Why churches are moving away from 15-passenger vans
The 15-passenger van earned a rollover reputation the hard way — NHTSA spent years issuing warnings about them, and many insurers now surcharge or decline them outright. A purpose-built shuttle bus is a different animal: commercial cutaway chassis, welded steel-cage body construction, a real entry door with steps and rails instead of a climb-in side door.
The volunteer driver question comes first
Before floor plans, before budget: who's driving? If the answer is "whoever's available Sunday," you want a configuration designed for 15 or fewer total occupants — under the federal CDL line — so any regularly-licensed volunteer can drive it. A 14-passenger HLE Strykr exists for exactly this. If you have a CDL driver in the congregation, the 26-passenger Mavryk opens up.
Accessibility is cheaper to build than to retrofit
If any member uses a wheelchair — or will within the ten years you'll own this bus — spec the securement positions now. Mixed layouts keep most of your seats and add wheelchair positions.
How church boards actually pay for buses
Three common paths: a straightforward loan, a board-resolution lease (the structure most lenders want from a church), or a dollar-buyout lease when the board prefers lease treatment on the books with ownership at the end. Terms run to 84 months, most credit decisions come back in 24 hours, and the required paperwork for a church is the 501(c)(3) letter plus standard financials. Budget conversations go better as monthly payments than sticker prices — see Financing for the structures side by side.
New vs used
A new build takes 60–120 days and is exactly your spec. In-stock units are on the ground now. Used commercial buses do come through — mostly as trade-ins, because operators run them until replacing beats repairing — but they're scarce. If used is the budget answer, tell us what you need and we'll call when one lands.
Count your riders honestly (including the wheelchair question) → decide the driver situation (CDL or volunteers) → get pre-qualified so the board knows the payment range → then look at vehicles. Doing it in that order avoids the classic mistake: falling for a bus the church can't legally drive or comfortably afford.