OutLook for the Midsize Bus Marketplace.

BASED ON AN INTERVIEW WITH SHELDON WALLE, ELDORADO NATIONAL 

In the 20 years since the transportation industry identified the midsize bus (approximately 40-passenger seating or less) as an especially useful product for the long-term care field, a great deal of progress and promise has developed. Both skilled nursing and assisted living facilities have recognized the usefulness of vehicles that are large enough to transport a significant number of residents and their wheelchairs comfortably and safely--without having full-size buses or, with vehicles of fewer than 16 seats, not requiring a commercial driver's license (CDL). Articles in previous issues of Nursing Homes/Long Term Care Management (including last September's OPTIMA Award article "Transportation Links to Improved Quality of Life," p. 26) have shown how facilities have put these buses to use.

Recent years have seen new developments in the industry. For example, the Mid-Size Bus Manufacturers Association (MSBMA) has expanded to accept, as associate members, the vendors who do so much to advance the technologic development of these products. Chassis makers, such as Ford, Chevrolet and International, and manufacturers of windows, seats, air conditioning units, wheelchair lifts and more, are now directly involved with MSBMA membership. This encourages networking and improves communication, and it will reduce the time needed for product innovation.

Meanwhile, our long-term care customers are starting to feel the impact of the Baby Boom and its demand for quality service. The demands these days are often on behalf of Baby Boomers' parents who are now entering long-term care facilities. These sons and daughters want decent transportation options made available to their parents and, above all, they want assurance that these options are safe and secure. Bus manufacturers have always made safety and security a principal focus of product development.

Facilities, too, are seeing new opportunities to put their existing vehicles to work. At-home elderly increasingly need transportation assistance for doctor's appointments, shopping and church. As a result, public and private community transportation services are looking for practical, affordable access to vehicles. Long-term care facilities whose buses sit idle part of the time might look into developing contractual relationships with these transportation providers for off-hours use of their vehicles. Aside from providing service to community-dwelling elderly in need, this offers facilities several advantages--for example, a chance to make a little extra money in these cash-strapped times, and a way to establish their identities and reputations with potential customers.

There also have been recent, noteworthy developments within the product category itself. For example, low-floor options are becoming increasingly popular. With this option, the bus is suspended nine inches off the ground, so that entry from a typical eight-inch curb is expedited for passengers using wheelchairs. The so-called chopped-floor minivan, accommodating a wheelchair and perhaps three or four passengers, is one vehicle using this option. Another choice that ElDorado National will be introducing in a few months is a 23-passenger vehicle, designed to accommodate up to nine wheelchairs, that uses front-wheel drive and axle-less rear suspension; this allows loading of the low-floor bus both from the side and the rear because of the added interior space.

In short, even despite a period of economic uncertainty, the transportation industry continues to provide long-term care with new options and opportunities for progress.

Sheldon Walle is senior vice-president of ElDorado National.