Getting started with mid-size buses.

As an interesting example of how markets and products track each other, consider long-term care and the mid-size bus. Resident mobility is becoming an increasingly important value as nursing home and/or assisted living operators strive to enhance their competitive appeal. And just as this trend develops, there arrives a new type of transportation vehicle - more customized than a van, more convenient than a tour bus, and more comfortable than either: the so-called mid-size bus. Its many implications for the long-term care industry were reviewed recently by Sheldon Walle, the mid-size bus manufacturers' top spokesperson, in an interview with Nursing Homes Editor Richard L. Peck.

Peck: To allay any confusion at the outset, what is - and is not - a mid-size bus?

Walle: Generally it's defined as a passenger-carrying motor coach under 40 feet in length, less than 30,000 pounds in gross weight and accommodating 14 to 30 passengers of varying degrees of function. Compared to a van, it has a wider, taller body, allowing more comfort and ease of access, has more window space, is equipped with handrails for more convenient moving about, and a lower entry door, often equipped with a wheelchair lift. It is more maneuverable in city and suburban traffic than any comparable vehicle and is therefore safer. In general, it has been designed for a very clearly defined niche market of disabled but still reasonably active elderly.

Peck: With more and more nursing homes looking at going into assisted living, what are the implications of this vehicle for that market?

Walle: It is already catching on in the continuing care retirement community market, and is just starting to develop for assisted living. One even newer variation is the special purpose-vehicle - the mobile medical assistance bus, the mobile chiropractic clinic and the mobile hair salon, for example. All of this is in line with the assisted living concept of bringing services to the residents. We will see more and more of these vehicles as today's baby boomers move into assisted living; the growth potential is tremendous, in my view.

Peck: For the nursing home operating on a narrow profit margin, what is the best way to look at an investment in a mid-size bus?

Walle: Interestingly, there is a widely available vehicle that is just right for this purpose. It's called a single rear wheel cutaway, or narrow body cutaway. This vehicle has almost the same body as the mid-size bus, and can have the same appointments (with more limited wheelchair space, of course), and seats up to 12 passengers. This means that the driver does not have to have a commercial driver's license, as is so often the case in these settings. It is not quite as wide as the mid-size bus - 86[inches] vs. 96[inches] - because of the smaller number of seats. It can be a good way for the nursing home to get started with this type of vehicle and get some experience with operating and maintaining it.

Peck: What are we talking about in terms of price?

Walle: We are looking at about $35,000 for the single wheel cutaway to the upper 40s for the mid-size bus. The mid-size bus can go up to 50 or $60,000, depending on the equipment ordered. A wheelchair lift, for example, can run about $3,000.

Peck: Do customers still tend to want to overload these vehicles, as was pointed out in our article last year?

Walle: That practice is coming to an end, fortunately. As an industry, we understand the requirements of a safe product, and that the customer is not "always right." The customer comes out the winner in acquiring safer, more durable vehicles.

Peck: In making this investment, what makes more sense for the nursing home - lease or purchase?

Walle: It is partly an accounting decision, of course; a purchased vehicle becomes an asset that can be depreciated, while a leased vehicle is an off-balance sheet financing. For the nursing home just starting out, though, it might make more sense to lease than to borrow the money for a purchase; there are many creative leasing arrangements, with an option to buy or walk away.

Peck: Now entering its third year, is the Mid-Size Bus Manufacturers Association developing information for consumers?

Walle: We have been working on safety standards and on developing as a voice for the industry and are now in the early stages of developing educational information for the marketplace. I would say that, if there is one important message that we want to get across now, it's that customers should try to arrange these leases or purchases through their local dealers rather than direct from the factory. A mid-size bus is a piece of equipment that should be specified and maintained at the local level, and service is more sure to be satisfactory at that level.