5 Reasons Travel Vans Are Better Than School Buses for Your Team’s Trip

It’s easy to picture a high school sports team crowded onto a school bus, driving to their next away game. High school teams often use school buses as their main method of transportation for games and tournaments, but is that really the best way to travel? At Airport Van Rentals in California, we have a superior option for transporting your team to their away games: the Ford Transit Van 15 Passenger. Here are our top five things that make this transit van a better choice than a school bus.

1. Ergonomic Seating to Prepare You for the Game

Unlike school buses, the Ford Transit Van 15 Passenger is designed to seat everyone safely and comfortably. The interior of the van was designed to accommodate up to 15 passengers, while still keeping plenty of room for your cargo.

Whereas school buses tend to have flat leather seats with no armrests, the seating in the Ford Transit Van is designed to be much more comfortable. Each seat has arm rests, adjustable headrests, and padded seats. You don’t want your team to arrive at the game feeling achy from uncomfortable seating, so get them a van that will transport them comfortably.

2. Choose a Cargo Van to Carry Equipment

No matter what sport your team plays, chances are you have to lug a lot of equipment with you. Most school buses don’t offer storage space, so your athletes’ bags get shoved under and on seats, or wherever the players can find space. If you need to carry bulky items like nets or hockey sticks, it can be difficult to fit them into a school bus.

The Ford Transit Van 15 Passenger has various cargo options available, offering from 246 cubic feet to more than 487 cubic feet of storage space. The van can accommodate up to 4,560 pounds of weight, which is probably plenty more than you’ll need. With the van, you’ll be able to port all of your bags, coolers, nets, balls, and more.

3. Save on Gas Money

School buses are built to carry as many students as possible. However, the number of athletes on your sports team is usually unlikely to fill an entire bus; it’s more likely that less than half the seats are needed. Still, the school bus has to carry around the weight of those empty seats, which requires gasoline. On average, school buses tend to get less than 10 miles per gallon.

With the Ford Transit Van 15 Passenger, you get an average 16 miles per gallon. In the long run, you’ll save a significant amount of money on gas that your team can use to buy more important things, such as new jerseys or equipment.

4. Keep Your School’s Buses Running Longer

School buses are important vehicles for school districts. They just simply aren’t the best vehicles for transporting student athletes. Instead of putting more wear and tear on school buses by using them to drive sports teams to away games, school buses should be used to transport students on short rides to and from school, as they’re designed to do.

By using the Ford Transit Van 15 Passenger for sports transportation, it avoids putting even more miles on school buses that already get heavy use. Cutting down on the extra driving can help school buses last longer.

5. Vans are Even Safer Than School Buses

Everyone knows that one of the key safety measures for driving a car fastening the seatbelt. But did you know that many school buses don’t have seat belts? Only some states actually require school buses to have seat belts. In the states that do require belts, the only type of seat belts that you’ll find on school buses are lap-only seat belts. Often, passengers don’t even bother to secure their seat belts on school buses, which puts them at a high risk of death or injury during a crash.

Even if passengers wear their lap-only seat belts, studies have shown that these types of seat belts don’t actually improve passenger safety. In fact, lap-only seat belts can actually put passengers at a high risk of severe or fatal neck injuries. Three-point seat belts have been proven to be safer than lap-only seat belts, and yet school buses aren’t required to have them.

The Ford Transit Van 15 Passenger is equipped with the industry-standard three-point seat belts that provide superior safety compared to lap-only seat belts:

• In frontal crashes, wearing a lap-only seat belt reduces the injury rate by 23%. Wearing a three-point seat belt reduces the injury rate by 53%.

• In side crashes, lap-only seat belts reduce the injury rate by 40%. Three-point seat belts reduce it by 59%.

• Lap-only seat belts are about 32% effective in reducing fatal injuries compared with not using a seat belt. Three point belts are about 44% effective.

The numbers are clear: three-point seat belts offer more protection for your team than lap-only seat belts, and they offer significantly more protection than school buses that lack seat belts entirely.

As an additional safety feature, the Ford Transit Van 15 Passenger is outfitted with front and side airbags for driver and passengers. Passenger Wagons come with a full-length, side-curtain airbag, so your whole team is protected, no matter what.

Your team works hard, training to become the best in their sport. The Ford Transit Van 15 Passenger model is built the same way; it’s made to be one the best modes of private transport and cargo carrying available. Your team deserves a vehicle that keeps them comfortable and safe, as they travel to their next destination. Visit Airport Van Rentals in California to pick a van that’s sure to be a winner.