was designed with its own body from the ground up, the Micro Bird shared the design of its body with the Conventional; the key change was its narrower width to properly fit the van chassis.
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