They’re all different

My all-time favorite rides, our first “artics” (“arr-TICK”), the 300s. But only because they rode so well; otherwise they were bog-slow. (German design [M-A-N], manufactured in America.) Get on the expressway, head for the passing-lane, and PUT THE HAMMER DOWN! (Photo by BobbaLew.)

“Every bus is different,” I used to say.
For 16&1/2 years (1977-1993) Yrs Trly drove transit bus for Regional Transit Service (RTS) in Rochester, NY, a public employer, the transit-bus operator in Rochester and environs.
My stroke October 26th, 1993 suddenly ended that. I recovered well enough to return to work at a newspaper, the Daily-Messenger in nearby Canandaigua.
Bus-driving was a stupid, meaningless job; rife with ignorant four-wheelers, NASCAR wannabees, and our rancorous clientele. We bus-drivers had an unspoken rule: DON’T GET SHOT! Most passengers were pleasant, but there were exceptions.
Bus-driving paid well, thanks to our union; and I enjoyed mastering large vehicles. So I stayed with it, although originally it was supposed to be temporary while I sought employ as a scribe (writer = slinger of words).
During that time I drove all kinds of equipment to who-knows-where in varying weather (sometimes dreadful); GMC, Flxible, Gillig. Now anyone manufactures buses, or so it seems.
I guess the format is simple. Standards and measurements apply. Any manufacturer can meet ‘em with a frame, bus-body, seats, and motor/tranny. Much of that is available from outside suppliers.
When I started GMC and Flxible dominated the market. Much of our fleet were GMC, plus we had a large contingent of Flxibles.
GMC left the business.
I haven’t paid attention since my stroke — I don’t live in Rochester. Everything I drove was retired years ago, and various classes have come and gone.

A GMC “RTS” bus, but not Regional Transit. (This bus looks like a wide-body [102 inches]. Our first RTS’s were 96 inches [eight feet].)

Two years after I began, RTS got new buses, the new “RTS” from GMC. “RTS” stood for “Rapid Transit Series,” not Regional Transit.
I called ‘em “starships.” Styling was exceptional for a bus, perhaps the best styling General Motors ever did.
The GMC “RTS” was an attempt to make bus-transit more attractive. The RTS has more-or-less the same suspension as a car = separate independent A-arms up front instead of a side-to-side beam axle.
This was a mistake. The RTS’s rode like lumber-wagons; our older beam-axle buses rode better.
Everything was air-suspension. If one side drooped under a heavier load, that side got more air to increase the spring-rate — and level the bus.
Within a month each new RTS was different. 735 became a rocket. You had to caress the accelerator lest you toss passengers outta their seats.
Each 700 had its own tricks, and I’m sure within a year 735 became something else — like maybe a pig.
Some of our old Flxibles refused to shift into High Gear; they were two-speed auto-tranny.
Others shifted too early, laying down a thick black cloud of diesel-exhaust as they lugged up to speed.
229 didn’t like to turn left. Many of our bus-loops were left turn, but 229 refused. It went wide against the steering-stop, and had to be backed like docking a ship = call for a road-supervisor.
229 turned over-sharply right.
1993 is long ago. Occasionally I see new Regional Transit buses — at least I think so.
I bet within a month each individual bus within its number-class is different.
“Easy on the accelerator with this 735. Floor it and ya throw everyone on the floor.”

• “Artic” means articulated = bendable in the middle. The bus was 60 feet long, but hinged in the middle so it could sharply turn a corner. The bus-body was two halves connected by a bellows. The motor was slung under the lead half. The idea was to increase the number of passengers per single driver. —I drove ‘em often, but usually with no more than 20-25 passengers; they could seat many more. Usually an “artic” replaced two individual bus-trips, which some passengers hated. A single bus had to cover two source-areas.
• “Tranny” is of course transmission. Everything I drove was auto-tranny. Our city buses were Lo and Direct, two speeds. Over-the-road Park-and-Ride buses were three-speed, and I think our 700s were too. The city-buses were governed to 55 mph. Over-the-road weren’t governed. Once I got 728 up to 80 mph. Dead-head; no passengers. Never again! Bucketing the expressway in something the size of a living-room.
• “Park-and-Rides” were trips from suburban or rural end-points, usually through Park-and-Ride parking-lots, where passengers would park their cars for a bus-ride to work in Rochester.
• A “road-supervisor” was an official of the company that rode around in a supervisor-car, supervised bus-drivers, and settled arguments with bus-passengers. They also attended bus accidents. —Our rule was you couldn’t back a bus without a road-supervisor.