Gillig Phantom

Gillig Phantom
2008 Phantom operated by Sound Transit; one of the last models to be built.
Overview
Manufacturer	Gillig Corporation
Body and chassis
Doors	1 door (school bus) 2 door
Floor type	High floor, step entrance
Chassis	Gillig
Powertrain
Engine	Caterpillar Cummins Detroit Diesel
Capacity	78-84 passengers (school bus configuration)
Dimensions
Length	30–40 ft (9.1–12.2 m)
Width	96–102 in (2,438–2,591 mm)
Chronology
Predecessor	Gillig Transit Coach
Successor	Gillig Low Floor

The Gillig Phantom was a transit bus produced by the Gillig Corporation in Hayward, California. The Phantom was first introduced in late 1980 and, with the exception of a small number of buses built in a three-year-long joint venture with Neoplan from 1977 to 1979, was Gillig's first transit bus. The first Phantoms were 35 feet long and 96 inches wide; however, 30-foot and 40-foot models were offered beginning in 1981, and 102-inch-wide models became available in 1983. A liquefied natural gas fueled version was produced beginning in 1992, and was later discontinued. From 2005 onward, only the 102-inch-wide version was available due to stricter emissions and accessibility requirements.

A diesel-electric hybrid powered version was produced beginning in 1996, but was discontinued in 2006. MTA in New York purchased a Gillig Phantom hybrid demo bus as well as diesels for MTA Long Island bus.

Body specifications

The Phantom was available with a narrow rear door or a wide rear door. Initially, the wide rear door option consisted of two narrow doors, but this was reduced to one wide door by the 1990s. Most Phantoms transit authorities opted for the narrow rear door. The wide rear door option was mainly ordered by airports and rental car agencies, even though the Utah Transit Authority and Torrance Transit were among the exceptions, with Honolulu's TheBus orders from 1983 and 1984 featuring a different configuration. The Phantom could be ordered with dual headlights or quad headlights, with most transit authorities opting for the latter.

Phantoms could be ordered with the wheelchair lift in either the front door or rear door. Those with the lift in the rear door had a slightly wider rear door to accommodate the lift. Most Phantoms were ordered with the wheelchair lift in the front door.

A rare option for the Phantom was a rear window. Monterey-Salinas Transit and King County Metro are the only two transit authorities known to have ordered Phantoms with a rear window.

Another rare option was windows that did not open. TheBus in Honolulu, Hawaii ordered their 1995-2003 Phantoms that way. Sound Transit's 2008 Phantoms also had windows that didn't open.

The Gillig Phantom is also available with luggage racks on the top for the baggage for the suburban version.

Production of the Phantom ended in September 2008, with some of the last buses going to Sound Transit. With the Phantom discontinued, Gillig produces only low-floor buses.

There is also trolley bus version used on the Seattle King Metro Service.

Gillig Phantom School Bus

Gillig Phantom school bus of Los Angeles Unified School District (California)

Main article: Gillig Phantom (school bus)

In 1986, Gillig introduced a school bus variant of the Phantom; the successor to the Transit Coach, the Phantom School Bus was the first all-new school bus from Gillig in 42 years. Although well received by its operators, sales dropped off in the late 1980s, leading to its discontinuation in 1993 (no Phantom school buses were sold in 1991 or 1992).

Aside from the obvious school bus yellow color scheme and warning lights, Phantom school buses were distinguished from the standard Phantom by several exterior design features. As it was the maximum approved width at the time for the type, all Phantom school buses were constructed with the 96-inch wide body. Additionally, they were equipped with dual vertical windshields, a rear (emergency exit) window, left-side emergency exit door, and single curbside door.

Powertrain

A 1998 Gillig Phantom operated by DASH services King Street – Old Town station in Alexandria, Virginia.

A 1999 Gillig Phantom operated by Mountain Metropolitan Transit in Colorado Springs, CO.

The Phantom was originally equipped with either a Detroit Diesel 6V92TA, 6V71, or Cummins L-10 diesel engine, and was later available with either a Cummins ISB, ISC, ISL, or ISM diesel engine. The Phantom was formerly available with the Detroit Diesel Series 50 engine from 1993 until 2004 when Detroit Diesel cut production of the Series 50 engine. The Detroit Diesel Series 40 engine was available from 1995 to 2003.

Engine Manufacturer	Engine Model	Years Available	Notes
Caterpillar	3208 C9	3208 1986–1990 C9 2003-08	3208 available almost exclusively in Phantom school buses. Only 57 transit buses, 30 feet long, were specified with this engine, all of which went to Ride On in Montgomery County, Maryland, delivered in 1989.
Cummins	L-10 ISB C 8.3 ISC ISL ISM M11	L10 1984–1994 ISB 1997–2008 C8.3 1993–1998 ISC 1998.5–2006 ISL 2001-08 M11 1994-98 ISM 1999–2008
Detroit Diesel	6V71, 6V71TA 6V92TA Series 40 Series 50	6V71/6V71TA 1980–1988 6V92TA 1980–1994 Series 50 1993–2004 Series 40 1995–2003	The Detroit Diesel 6V71 engine was available only for 30' buses, while the 6V71TA was available for 30' and 35' models.

Further reading

• Gillig Corporation, gillig.com, Retrieved on 2006-12-25
• Gillig Phantom gillig.com, Retrieved on 2010-02-02
• Gillig Transit Coach / Pacific SchoolCoach Online Museum, gilligcoaches.net, Retrieved on 2006-12-25
• GM Brings Clean Mass Transit to Environmental Conference, allisontransmission.com, Retrieved on 2006-12-25
• Stauss, Ed (1988). The Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses, Woodland Hills, CA: Stauss Publications. ISBN 0-9619830-0-0