To accommodate this need, some manufacturers began conversions of passenger vehicles, including the Chevrolet/GMC Suburban and International Harvester Travelall.

In 1971, Chrysler introduced the Maxiwagon variant of the Dodge Sportsman and Plymouth Voyager, becoming the first 15-passenger vans sold commercially in North America.

From 1971 to 1975, all three American major automotive manufacturers ("Big Three") would completely redesign their full-size van product lines, introducing heavier-duty chassis and higher payload capacity, with all three designs moving the engine forward of the driver.

The van chassis drew the "cutaway" name from the missing rear bodywork, usually covered by temporary plywood or heavy cardboard material for shipment.

Similar to its GM-based Papoose, the Busette was built on a dual rear-wheel chassis, as Wayne sought to increase stability over standard passenger vehicles.

To keep weight down, Wayne designed the Busette with 63″ of headroom (approximately 10″ lower than a full-size school bus roofline), which limited standing room for older students and adults.

The initial Ford Econoline prototype was well received by potential customers, leading the company to mass-produce the Busette.

In comparison to vans and other small buses, the Busette's dual rear-wheel design was favorable to single rear wheels due to its greater stability.

However, instead of three rubrails on the side panels, the Chaperone featured four; the body was essentially the same design used for the Lifeguard built to fit a van chassis.

After the 1990 discontinuation of the Busette, Wayne Corporation sold the tooling and product rights to Mid Bus, an Ohio manufacturer of small school buses formed from the closure of Superior Coach.

Busette and Transette minibuses both offered optional wheelchair ramps and electro-hydraulic lifts which had been developed by accessibility product pioneers Don Collins, a former Wayne dealer and founder of Collins Bus Corporation (which grew into a major manufacturer specializing in small buses), and Ralph Braun, a disabled man who started Braun Industries with products developed in his garage.