Ford introduces Transit Bus

New 12-seater bus offers comfort and car-like handling

Ford is expanding its Transit range with the inclusion of the rear-wheel drive Transit 12-seat bus which is designed to attract businesses, community organisations and government departments who transport groups of people and are looking for more capability, comfort and efficiency than is available in a people mover.

With a manufacturer’s list price (MLP) of $57,680, the Transit 12-seat bus is based on the mid-roof van with an uprated GVM from 3550kg to 4100kg and nine-seats added in a 2-3-4 configuration behind the three standard seats in the front.

This layout provides significant cargo area behind the fourth row of seats to accommodate luggage. Importantly for owners and drivers, the Transit 12-seat bus can be operated by holders of a regular full Australian driver’s licence.

"Ford has a Transit model to suit many applications and the arrival of the Transit 12-seat bus further expands the opportunities in this segment," said Ford Australia President and CEO, Graeme Whickman. "The Transit 12-seat bus presents a great option for customers who require an economical, well-equipped and comfortable bus."

The arrival of the Transit 12-seat bus brings the model choices in the Transit range to six – which includes the 350L LWB Van, 350E Jumbo Van, 470E Jumbo Van, 470E Single Cab Chassis and 470E Double Cab Chassis.

All are powered by Ford’s 2.2-litre Duratorq turbo-diesel engine, which develops up to 114kW of power and 385Nm of torque. Like its Transit peers, the Transit's TDCi engine is mated to a six-speed manual transmission.

The Transit 12-seat bus also offers Ford ECOnetic fuel-saving technology, which includes auto/stop start, smart regenerative charging, economy gear shift indicator, and battery management systems to improve battery durability.

Like the van range, the bus will be available in both Frozen White and Moondust Silver. Key optional features include the City Pack and single passenger seat instead of the standard dual front passenger seat configuration.

The new interior, with a stylish instrument panel, incorporates a range of smart stowage solutions including a large hidden compartment under the dual front passenger seat and door storage pockets that can fit an A4 clipboard and two-litre drink bottle.

Ford engineers have tuned the vehicle to deliver driving dynamics more usually associated with a small car, with more confident, car-like handling in both urban and highway driving.

The interior is more refined, with reduced noise levels and improved ride comfort for passengers, when compared with the previous model.

To suit the vehicle’s role as both a people carrier and mobile office, Ford has included several convenience features, including the Ford SYNC voice-activated, in-car connectivity system.

The Ford SYNC Emergency Assistance feature uses the driver’s own paired mobile phone via Bluetooth and runs in the background once the phone is properly paired with SYNC and is within mobile phone range.

In the event of an accident where an airbag is deployed or the emergency fuel pump shut off is triggered, the technology calls for emergency response and begins a 10-second countdown during which the driver can cancel the call if necessary.

Importantly for customers, SYNC with Emergency Assistance has no additional contracts or subscriptions to maintain the service, but it does rely on having a working and properly paired mobile phone connected.

Ford introduces Transit Bus

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