Rapid Transit Series

Rapid Transit Series
RTS-06 model with narrow front door
Overview
Manufacturer	GM Truck and Coach Division (1977–1987) Motor Coach Industries (1987–1995) Nova Bus (1995–2003) Millennium Transit Services (2006–present)
Production	1977-2003, 2006-present
Assembly	Pontiac, Michigan (1977–1987) Roswell, New Mexico (1987–2003, 2006-onwards) Saint-Eustache, Quebec (1997–2003) Niskayuna, New York (1996–2003)
Designer	Michael Lathers
Body and chassis
Class	City bus
Doors	1 door or 2 doors
Floor type	Step entrance (RTS Legend and Express)/Semi low-floor (RTS Extreme)
Powertrain
Engine	Detroit Diesel, Cummins, or Caterpillar engines
Transmission	Allison or ZF transmissions
Dimensions
Wheelbase	178 in (4.52 m), 238 in (6.05 m), or 298 in (7.57 m)
Length	30 ft (9.14 m), 35 ft (10.67 m), or 40 ft (12.19 m)
Width	96 in (2.44 m) or 102 in (2.59 m)
Height	119 in (3.02 m) (over roof-hatches; rooftop A/C, hybrid drive, or CNG options added to height)
Chronology
Predecessor	GM New Look
Successor	Nova Bus LF Series (when discontinued in 2003)

The Rapid Transit Series (RTS) city bus was a long-running series of transit buses originally manufactured by GM Truck and Coach Division during 1977, in Pontiac, Michigan. First produced in 1977, the RTS was GMC's entry into the Advanced Design Bus project (the other entry was the Flxible Metro by competitor Flxible) and is the descendant of GMC's entry in 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. That design has become a classic, though remains more contemporary as that of its predecessor, the GMC New Look which had a curved windshield, but flat side glass and body panels. Most current buses are now made by specialized coach manufacturers with flat sides and windows.

GMC sold the RTS design and patent rights to Transportation Manufacturing Corporation (TMC) of Roswell, New Mexico, a subsidiary of Motor Coach Industries in May 1987 though the two companies did a joint order for the New York City Transit Authority to prepare TMC for the production. TMC eventually sold the design and patents to NovaBus in September 1994 in the midst of an order for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Production under NovaBus continued until 2002 when NovaBus left the U.S. market and concentrated on its latest LFS low-floor design.

The production was revived, however, by Millennium Transit Services, who tried to manufacture the bus in both high- and low-floor configurations. However, after poor sales and failure to secure awarded deals, Millennium ceased production on the RTS and went out of business in 2009. In September 2011, MTS re-entered the market and have showcased their latest RTS product at the 2011 APTA Expo in New Orleans. It also announced plans to introduce a 42.5-foot (12.95 m) version of the standard floor RTS, which would go into production in the near future.