G.E. Equipped PCCs

[Kenneth and Tracie Josephson]

"Fred W. Schneider III" wrote:

> And was it not true, Harold, that GM probably gave the customer the most bang for the buck?
>
> Harold Geissenheimer wrote:
>
> > I know of no federal or TRC mandate to split.
> > In fact the split probably violates current bidding
> > regulations.
> >
> > Many bus systems had exclusive deals with manufacturers.

I remember some bus systems had been purchasing GMC coaches exclusively  since the early 1960s. When a publicly funded transit agency took over during the 1970's, the bidding process resulted in some of the minor manufacturers such as Flxible (which had been steadily losing its share of the market), Flyer Industires, Gruman, AMGeneral and even some European designed buses getting a piece of the action.

In many cases, some of the older GMC "Fishbowls" were rehabilitated and outlived some of the newer coaches, including GMC's own disaster, the RTS.

During the fall of 1983, I was returning home from a trip to Pittsburgh. Somewhere along the Ohio Turnpike, I passed a string of westbound GMC "Fishbowls." All were battered,  PAT-grey coaches, heading to a new owner. The fact that at least ninety PCCs were still running in the Steel City gave me a feeling of satisfaction.  Ken J.