The JOURNEY

When you have the moniker "Street Smart Since 1895", it says something about you as a company. Coach and Equipment Manufacturing Corp. has been building buses in Penn Yan, New York since 1895. Originally under the name of W.H. Whitfield & Sons Body Builders, then Penn Yan Bodies (1928) and finally Coach and Equipment Manufacturing (1948), we've come to be known as the company that makes the sturdy and reliable workhorses for the mid-size bus industry.

In 2000, Coach and Equipment moved into an 85,000 square foot ultra-modern facility designed specifically for the production of small to mid-size buses. We replaced, upgraded and redesigned machinery and work stations to facilitate the production process, thus increasing our capacity to accommodate our expanding customer base. We cut metal with lasers, bend it in computer controlled presses, weld it to exacting tolerances, paint it and bake it for long lasting durability.

Our employees are highly skilled and experienced and understand that quality is everyone's job and productivity improvements are a team effort. Every bus that comes off the line is built from the ground up and is road worthy from day one.

• Shoulder room is increased to 72" at the top of the vertical sidewall design. This is 10% more shoulder room than the 65"available in a pop-top van.
• Seat room (measured at seat height) increases to 73" from 69" for a typical window van.

Sidewall Profile for a pop-top van

Our Vertical Sidewall Profile

Most pop top vans use a window van as a foundation. The window height is limited due to the window's location relative to the original roof sill. The Metrolite's sidewall design permits the use of transit windows and improved passenger field of view.

• Individual passenger ventilation control is enhanced with transit windows.
• Improved passenger field of view. Transit windows allow the passenger to see all there is to see, not just the roadway.
• Emergency egress is improved with the use of hinged emergency exit windows meeting the requirements of FMVSS 217.
• Improved curb vision resulting from the glass in the lower portion of the entrance door and the 491 square inch expansive Curb Side Safety View window.

Typical Window Van

Vertical Sidewall Design

• The guardrail construction is augmented with a seat mounting and floor design that is engineered to reduce impact penetration.
• The floor design utilizes 11 gauge steel "Z" members and sill plate coupled with a ¾ inch exterior grade plywood mounted over a metal sub floor to provide additional resistance to side impact forces.
• All seats are mounted to a thick seat rail extending the full length of the vehicle. This seat rail is interlocked to a backing plate of 11 gauge steel. These components reinforce the vertical tube structure providing added protection.

Make sure to visit our Engineering Page to see an interactive feature highlighting our innovative design and construction methods.