San Rafael, CA 870

The Truck and Coach Division of General Motors (GMC) built over 44,000 "New Look" buses beginning in 1958 and continuing to 1977 in the U.S. and 1985 in Canada. The "New Look" buses were also called "fishbowl" buses because of their angled windshields. The buses featured lightweight aluminum construction and good visibility for the driver due to the windshield design. The GM "New Look" bus was the most popular transit bus of its era. GM offered "New Look" buses in many variations including 29-foot, 35-foot and 40-foot lengths, transit and suburban configurations and through four "generations." No. 870 is a model T6H-5307A bus indicating the following: T - Transit 6 - 6 cylinders H - Hydraulic transmission 53 - 53 seat, 40-foot length 07 - series 07 A - Air conditioned Golden Gate Transit is a transit operator servicing San Francisco and areas north of it, including Marin County and Sonoma County. It is funded and run by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District which operates the Golden Gate Bridge, all ferry service from Marin County and the commuter bus service. Until December 31, 1971, it was the last commuter operation of Greyhound Lines in the United States Used equipment purchased from Greyhound Lines and others lasted until late 1972 when new buses arrived. Between 1972 and 1975, Golden Gate Transit acquired 222 G.M.C. “New Look” buses. The final batch (Nos. 861 – 922) arrived in 1974-1975. Seashore's No. 870 came in 1974. One of 30 buses, No. 870 T8H5307A (Serial #2215), was fitted with commuter seats and had only one door. It operated on all 7 routes into San Francisco. The bus was purchased from Golden Gate by a fan and eventually arrived at Seashore in 2006.