Ford Transit 17-seat minibus

My latest article in The Independent School Magazine explains why there has been such a long wait and how Rivervale has secured a number of 17-seat Fords available for the September term.

Why the shortage?

One of the questions we, and other minibus providers, have been repeatedly asked over the last 18-24 months is ‘when can we expect to receive our minibus?’. There has been production delays since the pandemic compounded the shortage of semiconductor chips needed for the electronics of vehicles. The shortage of new vehicles meant that prices for used minibuses, cars and vans skyrocketed as they were not coming onto the market as frequently. But the wait is now over for Rivervale customers.

Rivervale has a number of 17-seat Ford Transit minibuses ready to go

Rivervale is one of the leading providers of minibuses for the UK education sector, as well as commercial and private vans and cars. We have a very good relationship with Ford and as such we have been able to secure a number of Ford 17 seat minibuses, 16-seat Ford eTransits and the brand new 9-seat Ford Tourneo, all can be delivered to you ready for the start of term in September.

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What’s included in a lease deal with Rivervale?

When you take a leasing contract with Rivervale, we not only offer a great deal on a vehicle, but there are lots of extras included that other suppliers simply can not and do not offer.

Low deposits – we keep deposits low, and fix monthly fees, with no hidden extras (such as delivery costs), so that your cash flow is protected.

Part-exchange – We will look at any minibus or vehicle you have for sale to part-exchange or purchase from you, whether you decide to take a new vehicle from us or not. This means you don’t have to worry about the problems of private sales; advertising costs, viewings, removing existing logos and any after-sale issues.

Fully maintained contracts – It’s in both our interests that we fully maintain your vehicle. That means routine services, MOTs and safety inspections are included and you don’t need to worry about them beyond making your vehicles available.

Minibus Safety inspections - Rivervale includes safety inspections in your contract as they are an important part of your obligation to maintain a roadworthy vehicle. Our fleets of mobile engineers will come to your premises to complete these checks, and can also complete pre-MOT checks too – so you don’t need to worry about drop off and pick up.?

Logo and livery included – If you’d like us to, we will add your logo and livery before delivery so that your minibus is ready to drive and represent your school from day one.

Free access to support services – There is more to running minibuses than simply having the vehicle. If you take a vehicle from Rivervale we will give you free access to our Online Minibus Management Course so you can understand all the obligations you have under a Section 19 Permit. It also includes tips and hacks to keep your drivers and vehicles safer and incident free.

We also have a free app, myminibusmanager.com, that anyone can use whether they are a customer of ours or not. The app is designed to help complete and manage your daily and weekly walkaround checks.

A few highlights of the 17 Seat Ford Transit

Ford Minibuses remain a firm favourite for the education sector because of their comfort and safety features. Drivers are well looked after with comfortable and adjustable seats, with even a power point for a laptop in the new version. The Ford Transit is also available with a FordPass Connect Modem so you can provide 4G wifi for up to 10 devices, keeping your passengers happy.

The new Ford Transit has impressive safety features as standard including adaptive cruise control that identifies the prevailing speed limit and automatically maintains it for you. If there is slower traffic in front of you the minibus will automatically detect it and adjust your speed, so you’ll maintain a safe gap until the traffic has cleared.

The minibus’ radars and cameras scan the road ahead and their pre-collision assist will detect if there is a risk of collision with a vehicle, pedestrian, or cyclist. The driver will be warned and if they don’t respond the vehicle will automatically apply the brakes to avoid or reduce the impact of the collision.

The Ford Transit does need D1 entitlement to drive and comes with all the standard features of park assist and reverse camera to help manoeuvrability.

Get in touch

If you want to find out more about the Ford 17-seat Transit, eTransit, 9-seat Tourneo or any other vehicle then please visit Rivervale.co.uk/minibus or get in touch with our friendly team on 01869 253744 or email [email protected] to get a no obligation quote.

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