This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2016) |
Classic (transit bus) | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | General Motors Diesel (1982-1987) Motor Coach Industries (1987-1993) Nova Bus (1993-1997) |
Production | 1982–1997 |
Assembly | Saint-Eustache, Quebec Niskayuna, New York |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Transit bus |
Body style | Single-deck bus |
Doors | 1 or 2 |
Powertrain | |
Engine | Detroit Diesel 6V71/8V71 Detroit Diesel 6V92/8V92 Cummins C8.3 Detroit Diesel Series 50 |
Transmission | Allison, ZF or Voith |
Dimensions | |
Length | 40 ft (12.19 m) (16 60 ft (18.29 m) units produced) |
Width | 102 in (2.59 m) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | GM New Look |
Successor | Rapid Transit Series (after 1997) Nova Bus LFS |
The Classic was a single-deck bus developed by General Motors Diesel from its previous-generation New Look design. The "Classic" was nearly identical to the New Look from the belt rail up, but sported a new front which allowed for a wider front door. The design was originally intended solely for the Canadian market as an alternative to the unpopular Rapid Transit Series (RTS) but ultimately the Classic, produced from 1982 to 1997, met with widespread success in both Canada and the United States. It was available primarily as a 40-foot (12.19 m) long, 102-inch (2.59 m) wide coach, although 16 60-foot (18.29 m) long articulated Classics were manufactured. The design was fairly conservative, yet contemporary and less controversial than the RTS.
When GMC in the United States decided to replace the New Look with the RTS II series in 1977, they hoped that they would win over operators in both the US and Canada. But the design and the futuristic look turned off most Canadian transit operators. In 1979, GM Canada's Transit division decided to continue producing New Looks until 1982, when it unveiled the Classic. Several orders for New Looks were still accepted, built and delivered until 1986 for U.S. properties, although the buses were made in Canada.
The Classic proved to be a popular in the U.S. as well, where the Utah Transit Authority would be the first American operator, in 1983, to order the buses (the first order in 1983 was 39, followed by 63 in 1984 and 66 in 1990), which was later followed by orders from DDOT (Detroit), Grand Rapids, Connecticut Transit, Big Blue Bus (Santa Monica), and the contract bus operators serving the New York City metropolitan area (who used single-door Classics for commuter routes).
In 1987 GM sold the transit bus division to Motor Coach Industries (MCI). By 1993 the bus division changed hands again, this time going to NovaBus. During the two transitions the Classic continued to be built until NovaBus discontinued the model in 1997, as most agencies preferred the new low-floor LFS design. The last Classics were built in 1997, for the Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) of Gatineau, Quebec. At the same time the RTS model was discontinued, leaving the LFS and its derivatives as the only bus available from NovaBus.
NovaBus also assembled Classics in the US in 1995 and 1996 from its now-closed plant in New York state. They were delivered to Buffalo, Connecticut, Rochester, the suburbs of Chicago (Pace), and Pittsburgh, the last US transit agency to receive Classics (NovaBus took over the Port Authority Transit contract after previous awardees such as Flxible went bankrupt in 1995). These agencies have retired the American-built units, but some have been refurbished and rebuilt by third-party distributors.
As of 2020, the STO was still running Classics, but they have now all been retired with the arrival of the 2020 NovaBus LFS HEV buses. Pittsburgh, Montreal (including Laval and the South Shore agencies), Ottawa, Buffalo, Halifax, Levis, Toronto, Santa Monica, Connecticut, Rochester, PACE, Quebec City, Windsor and Winnipeg have retired most of their Classics due to increasing maintenance costs, difficulty in obtaining replacement parts, and the agencies' plans to convert to low-floor fleets. However, a few transit agencies began purchasing used Classics due to rising costs and lack of funding for new buses. Regina Transit had acquired used Classics due to provincial and government funding issues, which lasted until early 2014, when they received funding for new buses and to retire their last MCI Classics, becoming 100% low-floor. Metrobus Transit (St. John's, NL) retired their last Classics in January 2016, Calgary Transit retired their last Classics on December 18, 2014, and their fleet is completely accessible as some were sold to STO and Saskatoon Transit, the latter having retired its Classic fleet in 2018. Quebec City's Réseau de transport de la Capitale retired its last Classic on March 3, 2016. [1] NFTA Metro's Classics retired in 2016 when the NovaBus LFS CNG buses arrived. A former 1986 Hamilton Street Railway Classic (HSR 8602) that was retired in 2002 was featured as part of a redecorating sketch in a 2005 episode of The Red Green Show .
As of 2020, Classics from Vancouver, Calgary, Connecticut, Montreal, New York City, Saskatoon, Santa Monica, Toronto and Winnipeg have been preserved by local non-profit bus groups. OC Transpo GM Classic 8776 has been preserved by a private individual as of 2017. A private operator owns a 1994 NovaBus Classic that was retired from Quebec City. Utah Transit Authority has retained MCI Classic 9066 as part of their preservation fleet. [2]
All 16 of the articulated buses were scrapped upon retirement, but some parts from the Halifax Transit fleet were saved for use on their remaining refurbished Classics. [3] [4]
The model designations used for Classics consisted of two letters followed by a series of five numbers then another letter. The only versions built were the TC40-102A, TC40-102N and the TA60-102N. All were equipped with an automatic transmission. (Some TC40-102As with no center exits have been erroneously identified as SC40-102As, but a true Suburban version would have had all forward-facing seats, no center exit, a lowered center aisle and underfloor baggage compartments.)
Series | Type | Length | - | Width | Air conditioning |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
T = transit bus
| A = articulated C = Classic | 40 = 40 feet (12 m) 60 = 60 feet (18 m)
| - | 102 = 102 inches (2.6 m) | A = air conditioned N = non-air conditioned |
The 60-foot version was not introduced until 1992, after MCI purchased the Classic design, and only 16 of these articulateds were ever built: 14 for Halifax Transit (Formerly Metro Transit), and two to Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) (Quebec City, Quebec). NovaBus discontinued the articulated Classic in 1993. (This bus is not to be confused with the New Look TA60-102N, a 60-foot articulated bus manufactured by GMC in 1982, which had a Classic front end grafted onto a New Look body, which allowed for a wider front entrance.)
Seating capacity ranged from 39 to 52, and included wheelchair lifts which were optional for Canadian operators but were required for American operators, to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
There were many optional features for the Classics, including the rear exit doors. Most orders specified the wide versions, but a narrower single-stream door was also available. A majority of orders had either large or no rear windows, but a few opted for a small rear window at the top of the rear cap. The rear window was dropped as an option for US-built buses due to revised air conditioning equipment and a stand-out exhaust deflector that extended the upper half of the rear cap by a few inches. The American-built Classics also had a larger front door due to having handicapped lifts installed. Another modification during the production run was the size of the front destination sign. A taller and wider version was offered from 1990 as more transit systems specified larger electronic signs. The major exception was Montreal, as MCI and NovaBus built an "M-version" which retained the narrow destination sign windows, and was ordered primarily by properties in the Montreal area.
Neither a 35-foot long nor a 96-inch wide version of the Classic was ever made. However, GM, MCI and NovaBus did build a commuter version with all forward-facing seats and no center exit.
From 2004 to 2005, Dupont Industries, a Quebec City-based company, refurbished and rebuild retired Classics into trolley-like sightseeing buses. Dupont's refurbished Classic was called a Dupont Cartier.
Company | Years built | Models |
---|---|---|
GMDD | 1982–1987 | TC40-102A TC40-102N TA60-102N |
MCI | 1987–1993 | TC40-102A TC40-102N TC60-102N |
NovaBus | 1993–1997 | TC40-102A TC40-102N TC60-102N |
Dupont Industries | 2004-2005 | "Cartier" (rebuilt GM, MCI and NovaBus Classics) |
Motor Coach Industries (MCI) is a North American multinational bus manufacturer, specializing in production of motorcoaches. Best known for coaches produced for intercity transit and commuter buses, MCI produces coaches for a variety of applications, ranging from tour buses to prison buses.
An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usually a single-decker, and comprises two or more rigid sections linked by a pivoting joint (articulation) enclosed by protective bellows inside and outside and a cover plate on the floor. This allows a longer legal length than rigid-bodied buses, and hence a higher passenger capacity (94–120), while still allowing the bus to maneuver adequately.
Nova Bus is a Canadian bus manufacturer headquartered in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, Canada. Nova is owned by the Volvo Group.
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) uses buses and other vehicles for public transportation. In 2018, the TTC bus system had 159 bus routes carrying over 264 million riders over 6,686 kilometres (4,154 mi) of routes with buses travelling 143 millionkilometres in the year. As of 2021, the TTC has 192 bus routes in operation, including 28 night bus routes. In 2021, the system had a ridership of 203,319,000, or about 904,200 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2022.
Transportation Manufacturing Corporation (TMC) was a bus manufacturer based in Roswell, New Mexico.
The Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC), brand name for Société de transport de Québec, provides urban public transit services in the Quebec City area. It was founded in 2002, continuing the operations of the former Société de transport de la communauté urbaine de Québec, as the latter was merged into the new Quebec City.
The Volvo B10M was a mid-engined city bus and coach chassis manufactured by Volvo between 1978 and 2003. It succeeded the B58 and was equipped with the same 9.6-litre horizontally mounted Volvo diesel engine mounted under the floor behind the front axle. An articulated version under the model name Volvo B10MA was also offered, as was a semi-integral version known as the C10M, with the engine in the middle of the chassis.
Oshawa Transit was a public transit operator in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1960 to 2005. Its only garage and headquarters was located at 710 Raleigh Avenue in Oshawa.
The GM New Look bus is a municipal transit bus that was introduced in 1959 by the Truck and Coach Division of General Motors to replace the company's previous coach, retroactively known as the GM "old-look" transit bus.
The Rapid Transit Series (RTS) city bus is a long-running series of transit buses that was originally manufactured by GMC Truck and Coach Division during 1977, in Pontiac, Michigan. First produced in 1977, the RTS was GMC's offering of an Advanced Design Bus design (the other entry was the Grumman 870 by competitor Flxible) and is the descendant of GMC's prototype for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transbus project. The RTS is notable for its then-futuristic styling featuring automobile-like curved body and window panels; the Advanced Design Buses were meant to be an interim solution between the high-floor transit buses that preceded them, such as the GMC New Look (which had a curved windshield, but flat side glass and body panels), and modern low-floor buses that would facilitate passenger boarding and accessibility. Most current buses are now made by specialized coach manufacturers with flat sides and windows.
GM Buffalo bus was the slang term for several models of intercity motorcoaches built by the GM Truck and Coach Division at Pontiac, Michigan, between 1966 and 1980. "Buffalo" coaches have a stepped roof in front, and the first three rows of seats are at different levels, mounted on stepped floors similar to some theatre seating.
Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO) is the transit service of the Outaouais region of Quebec. It operates conventional services and the Rapibus, a bus rapid transit service, in Gatineau, Quebec, including the districts of Hull, Aylmer, Gatineau, Buckingham and Masson-Angers. STO provided limited service to Chelsea and Cantley until June 2015 when Transcollines began operations in the Collines de l'Outaouais MRC. STO is located on the Quebec-side of Canada's National Capital Region, and operates several bus routes through Downtown Ottawa, Ontario.
The Low Floor Series (LFS) is a series of transit buses manufactured by Nova Bus for North American customers from 1996 to the present. It is produced in 40' rigid and 62' articulated (nominal) lengths with a variety of powertrains, including conventionally-fueled, hybrid diesel-electric, and battery-electric. The LFS is the first transit bus designed by Nova Bus.
The Orion-Ikarus 286, commonly known as the Orion III, was an articulated bus marketed to Canadian transit operators by Ontario Bus Industries (OBI). It was produced as a joint venture between Ikarus Body and Coach Works and OBI from 1985 to 1989, and deployed primarily in Ottawa and Toronto. The Orion III fleets were retired prematurely due to corrosion, and all examples were withdrawn from service by 2003.
The MCI D-Series is a model of motorcoach bus produced by Motor Coach Industries (MCI). The bus is primarily used by private companies operating scheduled service or commuter buses, government agencies for the transport of prisoners, and in more recent years, public transit agencies who use them on express routes. It is sold alongside the MCI J-Series bus, primarily used by tour and charter operators.
The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority operates a fleet of buses and light rail vehicles in the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls and the surrounding Erie and Niagara counties. It is the second-largest transit system in New York state after New York City's.
The New Flyer Low Floor was a line of low-floor transit buses available in 30-foot rigid, 35-foot rigid, 40-foot rigid, and 60-foot articulated lengths manufactured by New Flyer Industries between 1991 and 2014. In addition to the different available lengths, the buses were sold with a variety of prime movers, ranging from conventional diesel and CNG combustion engines to diesel-electric hybrid, gasoline hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell. The New Flyer Low Floor was restyled in 2005, resulting in two distinct variants: the Low Floor Restyled (LFR), which largely replaced the conventional Low Floor for transit service, and the Low Floor Advanced (LFA), which was intended for bus rapid transit service. New Flyer introduced the Invero in 1999 with the intent that it would replace the Low Floor line, but few were sold; in 2008, New Flyer introduced the Xcelsior, and the Low Floor line was discontinued by 2014.
The Flyer 700/800/900 series were a series of transit buses built in three generations by Western Flyer and its successors Flyer Industries and New Flyer, of Canada, between 1967 and 1987. Except for brief overlap during transition from one generation to the next, they were not in production concurrently. All individual model designations included a prefix of either D, for diesel propulsion, or E, for electrically powered trolleybuses, with the first digit indicating the generation and the last digit indicating a variant within the generation. The introductory model was the D700, originally released in 1967 for the Canadian transit market, and the last series group to be produced, D900, was discontinued in 1987. Flyer had become New Flyer only the year before, in 1986.
The New Flyer High Floor was a line of conventional (high-floor) transit buses available in 35' rigid, 40' rigid, and 60' articulated lengths manufactured by New Flyer Industries between 1987 and 1996. The buses were powered by conventional diesel or natural gas engines using either V-drive or T-drive transmission couplings, with the exception of an articulated electric trolleybus variant manufactured for a single customer, the San Francisco Municipal Railway. The New Flyer Low Floor, a low-floor bus with a similar external appearance, was introduced in 1991 and proved to be more popular than the High Floor, which was discontinued in 1996 in diesel form. CNG high-floor buses continued to be built until 1999, and the articulated version was manufactured until early 2006.
The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District bus fleet, serving the counties of Alameda and Contra Costa, is the third-largest in California. It was initially formed in 1960 with a mixture of gasoline and diesel-powered buses purchased from its immediate predecessor, the privately owned Key System. The first new buses were purchased for AC Transit in 1960, shortly after its formation and the GM New Look buses were delivered later that year. The transit agency operated GM buses exclusively until 1974, when the first Flxible New Look buses were ordered. Since then, AC Transit has ordered and operated buses from most of the major North American transit bus manufacturers, including Flyer, Gillig, Motor Coach Industries, Neoplan USA, and North American Bus Industries, as well as Van Hool, a Belgian bus supplier.