Stanford Coachworks Newsletter:

This month we have been busy updating a fleet of wheelchair accessible minibuses for one of the UK’s largest health and social care charities. We met our client back in 2004 and since then we have converted almost 150 minibuses for them.

The national charity has won multiple awards and provide a number of different services including supported living, full time care and day care to children and adults with a diverse range of needs.

As they continue to expand as a company, additional accessible minibuses are required to help transport their clients to appointments, out for day trips and to / from their specialist day services - this is where we come in to help! We have worked with the charity for 18 years and over this time, we have designed a personalised specification, based on the L1H1 Citroen Relay, which works perfectly for them.

To ensure that the large majority of the organisation’s staff members are able to easily drive the vehicles, our clients opted for a fleet of smaller M1 minibuses. Each Citroen Relay can facilitate either five seated passengers or three wheelchairs with seats removed. The vehicles still include all of those extra Stanfords touches such as patterned moquette feature panels, interior LED lighting and a wheelchair clamp storage box.

• Based on L1H1 Citroen Relays

• Front cab seats reupholstered to match the rear saloon

• 3 x rear saloon passenger seats & 2 x front cab passenger seats upholstered in the charity’s chosen patterned blue full moquette

• All seats fitted with removable seat fixings

• Interior upholstered in soft feel contrasting grey carpet material

• Patterned moquette centre roof panel

• Patterned moquette head protection pads

• Tracked flooring to accommodate up to 3 x wheelchairs

• Wheelchair restraint storage box with matching patterned moquette cover & Koller restraints

• Manual pedal operated side step with automictic LED step light

• High visibility yellow grab rails at the entrance to the rear saloon

• Modesty screen upholstered in matching grey soft feel carpet material

• Eberspacher independent rear saloon heating

• LED blue / white interior roof lighting

• High intensity LED loading light

• Door open warning buzzer

• Ricon internal tail lift

• Upper cant rail tracking with matching patterned moquette covers

• Heavy-duty rear door stays

 Top 10 accessible minibus features with Nigel Povey

Looking for a new wheelchair accessible minibus but not too sure what you’ll need to include? Nigel Povey of the SCW sales team is here to give you his opinion on our best top 10 accessible minibus features!

Click the images on the right to expand.

Patterned moquette / wipe clean mix passenger seating

Since working for Stanfords, I have noticed that this is definitely our most popular seating design as it offers clients the best of both worlds! The wipe clean base and lower back curve makes the seats incredibly easy to clean whilst the moquette back gives clients the opportunity to personalise their vehicles by adding a pop of colour. We have a huge selection of materials to choose from too!

Rear saloon climate control

An independent heater and air conditioning system for you passengers is also one of our most popular options. Keeping passengers comfortable whilst travelling is a priority for many organisations and a top suggestion of mine.

The SCW fold-out step

We offer a fantastic low-entry side step, exclusive to Stanford Coachworks, which many of our clients have found incredibly helpful. I would recommend this step especially if you’re carrying passengers with reduced mobility as the low height of the first step, combined with twin grab rails, makes it incredibly easy for passengers to access the rear saloon. Please note, this step is available on certain conversions only, contact me for more information.

Ebony wood-effect lino flooring

We offer a wide range of lino flooring options but a fan favourite is the ebony wood-effect. It gives your minibus an executive feel and is one of the easiest to keep clean too!

Metro headrests

Our metro headrests are another popular seating option as they double as grab handles, making it easier for passengers to access their seat.

Removable seat fixings

Maybe you don’t need to carry wheelchair passengers all of the time, so instead of having a minibus with fewer seats to allow space for each wheelchair, I would suggest including removable seat fixings. These fixings allow you to easily remove as many or as little passenger seats as required, giving you unlimited seating layout options.

Wheelchair clamp storage box

When you’re carrying passengers using wheelchairs, it’s probable that you’ll also be carrying lots of equipment to secure those wheelchairs. So, to make life easier, we include a custom-built wheelchair restraint storage box. I would suggest having this positioned at the back of the minibus, besides the tail lift, but you can have it wherever you like.

Custom modesty screen

Another popular option that I’ve come across is the custom modesty screen. As standard, our modesty screens are either upholstered in plain material with our S logo, but I recently had some clients who wanted their own logo embroidered onto it. It adds that personal touch to your minibus and looks great!

Limo tinted rear windows

Many of our clients with accessible minibuses like to have the rear saloon windows tinted. It gives the vehicle an executive exterior finish and enables the passengers inside to travel comfortably in complete privacy.

Exterior signwriting

One of our most popular options has to be exterior signwriting. Many of our clients opt for this as it personalises their minibus and makes it stand our from the crowd. It’s also great for advertising your organisation!