Motor-bus transfer systems are designed to maintain process continuity during the transfer of a motor bus from one power source to an alternate power source. A proper motor-bus transfer system must be designed in such a way that it can operate fast, and prevent damages to the motors and loads connected to the transferred bus. This paper investigates the application challenges associated with the design of a fast motor-bus transfer system. The paper also proposes a compensated discrete-Fourier-transform-based algorithm that enables a fast and reliable bus transfer for power generating plants and industrial facilities. The main advantage of the proposed algorithm is its simple implementation using the commercially available relay technologies. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is validated through comprehensive digital simulation of realistic motor-bus transfer systems in the PSCAD/EMTDC and MATLAB software environments.