General Motors RTS Buses.

[escaladelover]

Do you remember those buses from many years ago, I Used to be on one when I Was a kid, when broward county transit had them, they were the rage back then?

[DanCBJMS1988]

Could you at least post a picture of one so that we can rattle our brains to see if we can remember it?

If you're talking about the buses that GATRA currently owns, then I would say that they are not that bad of a bus. Sure, an MBTA Commuter Rail train is more comfortable than that bus, but to go to school and back, it wasn't that bad.

[bgclarke]

Here's the wikipedia page on the RTS bus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC_RTS_bus

I like the look of the RTS bus, but they were never used up here - they were deemed to be too futuristic looking.

[DanCBJMS1988]

Oh yea, RIPTA uses it as the backbone of their fleet. Every single one that I've seen is always vandalized.

[GMMediumDutyMQ]

I'm writing a book on their history as we speak.

In fact, this Saturday, I'm (finally) meeting with the chief engineer who saw the Rapid Transit Experimental (RTX) through to production as the RTS-II.

Shame the RTS-III and RTS-IIIT never made it into production.

RTS is still being made, nearly 30 years after, by Millennium. NJT just took delivery of some a few weeks back.

[Tomko]

Originally Posted by bgclarke

I like the look of the RTS bus, but they were never used up here - they were deemed to be too futuristic looking.

Think again. RTS buses are currently used by the STO which operates several routes right through downtown Ottawa.

[MCGARRETT]

What were the RTSIII and RTSIIIT going to have?


I remember these buses were in service everywhere. I even remember the early ones with the rear window, Walt Disney World had some of them as hotel shuttles way back.

[GMMediumDutyMQ]

Originally Posted by MCGARRETT

What were the RTSIII and RTSIIIT going to have?


I remember these buses were in service everywhere. I even remember the early ones with the rear window, Walt Disney World had some of them as hotel shuttles way back.

RTS-III and IIIT had three axles. RTS-II had two.

RTS-III was built in 1970, and was different than the three-axled RTX of '68. In fact, it was re-manufactured into the first of three RTS-IIITs in 1972-1973, which we all know somewhat better as Transbus.

[GMMediumDutyMQ]

Originally Posted by bgclarke

Here's the wikipedia page on the RTS bus.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC_RTS_bus

I like the look of the RTS bus, but they were never used up here - they were deemed to be too futuristic looking.

That's not why they never caught on in Canada.

Fact of the matter was that the Advanced Design Bus (ADB) was mandated by UMTA, which helped offset the increased cost of the design. The cost of a single RTS was nearly 30% more than the New Look bus (particuarly since you consider that bus' tooling was more than paid for at that point...).

This wasn't the case in Canada, which didn't undergo the entire Transbus "fiasco", nor did it live underneath the rules of the ADB White Book. Subsequently, any RTS' sold in Canada weren't subsidized to the extent that they were in America. Canadian operators said "no thanks", and stuck with the New Look.

This is also why the "Classic" was born - it provided Canadian markets with the same basic bus as the New Look, but updated its appearance and accessibility at the same time. From the beltline down, they were the same bus.

Regardless, some RTS' made it north of the border. GM sold either four or five, built in Pontiac - despite investigating plans to build the bus in London. TMC sold a handful here and there - including a bizzare few Series 08s to British Columbia. Nova, being a Canadian company, managed to hawk a few in their home territory as well, most notably to Toronto, who purchased quite a few in a wide-front-door, suburban form.

[DanCBJMS1988]

Originally Posted by Tomko

Think again. RTS buses are currently used by the STO which operates several routes right through downtown Ottawa.

Okay, now I want to see one that isn't vandalized like the RIPTA buses.

[GMMediumDutyMQ]

Originally Posted by MCGARRETT

I remember these buses were in service everywhere. I even remember the early ones with the rear window, Walt Disney World had some of them as hotel shuttles way back.

FWIW, no RTS that GM made - outside of the RTX experimental - ever had a rear window.

01 and 03 models - with the "slopebacks" - appeared to have such a feature, but in reality, it was a painted panel that opened for climate system servicing. Most A/C equipment was mounted in this area, on the other side of the rear bulkhead/firewall.



The only RTS' that ever sported a rear window were some of Chicago's TMC Series 08 buses (on left). These models didn't have aircon installed, and subsequently, such a design could be implemented. By 2002, these coaches were retrofitted with A/C, and they no longer sported the rear window (right).

[91 s-10baja]

we don't have those here! we have GM HYBRID BUSES LIKE:

[GMMediumDutyMQ]

Originally Posted by 91 s-10baja

we don't have those here! we have GM HYBRID BUSES

Contrary to what press materials and GM Blogs may tell you, those AREN'T GM Buses.

Those are New Flyer DE60LF buses (Canadian company), equipped with Allison's hybrid drive system.

I would say that they're as much GM as a '32 Ford powered by a Chevy small block is, but then again, these buses use CAT and Cummins motors. GM only builds the intermediate powertrain between flywheel and axle.

[escaladelover]

I Wish Millennium transit could merge with the company that started it all.

GM.

RTS needs to make a bigger comeback.

[MCGARRETT]

They were the sloped back ones, but I guess that it looked like a had rear window. The earlier "New Look" buses did have rear window, I could have confused them. The local airport Avis lot used to have some really short wheelbase RTS as shuttles until a couple of years ago.