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Transbus Program AI simulator
(@Transbus Program_simulator)
Hub AI
Transbus Program AI simulator
(@Transbus Program_simulator)
Transbus Program
Transbus was announced in December 1970 as a United States Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) program to develop improvements to existing transit bus design; at the time, the US bus market was dominated by the GM New Look and Flxible New Look buses, and bus ridership was declining. The improvements had been suggested earlier by the National Academy of Sciences in 1968 to improve operating costs, reduce pollution, and stimulate ridership, and included innovations such as a low floor for easier entry and seats cantilevered from the wall to expand passenger space.
In 1971, Booz-Allen Applied Research won the contract to serve as the Systems Manager for the Transbus program. Three manufacturers were selected to participate in the Transbus program in 1972 and each produced prototypes for evaluation by late 1974; some were tested at a proving ground, others were subjected to crash testing, and the rest were placed into revenue service during a nationwide tour of four cities in 1974 and 1975 to gather rider feedback, which was subsequently incorporated into a specification developed between 1976 and 1978. However, none of the three prototype manufacturers submitted a bid in response to a joint procurement of 530 buses to the Transbus specification in 1979. Although no Transbuses were ever ordered, some of the program's goals were incorporated into the successor Advanced Design Buses introduced in the mid-1970s.
The Transbus program had five major goals; ancillary goals to achieve the first five were added in 1977:
The interest in newer transit buses was sparked in part by laws passed in the late 1960s and early 1970s granting federal subsidies for public transportation equipment, including buses. General Motors (GM) began developing a replacement for its ubiquitous New Look bus in 1964, demonstrating a three-axle, turbine-powered prototype named Rapid Transit eXperimental (RTX) in 1968. That same year, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) published a report providing recommendations for buses that would reduce costs and improve ridership. Although RTX would have met many of the objectives from the 1968 NAS report, testing and evaluation showed several issues: the lowered floor of the RTX, at 22 in (560 mm), meant novel chassis, suspension, and brake components were needed, adding to the complexity, weight, and cost of the RTX design.
GM wrote a letter to United States Department of Transportation Secretary John Volpe in 1971, complaining that it had begun work on the RTX-derived Rapid Transit Series (RTS) to meet the goals of the 1968 NAS report, but could not start serial production until UMTA changed its low-bid policy to allow federal subsidies for the RTS. At the time, the three major U.S. transit bus manufacturers offered 'New Look' style buses that were functionally equivalent, and to qualify for federal subsidies, the transit agency was required to award its bus procurement contracts to the lowest bidder. GM later reversed its stance and announced in May 1973 it would begin producing the RTS. The first RTS prototype was produced in 1974, followed by the 1975 RTS-II prototype, which was evaluated in demonstration service by several transit agencies.
The Transbus program was intended to design a standardized transit bus, which had the goals of reducing purchase, operating, and maintenance costs, similar to how the Presidents' Conference Committee had designed the PCC streetcar in the 1930s. Transbus was meant to design a successor to the de facto New Look standard, running in parallel with the contemporaneous 1970s effort that designed the US Standard Light Rail Vehicle as the PCC's successor. Transbus development would begin with the production and evaluation of candidate prototype designs from separate manufacturers.
The initial prototyping contracts were awarded to AM General, General Motors, and Rohr's Flxible division in 1972 to build nine Transbus candidate prototypes (three from each manufacturer) for further testing and evaluation at a total cost of US$28,000,000 (equivalent to $210,480,000 in 2024). Booz-Allen would test and evaluate each design, then composite the best ideas from each into a standardized procurement specification. This was to be followed by the procurement of 100 to 600 preproduction Transbuses for further development and testing in revenue service. In March 1973, representatives from UMTA testified before Congress they intended for each manufacturer to produce 100 preproduction prototypes. The American Public Transit Association proposed for each manufacturer to produce 200 preproduction prototypes for evaluation in service, then hold a two-year production moratorium to gather feedback.
Due to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was passed in September 1973, the goals of Transbus shifted to allow full accessibility for public transit vehicles, and the candidate designs were modified to incorporate a ramp or a lift. The nine prototypes were delivered in 1974. Three would be crash tested, three would be tested in Phoenix and Buffalo, and the remaining three would enter demonstration service for evaluation in four cities. On May 13, 1975, one of the Flxible prototypes caught fire during testing in Arizona and was destroyed, but no one was injured; at the time, it was carrying two technicians, instruments, and sandbags to simulate a full passenger load.
Transbus Program
Transbus was announced in December 1970 as a United States Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) program to develop improvements to existing transit bus design; at the time, the US bus market was dominated by the GM New Look and Flxible New Look buses, and bus ridership was declining. The improvements had been suggested earlier by the National Academy of Sciences in 1968 to improve operating costs, reduce pollution, and stimulate ridership, and included innovations such as a low floor for easier entry and seats cantilevered from the wall to expand passenger space.
In 1971, Booz-Allen Applied Research won the contract to serve as the Systems Manager for the Transbus program. Three manufacturers were selected to participate in the Transbus program in 1972 and each produced prototypes for evaluation by late 1974; some were tested at a proving ground, others were subjected to crash testing, and the rest were placed into revenue service during a nationwide tour of four cities in 1974 and 1975 to gather rider feedback, which was subsequently incorporated into a specification developed between 1976 and 1978. However, none of the three prototype manufacturers submitted a bid in response to a joint procurement of 530 buses to the Transbus specification in 1979. Although no Transbuses were ever ordered, some of the program's goals were incorporated into the successor Advanced Design Buses introduced in the mid-1970s.
The Transbus program had five major goals; ancillary goals to achieve the first five were added in 1977:
The interest in newer transit buses was sparked in part by laws passed in the late 1960s and early 1970s granting federal subsidies for public transportation equipment, including buses. General Motors (GM) began developing a replacement for its ubiquitous New Look bus in 1964, demonstrating a three-axle, turbine-powered prototype named Rapid Transit eXperimental (RTX) in 1968. That same year, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) published a report providing recommendations for buses that would reduce costs and improve ridership. Although RTX would have met many of the objectives from the 1968 NAS report, testing and evaluation showed several issues: the lowered floor of the RTX, at 22 in (560 mm), meant novel chassis, suspension, and brake components were needed, adding to the complexity, weight, and cost of the RTX design.
GM wrote a letter to United States Department of Transportation Secretary John Volpe in 1971, complaining that it had begun work on the RTX-derived Rapid Transit Series (RTS) to meet the goals of the 1968 NAS report, but could not start serial production until UMTA changed its low-bid policy to allow federal subsidies for the RTS. At the time, the three major U.S. transit bus manufacturers offered 'New Look' style buses that were functionally equivalent, and to qualify for federal subsidies, the transit agency was required to award its bus procurement contracts to the lowest bidder. GM later reversed its stance and announced in May 1973 it would begin producing the RTS. The first RTS prototype was produced in 1974, followed by the 1975 RTS-II prototype, which was evaluated in demonstration service by several transit agencies.
The Transbus program was intended to design a standardized transit bus, which had the goals of reducing purchase, operating, and maintenance costs, similar to how the Presidents' Conference Committee had designed the PCC streetcar in the 1930s. Transbus was meant to design a successor to the de facto New Look standard, running in parallel with the contemporaneous 1970s effort that designed the US Standard Light Rail Vehicle as the PCC's successor. Transbus development would begin with the production and evaluation of candidate prototype designs from separate manufacturers.
The initial prototyping contracts were awarded to AM General, General Motors, and Rohr's Flxible division in 1972 to build nine Transbus candidate prototypes (three from each manufacturer) for further testing and evaluation at a total cost of US$28,000,000 (equivalent to $210,480,000 in 2024). Booz-Allen would test and evaluate each design, then composite the best ideas from each into a standardized procurement specification. This was to be followed by the procurement of 100 to 600 preproduction Transbuses for further development and testing in revenue service. In March 1973, representatives from UMTA testified before Congress they intended for each manufacturer to produce 100 preproduction prototypes. The American Public Transit Association proposed for each manufacturer to produce 200 preproduction prototypes for evaluation in service, then hold a two-year production moratorium to gather feedback.
Due to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was passed in September 1973, the goals of Transbus shifted to allow full accessibility for public transit vehicles, and the candidate designs were modified to incorporate a ramp or a lift. The nine prototypes were delivered in 1974. Three would be crash tested, three would be tested in Phoenix and Buffalo, and the remaining three would enter demonstration service for evaluation in four cities. On May 13, 1975, one of the Flxible prototypes caught fire during testing in Arizona and was destroyed, but no one was injured; at the time, it was carrying two technicians, instruments, and sandbags to simulate a full passenger load.