THE FIRST RTS-II COACHES DELIVERED BY G.M.C.
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2008
- In the Fall of 1977, GMC Truck & Coach held a media event to show-off the first RTS (Rapid Transit Series) bus fleet to roll off their assembly line.
On Friday, September 23, 1977, the General Motors Corp. paraded before the news media its first newly designed transit bus since 1959, during ceremonies that were held at the GMC Truck & Coach plant in Pontiac, MI. The first "RTS-II" buses to begin production at that plant are featured in this WJBK-TV2 news clip from September, 1977.
The first fifteen (15) RTS coaches manufactured by GMC were of the Model TH-8201, and delivered in October of 1977 to the Long Beach Public Transportation Authority of Long Beach, CA. They were numbered #4701-4715.
(high quality viewing of video suggested)
(video posted for educational purposes only)
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![1980 GMC RTS T8H203 - Ex- OCTD / OCTA 3001 [ Sound Recording ONLY ]](/img/1.gif)
How does a bus that was was made 43 years ago look more modern than the buses we have on the road today?
They probably would have still been made if it weren’t for low floors. Millennium transit services failed, and I bet their new T-drive RTS design wasn’t as dramatic as here unfortunately. So hard to find nice information like this video about that company.
This is where it was the best. Was both modern and acessible. Without loosing the coolness of a loud bus engine, high floor height, and comfort. These new low floor hybrid busses will never compare in the fun factor and comfort of riding buses. I miss riding New York’s RTS busses.
Such a timeless design
These were my favorite buses growing up as a kid in NYC back in the 80's!! I miss those bus sounds, especially when they merge onto an expressway.
RTS stands for
Rapid Transit Series
for those who don’t know
Timeless industrial art. Proof public transit can be beautified.
This video here is classic!
I have always been a big fan of the RTS since the early 80's.
When I worked for LBT as a utility worker (11/95 to 1/98) I had the opportunity to drive 4701 around the yard. Now, 4701 is in a museum in Hershey, Pa. and all the RTS's are now retired. They also had 2 Eagle model 10 coaches (4801 and 4802) before they were replaced with 1 Prevost H3-45 coach.
Yup.
Have been to MBT and set foot on good old 4701.
She's a beauty.
Our favorite kind of bus.
That Prevost, 2000, is now the very last diesel bus in LBT's fleet. It will be retired by the end of this year, being replaced with 5 new battery powered commuter buses (BYD C10M). That will make LBT a 100% clean air fleet.
I still miss the GMC RTS bus it was part of my childhood 😢 😔 💯 😭
Today Marks 45 years since the 1st RTSs made their debut in the USA
These were some badass buses. I wish they were still used instead of the hybrid crap of today. I still get to ride NovaBus RTS-06's though. lol
My all time favorite city buses. The RTS's.
sonic100X I don't truly have a favorite type of bus, but I do really like the RTS.
TheCRTman I don't truly have a number one favorite bus either but i consider the RTS as my favorite city transit bus. I live in Massachusetts and the company PVTA has three types of buses. Although now they have new buses, they still have a lot of RTS-06's. They even repainted them in their new scheme.
sonic100X Well that's what I meant, city transit bus. ;) I don't have a favorite because there were so many good looking (old) buses. The RTS is one of them! I live in SF.
TheCRTman You know over the years PVTA has owned a lot of RTS buses the past few decades from GMC to TMC to Novabus. I don't know much about it history because i was born in the mid to late 90s so i wasn't around when they had GMC's rts but was around when they still TMC's rts. Around 1990 was when they purchase TMC's rts then in 1995 they purchased Novabus' rts with the tailpipe on top instead of the bottom and at that same time they changed their theme with their 2nd logo, it's new slogan (Out of this world service) with a picture of a flying RTS bus and bus stop signs where change with the picture of an RTS bus that says PVTA. Then in 2007 they purchase Gilligs changed their theme and logo. Their routes used to be color coded but that changed. Then in late 2011 they purchase Xcelsiors and changed their theme and logo once again. So today they have three bus brands, TMC's RTS are no longer around. I don't really like the new buses because the RTS-06 bus design is a lot cooler looking and faster. So what are your favorite buses and how many bus brands does SFMTA have?
Moved to Long Beach from Los Angeles in 1980, and they were still running plenty of the sloped rear RTS ll (or series 1) buses and not only did I love the look of these, they rode amazing and had very modern features and interiors for the time. We just lost our family car months after arriving/moving and wouldn’t have another till late ‘84, so it would be an understatement to say we rode plenty of these buses! On bus trips to LA, I clearly recall they had the flat or ‘square’ rear buses first which was a clear update or series 2 with other small insignificant detail changes and I remember finding these far less appealing and sleek looking as our Long Beach buses were. But eventually they changed the rear caps on the LB buses as well, most were new with the square rear ends and some were retrofitted with the flat/square ‘caps’ added due to updated engine/AC/hardware to the series 1 models. Best looking public transit busses to date in my opinion!
Great video. I wish there was more General Motors videos for buses available.
Yeah! Thumbs up!
Yeah, we had millennium transit services that went nowhere and almost survived this design in the early 21st-century.
The first for America, first for LBT. 4701-4715 served LBT from 1977 to 1992, replaced by TMC RTS 8900s and 9000s. 4701 was restored by LBT in 1992 and preserved. Now at Hershey, PA at the Bus Museum.
Yup
I love the rts I own 2 of them and 82 GMC and a 90 tmc
New York was the last city to ever have em
September 23, 2022 will be the RTSs Official 45th Anniversary! GMC Created the best buses of the USA, since 1981 the RTS-04s dominated the streets of NYC, along with its offsprings the TMC, and Nova RTSs! Thank you for 38 Years Of Service!
1981-2019
1977 I've seen photos with the slope back rts being in New York city
We had the RTS-II in Indianapolis as well and many of them. They directly replaced all 1976-1977 AM Generals. The wonderful part of the RTS fleet was that they had power steering which was a first for Indy. Once the RTS fleet got a few years old, they too turned to junk and rattled worse than the AM General Fleet. It was after this that Canadian built GM "New Looks" became available which was the best transit bus ever made in history. RTS was good brand new, but quickly turned into a nightmare.
The ones from the 77- 80 were still new to the market. I feel like the rts 1981 and beyond that were pretty solid buses
NYC MTA had 20 year old RTS busses running up to 2019. I really liked them. They were surprisingly quiet inside, but loud driving by. So many more seats and was always a comfortable ride. They rattled though.
I remember riding on one of those on the 55 line back in 1996. I was always baffled about how the rear doors looked different (I obviously know why now). It was bus #178 iirc. They sure don't make buses like they used to anymore.
So amazing! My favorite bus!
Same here. They still look modern today despite being released 43 years ago!
Jamie Foxworthy Exactly!
Same
@@jamiecinder9412
Millennium RTS did such a nice redesign, I wish they didn’t fail. What a sad ending to such a great start for RTS.
Now this is a throwback! Those new buses are now over 40 years old. Charlotte CATS had some from 1979 and 1991. All 1991 TMC RTS were retired by 2004 in Charlotte.
Man I wish I got to drive the RTS. These were the buses I think of when I think of city buses. As an adult I worked at and drove Greyhound over the course of14.5 years and now drive the city bus. The agency I work for got rid of their last RTS right before I signed on.
I did not know these came out in the 70s. I thought these came out in the 90s
Actually, the NFTA got the first 40-foot "96-inch wide" model TH-8603 RTS-II (Series 03) coaches which were delivered between Nov'78--Jan'79, whereas the Detroit DOT received the first mass-produced "102-inch wide" model TH-8203 RTS-II (Series 03) coaches (serial numbers 001-070), which were delivered beginning in May of 1978.
great shot of the slide glide doors
Those are plug style doors.
Slide glides open inward.
History Of GMC RTS
1st models thru 1979 8v71 Detroit Diesel. At 1979 the 6v71 is available on 35ft. and 40ft. units
GMC RTS and Neoplan ard the best buses to hit the city streets.
jesussaves13 and flixble 870 and metro.
@@jmjfanss 870 and the Metro were essentially the same bus minus some small differences.
And the 870 was Rohr/Grumman.
Metro was Flxible.
As you correctly stated, the RTS-II (Series 01) buses featured in this video were built special for a select group of transit properties. However, the first "mass-produced" RTS-II (Series 03) coaches (with production beginning in April of 1978) were delivered 25 miles south from the GM Pontiac plant, right down the I-75 F-way to the Detroit bus operation.
Nope.
First production models went to Long Beach Transit in CA. The very first one, 4701, is at the Museum of Bus Transportation in Hershey PA.
@@blue9multimediagroupok BOOMER
a real supet heavyweight-32000 pounds empty-overbuilt to survive the extremes and then some (16 ton beast!)- the original 5105 gmc and the the mack c 50 weighed in at 20500( 10 1/4 ton) in comparison to this 16 tpn beast. these buses were BIGGER BADDER AND STRONGER- their only limitation was the governor attached 6v71 diesels/the nova built ones are still used in nyc THEY ARE not the original GMs out of pontiac michigan! I miss these friendly faced monsters
40 Years Ago Long Beach Transit in California Made History As Being the 1st Customer With the GM RTS Busses, in 1985 LBT Made History With GM When They Recieved the 10,000 RTS Bus (4477), Today LBT is All Low Floors Today With New Flyer, Gillig: CNG Low Floors, & BYD Electric Busses on the Free Passport in its Bus Fleet Today!
Incrediblly, the RTS-01 was built on a limited run basis for a few transit authorities such as Long Beach and DART-Dallas. The first mass produced RTS model was the RTS-03 which the NFTA of Buffalo, New York got the very first order (serial numbers 001-065).
They may not be in big cities, but the Advantages have been sold to more customers then any other Low Floor bus in the market today. D-Dot is getting 46 of them speaking of that. Don't know how many customers own the Gillig BRTs, but the Advantage has way more then the BRTs. Now that's aside. The RTS is a bus that was built to last and I consider it the icon of New York City. Many lasted 20+ years in service.
I drive an RTS for Walt Disney World and they are of course the oldest buses in the fleet.They don't have anywhere near the room the Nova and Gillig buses have.It's interesting to see these buses brand new compared to what they had at the time.
Christopher DuBois I didn't know these were still around I thought they were retired by then glad to see they are still around
Green Mountain Transit (Burlington, VT) still has a few mainly used on school runs (Burlington "proper" has only a few yellow buses.
Actually they have more. RTS seats 44-48 while a NOVA or GILLIG only seats 37-40.
@@blue9multimediagroup
It’s true due to the front window seats being possible allowing an additional 6 seats and less of a social stigmal to stand in between the wheel area with low floors. I miss riding on the very front seat above the front right wheel and looking out the windshield and the floor of the door as the bus was moving.
@@an2niotransitproductions813
Yup.
Front right hand seat was my spot (or the front left behind the driver if that one wasn't open).
Could see the driver and watch the scenery come up.
The RTS II is being preserved at the National Museum of Bus Transportation, in Hershey Pa. I'd post the URL but this junk iPad won't let me.
@hbc2nddetroit I thought that was about right. I was in the fifth grade when the 5000-series RTS buses arrived in Buffalo.
cool!
TriMet's 75 RTS's buses, built in July/August 1982 and placed in service that October, used 6V92TA engines, but lacked A/C. TriMet operators didn't like the handling of them, though, and were displaced by the first couple of New Flyer low floor buses in the late '90s.
@hbc2nddetroit The interesting thing is that the NFTA bought a batch of Dallas DART RTS-01s to replace AM General Metropolitans.
I wonder if GMC still make buses up to this day and made the RTS successer model. Heck maybe make limited edition low floor bus with design of GM historical well know buses.
GMC sold off the RTS to TMC in May 1987, though the 1987-1988 NYCT order (completed May 1988) was last to be GMC built (shells by GMC, final assembly by TMC in Roswell). The RTS assets and designs would be under Millennium Transit (MTS), but not sure that happened to their assets in bankruptcy.
RTS "THE SPORTS CAR of Buses"
The GMC RTS II Coaches in operation old in Dallas, New York, Boston and others countys americans in 1980s and 1990s
Same thing of why Pittsburgh majority didn't like their RTSes they received in 1980. They were complete retired by Nova Classics in 1996.
@knightclassic1
At Least the NABI and new flyer currently have a sleeker look.
@jfs1988 There was an RTS articulated bus known as the RTS Mega that nevere went past the prototype phase.
Only 5 built
It would of been good if they made the RTS articulated buses.
These days all I see are New Flyers and NABI articulated buses. Articulated Neoplans are becoming rare.
Umm, I thought that NJ Transit had cancelled their Millenium RTSs, and ordered NABI 416 transit buses instead?
T8W - 6v71 Detroit Diesel
T8H - 8v71 Detroit Diesel
The truth was, a lot of US and Canadian cities didn’t want these buses and why GM produced with the Classic. RTS had a lot of problems and even Detroit went insofar to buy Canadian-made Classic buses.
At least NYC still hanging on to theirs as much as they can, I surprised that Boston still have their 1994-95 TMC/Nova but they're so beat up like hell.
Of course, they're all Nova models. (Since then, many were retired and replaced by New Flyer or later Nova buses.)
NJT only recently retired its last Nova RTS models, with a now 100% NABI fleet.
I Hate the RTS bus. I will choose the GM New Look AKA Fishbowls over anything else. I think the second generation of GM New Looks (TDH5303) are the best Transit bus ever created.
They were a BUST did not last to long....Hated the second delay in acceleration..turbo broke so easy
Yet they're still around
I’m
@Oaklandgirlpitlover1
It's better than the New Flyer/NABI New buses, those are even worse.
It still doesn't look fully *retro* futuristic.
Too bad GMC doesn't build coaches today, they were so innovative, except for the ugly spat they had with Greyhound over the Scenicruiser.