Bus

Revision as of 18:50, 14 December 2009 by gtw>Gsf4l (→‎Trivia)

The Bus is a vehicle that has been featured in almost every game in the Grand Theft Auto series, including:

Overview

Despite the Grand Theft Auto games being set in large, bustling urban environments with public transport infrastructure, the Bus is one of the series' rarest vehicles. The Bus rarely spawns on the street and is usually very difficult to find by other means too.

GTA 1 — GTA 2

In GTA 1, the Bus is based on a typical school bus and has no special features. There are three versions; in Liberty City it is a school bus, in San Andreas it appears to be a church bus, and in Vice City it appears to be either a high school bus or a bus for some kind of sports team.

In GTA 2, the Bus resembles a futuristic version of a typical municipal bus and can be found picking up/dropping off passengers at various bus stops within each of the three districts. The Bus only drives on the outer lane of the 'main' roads. Even if the player steals the bus, passengers will still enter/exit if the player stops at a bus stop.

GTA III — GTA Liberty City Stories

In GTA III, GTA Vice City, and GTA Liberty City Stories the Bus retains the "school bus" design featured in GTA 1, and comes in several colors. The design is very generic, but the hood's shape resembles an an 1980s International Harvester S-Series; its slanted side windows may be inspired by the Flxible Metro bus. The Bus' handling is slow and cumbersome, as one would expect, and the vehicle, although fairly tough, cannot readily knock other vehicles aside in the manner of the Fire Truck or Barracks OL. It is also more vulnerable to bullet damage than most vehicles of its size. Despite its large size it can only carry a driver and one passenger. All of these factors combine to make the Bus a generally undesirable vehicle.

In GTA San Andreas the bus takes on a different appearance, resembling an ordinary city bus. It can carry up to eight people including the driver. It appears to be based on an MCI MC-8 or MC-9.

GTA IV

File:Bus (GTA4) (front).jpg
A Bus in GTA IV (Rear quarter view).

In GTA IV, the Brute Bus resembles an Orion V CNG, with an evenly angled windshield). Its slanted side windows resemble those of the old GM New Look Bus or the Flxible Metro bus, although they are more modern in style. Strangely, the Bus only allows 4 passengers (in addition to the driver) to travel in the vehicle although, as there is no occasion for this in GTA IV's story, it is only possible during multiplayer. The buses, which fall under the management of Liberty City Transport Authority (LTA), are further stamped with "The Fox" labels, in line with the LTA's association of the Liberty City's tramway with another animal ("The Pigeon"). The logo on the bus also proclaims "Here, There, Wherever".

The Bus remains a rare sight in the city. Despite the presence of several bus stops around the city, the Bus is commonly seen only on the roads near Francis International Airport, and parked in Star Junction. The Bus will sometimes appear during GTA IV's mission chase sequences as part of set pieces, acting as an obstacle to increase the difficulty of the mission (see, for example, Brucie's mission Search and Delete).

Due to its rear-engined configuration, the Bus in GTA IV can survive seemingly endless head-on crashes with cars, trucks, and buildings alike. This makes it the perfect vehicle for ramming cars out of one's path. Like previous renditions of the Bus, however, it is particularly vulnerable to gunfire.

The Bus finds its own perfect purpose during GTA Races set in Star Junction. The Bus can easily block off a path while a novice picks off cars, driver by driver, resulting in everyone switching to Faggios, which provide no cover whatsoever for the rider and cannot move buses at all, but are nimble enough to move around buses.

Trivia

Locations

GTA 1

GTA 2

GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories

GTA Vice City

GTA San Andreas

GTA IV

GTA Chinatown Wars

  • Only at Bus Station in Downtown, Broker.

See also