Girardin Minibus Inc. is a Canadian short bus manufacturer. Based in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, Girardin forms part of the Micro Bird joint venture with Blue Bird Corporation. As part of Micro Bird, Girardin is a manufacturer of cutaway van chassis-based minibuses.
While many Micro Bird buses are produced as school buses and related student transport vehicles, Girardin also produces commercial-use buses using cutaway van chassis. In Canada, the company serves as the nationwide distributor of the Blue Bird school bus and commercial bus product line.
Following the 2008 closure of Corbeil, Girardin was the lone Canadian-based manufacturer of school buses until the 2011 opening of Autobus Lion (now Compagnie Électrique Lion).
History
thumb|Blue Bird by Girardin MB-II
thumb|right|Girardin MB-II, rear view
Girardin traces its roots to 1935, when company founder Lionel Girardin opened a used-car dealership and repair shop in St-Félix-de-Kingsey, Quebec.
The first bus manufacturer in North America to develop a body for the Ford Transit cutaway cab chassis, Micro Bird introduced the T-Series model line in 2015, slotted between the MB-II and G5. While the Transit replaced the E-series as a passenger van, the T-Series marked the introduction of a third model line, produced with a choice of axle configurations on a single body for the first time.
Models
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
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! colspan="5" |Girardin/Micro Bird Product lineup
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! Model Name
!G5 (Micro Bird DRW)
!MB-II (Micro Bird SRW)
!T-Series (Micro Bird Transit)
!MB-IV
|-
!Image
|195x195px|center|alt=
|167x167px|center|alt=
|center|frameless|200x200px
|222x222px|center|alt=
|-
!Body Configuration
|style="text-align:center"|Dual rear wheels
|style="text-align:center"|Single rear wheels
|style="text-align:center"|
|style="text-align:center"|Dual rear wheels
|-
!Production
|style="text-align:center"|2005–present
|style="text-align:center"|1991–present (see notes)
|style="text-align:center"|2015–present
|style="text-align:center"|1991-2004
|-
!Versions
| colspan="3" style="text-align:center" |
|style="text-align:center"|
|-
!Chassis Supplier
|
|
|
|
|-
! Maximum Seating Capacity
|
- 30 (school bus)
- 25 (commercial bus)
|
- 20 (school bus)
- 12 (commercial bus)
- 14 (MFSAB)
|25 (school bus/MFSAB)
|
|-
! Notes
|
- Introduced in 2005, replacing MB-IV as DRW product line
- Replaced Blue Bird Micro Bird under Micro Bird joint venture
- An electric version of Micro Bird G5 Built on ford E450 chassis set to commerce production for 2019.
|
- Introduced in 1991 as first single rear-wheel bus to use a cutaway body; produced with aluminum body panels
- Distributed in the United States by Blue Bird from 1992 to 1999 (Girardin from 1999 to 2009)
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- Produced since 2015, first bus produced on Ford Transit chassis in North America
- Derived from MB-II body (rebodied to fit Ford Transit chassis)
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- Introduced in 1991 as dual rear-wheel version of MB-II
- Sold by Blue Bird alongside Blue Bird Micro Bird from 1992 to 1999
- Replaced by Girardin G5 for 2005
|}
See also
- Blue Bird Corporation - distributor of Girardin products in United States; Girardin is distributor of Blue Birds in Canada.
- Cutaway van chassis
- Les Enterprises Michel Corbeil - former Canadian competing manufacturer of small school buses