Bus
Bus | |
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A Liberty City Bus in one of its original appearances in GTA 1. | |
Appearance(s) |
GTA 1 GTA 2 GTA III GTA Vice City GTA San Andreas GTA Liberty City Stories GTA IV GTA Chinatown Wars GTA V |
Vehicle type | Civilian bus |
Manufacturer | Brute (GTA IV) |
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The Bus is, as implied, a bus that has been featured in almost every game in the Grand Theft Auto series in various forms.
Design
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
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; the latter two are not spawned in traffic.
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GTA 1; Liberty City.
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GTA 1; San Andreas.
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GTA 1; Vice City.
GTA 2
In GTA 2, the Bus resembles an "old look"-style transit bus with three sliding doors (two on the right side and one on the left side), driving along the outer (rightmost) lane of the "main" roads, closest to bus stops, and stopping at each designated bus stop. Even if the player steals the bus, passengers will still enter/exit if the player stops at a bus stop.
The Bus in GTA 2 has an exceptionally high carrying capacity, capable of holding 31 occupants (including the driver).
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Ray Larabie's early design of GTA 2's Bus.
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 and takes styling from a wide range of decades, mostly from the '50s. The hood's shape resembles an 1980s International Harvester S-Series; its slanted side windows may be inspired by the old GM New Look Bus or Flxible New Look bus; the rear is rounded similar to most '40s and '50s bus designs. The buses in GTA III, GTA Vice City and GTA Liberty City Stories all look similar to each other in appearance while the bus in GTA San Andreas resembles a Coach more than a Bus.
In GTA San Andreas the bus takes on a different appearance, resembling an ordinary city bus. Like the Coach, it can carry the driver and up to seven passengers. It appears to be based on an MCI MC-8 or MC-9.
GTA IV — GTA Chinatown Wars
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 New Look bus, although they are more modern in style. 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"). Despite having numerous seats, the Bus only supports four passengers (in addition to the driver) in gameplay, but is still slightly more than any other vehicle in the game.
Buses in GTA Chinatown Wars are more similar to the Orion I, and are given a white livery with red stripes.
GTA V
Buses in GTA V have undergone cosmetic redesigns from its GTA IV counterpart (for example, the shape of the side windows and the headlights have been changed). Notably, it is available in either a red, orange or blue paintjob, matching Los Angeles Metro's Rapid, Local and Express bus services respectively. The Buses are operated by Los Santos Transit.
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GTA V, red variant, in the second GTA V trailer.
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GTA V, orange variant, in the second GTA V trailer.
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GTA V, blue variant, final version.
Performance
GTA 1
Although Buses in GTA 1 are generally depicted as large vehicles, their performance traits are nearly identical to those of Fire Trucks and Limousines than the similarly classed Coach. While still substantially heavy (but less so than the Coach) and subsequently mediocre in acceleration, Buses can still achieve average top speed, brake and steer averagely, and maintain fairly good grip when turning.
Although the base export value of a Bus is $1,000, Buses cannot be exported at a dock.
GTA 2
The Bus in GTA 2 is similar in performance to Buses in GTA 1, being capable of an average top speed, steering and braking averagely, and possessing excellent durability. One difference, however, is that the Bus is heavier, yet still manages to accelerate competently, improving the Bus' ability to push aside smaller vehicles.
The Bus is too large to be crushed.
GTA III — GTA Liberty City Stories
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, Barracks OL, or the Flatbed. The Bus in GTA San Andreas is an exception because the bus's handling is better than similar vehicles of it's size, most probably due to its lighter weight. It is also more vulnerable to bullet damage than most vehicles of its size.
GTA IV — GTA Chinatown Wars
For GTA IV, handling is below average, with the bus easily understeering around corners. Top speed is however rather good (87 mph, or 140 km/h) thanks in part to its supercharged 5-litre engine, but is let down by poor acceleration which is one of the worst in the game. The bus has a soft suspension tune making the bus somewhat comfortable, especially at low speeds. The bus is let down again by its poor brakes which tend to lock up easily, and when they do, stopping distance is increased, giving the bus a poor stopping distance.
Due to its rear-engined configuration, the Bus 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.
Performance of the Bus in GTA Chinatown Wars is no different, with the bus capable of only low top speeds, average acceleration, very wide turning radius' and poor brakes, making the bus impractical for demanding uses.
Locations
- GTA 2
- Can be found picking up/dropping off passengers at various bus stops within each of the three districts.
- GTA Vice City
- Parked by a covered ship dock next to the Escobar International Airport freight depot, between Escobar International and Viceport.
- GTA IV
- The Bus remains a rare sight in the city in GTA IV. 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 (for example, Brucie's mission "Search and Delete").
Trivia
- The Bus plays the following radio stations by default when entered:
- Master Sounds 98.3 in GTA San Andreas.
- Jazz Nation Radio 108.5 or Fusion FM in GTA IV.
- GTA IV Buses 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.
- The Bus in GTA IV features a badge on the rear reading "No technology used", parodying the badges often found on CNG or hybrid buses