Hi,
Sometimes an intercity bus is referred to as a "parlor
coach." Basically,
the intercity coaches were designed for maximum comfort and long-distance
travel. Most Flxibles built up to 1953 were of that type. A
transit bus
typically has a more utilitarian interior, is engineered for more
stop &
go urban driving, often two passenger doors. At a more basic
level, an
intercity coach has high-backed (often reclining) seats whereas
a transit
bus is designed to accommodate a maximum number of passengers
for short
commute distances. In today's world, a transit bus will cost
in the
neighborhood of $250,000 whereas it is pretty difficult to touch
a new
intercity model for under $350,000 and often much, much more.
At the Flxible level, if you could park a CLipper or Starliner
or Vl100,
etc., next to a Metro (last transit model built by Flxible) you
would see
the contrast. Or, look at a modern MCI or Prevost coach and compare
it to
a Metro or the new Novas or Orions, or, whatever.
Of course, there are intermediate models. Flxible built models
called the
"Suburban." In the CLipper/Visicoach/Starliner line,
these were
well-outfitted models with high-backed but usually not reclining
seats and
with seats spaced a bit closer together to maximize capacity.
They were
used for long commutes, often from distant suburbs to center city.
LAter,
in the Flxible "New Look" transit line, Suburbans were
built based on the
New Look design but were fitted out more "up scale"
for longer commutes.
This was in the mid 1960s.
Probably more than you wanted to k now...
Bob Ebert
Dr. Ebert's Web Site can be found
at