Classic (transit bus)

For other uses, see Classic.

Classic (transit bus)

An MCI Classic TC40-102A configured for commuter service. An MCI Classic TC60-102N articulated bus operating for Metro Transit of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Manufacturer	GM Diesel Division (1982-1987) Motor Coach Industries (1987-1993) Nova Bus (1993-1997)
Production	1982-1997
Assembly	Saint-Eustache, Quebec Niskayuna, New York
Predecessor	GM New Look
Successor	Nova Bus LFS
Class	Transit bus
Engine	Detroit Diesel 6V71/8V71 Detroit Diesel 6V92/8V92 Cummins C8.3 Detroit Diesel Series 50
Transmission	Allison, ZF or Voith
Length	40 ft (12.19 m) (16 60 ft (18.29 m) units produced)
Width	102 in (2.59 m)

A GM Classic operating in London, Ontario.

The Classic is a bus developed by GM from its previous-generation New Look design. The design was originally intended solely for the Canadian market as an alternative to the unpopular 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.

History

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. So 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 hit among not only operators in Canada, but in the United States as well, where the Utah Transit Authority would be the first US transit agency to buy the buses in 1984.

In 1987 GM sold the transit bus division to MCI and TMC. By 1993 the bus division changed hands again, this time going to NovaBus. During the two transitions the Classics continued to be built until NovaBus ceased production on the coaches in 1997, as most agencies were preferring the new low-floor LFS model. The last ever Classics built were in Canada, in 1997, for STO in Gatineau, Quebec.

NovaBus also assembled Classics in the US in 1995 and 1996 from its now-defunct New York state plant. This version is used in Buffalo, Connecticut, Rochester, the suburbs of Chicago (Pace), and Pittsburgh, which was the last US transit agency to acquire Classics. These agencies are slowly retiring the American versions but some have been refurbished and rebuilt by third-party distributors.

As of 2012, NFTA Metro (Buffalo), Calgary Transit, CT Transit, Metro Transit (Halifax), STO, and RTC (Quebec City) are still running Classics, however there are fewer and fewer left. Already transit systems in Pittsburgh, Montreal, Ottawa and Santa Monica have retired most of their Classic since December 2011 due to increasing maintenance costs, a lack of parts for the coaches, and the agencies' plans to go to a low-floor bus fleet. Meanwhile, other transit agencies like Regina Transit have begun purchasing used Classics due to rising costs and lack of funding for acquiring newer buses.

Models

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 TC60-102N. All were equipped with an automatic transmission. (Some TC40-102As without center doors have been erroneously identified as SC40-102As, but a true Suburban version would have had a lowered center aisle and underfloor baggage compartments.)

Series	Type	Length	-	Width	Air conditioning
T = transit bus When first introduced, a suburban (S) version was rumoured to be planned.	A = articulated C = Classic	40 = 40 feet (12 m) 60 = 60 feet (18 m) Design work was started on a 35-foot (11 m) version, but none were produced.	-	102 = 102 inches (2.6 m)	A = air conditioned N = non-air conditioned

The 60-foot version was not introduced until 1992, after MCI took over production of the Classic design, and only 16 of these articulated buses were ever built (14 for Metro Transit in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and two to Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) in Quebec City, Quebec. NovaBus discontinued the 60-foot articulated version when it took over production from MCI in 1993. This bus is not to be confused with the New Look TA60-102N, a 60-foot articulated version of the New Look manufactured by GMC in 1982, which had the body of a New Look but the front end of a Classic, 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 was a requirement for American operators, which had to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

There were many optional feature in the Classics, among them were the rear exit doors. Most orders were the wide-door versions, but a narrow single-stream door was also available. Another modification during its run was the size of the front destination sign window. A taller and wider version was offered from 1990 as more transit systems specified larger electronic destination signs. (The major exception was Montreal, as MCI and NovaBus built an "M-version"—for Montreal—which retained the narrow destination sign windows, and was ordered primarily by properties in the Montreal area.

In its 15 years of production, a 35-foot long or a 96-inch wide version of the Classic was never made. However, GM, MCI and NovaBus did build a commuter version with all forward-facing seats and without a rear exit.

Currently Dupont Industries, a Quebec City-based company, is refurbishing and rebuilding retired Classics into trolley-like sightseeing buses. Dupont's refurbished Classic is called a Dupont Cartier.

Manufacturers

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	2007 - Current	"Cartier" (rebuilt GM, MCI and NovaBus Classics)

External links

• Photos of Classics from Bus Explorer
• STM Classics
• Rochester, New York Classics
• Port Authority of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) Novabus Classics
• Yahoo Groups: Classic Bus