In the mid-2000’s, BC Transit (BCT) of British Columbia and Ottawa’s OC Transit (OCT) in Ontario identified a need for a 25-27 foot bus, for smaller suburban feeder routes and those with tight turns that were difficult for longer buses to negotiate. They had been using “cutaway” small light duty models, but in BC Transit’s words, those were “falling apart” after barely three years of use. These companies wanted a heavy duty transit coach, like the rest of their fleet, and when New Flyer, Nova Bus, and Gillig passed on modifying their smaller coaches to meet such a limited order, a new Canadian company came forward.
In 2008, Vicinity Motors Corporation, then known as Grande West Co., was established to meet this BCT and OCT requirement. The company worked closely with BCT officials in the overall design of the bus. A final version was completed in 2009, but as Grande’s factory had yet to be finished, assembly of the bus was subcontracted out to Yaxing Motor Coach Company of China. That company was chosen based on its existing joint venture with Mercedes-Benz building MB buses for the Chinese market. This initial design was 27.5 feet long, 98 inches wide, seated 23 passengers and became known as the “Vicinity Classic.” To keep costs down, the engine was the widely available Cummins ISB 6.7 litre diesel six cylinder used in Dodge/RAM trucks, along with other applications. Transmission was the similarly popular Allison B300R six-speed automatic. Yaxing completed the assembly and delivered the prototype bus in 2010. It was then entered into a demanding 21 month testing cycle with BCT – it passed with flying colors.
BCT then ordered 15 more which were assembled in Grande’s new Aldergrove, British Columbia factory and delivered in 2013. These new buses were identical to the prototype with the exception of single LED headlights replacing the smaller upswept ones.
With successful completion of the BCT testing period, and subsequent certification of meeting the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard, additional orders soon followed. Through 2023, more than thirty Canadian transport agencies placed orders and operated Vicinity coaches – a complete breakdown of all these operators is listed here.
This initial success led the company to introduce a 30 foot model in 2014, and a 35 footer in 2015. In 2016, the bus was determined to meet US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) allowing sales south of the border. US sales were never large, though an order was placed by the Brooklyn Naval Shipyard and several airports. There were plans to establish an additional factory in Ferndale Washington to further assist in US sales.
Then in 2020/21, the company developed a pure battery-electric 28 foot prototype called the “Lightning.” Unfortunately, this coincided with the advent of the COVID pandemic. Orders for all models suddenly dried up, and to make matters worse, many of the company’s loans were coming due during this same period. Post-COVID orders still remained low and in Oct 2024 Grande, now called Vicinity Motors Corporation, was placed into receivership – it was declared insolvent the following month. As of mid-2025, the company’s assets were being sold off. Raeda Dynamics of Surrey BC is purchasing the Classic rights with a goal of re-branding it as the Raeda “Medius.”
An unfortunate end to a once promising company.
That’s a nice looking bus with what seem like proven mechanicals, i.e. a good combination that fills a need. I assume they are still in operation and doing well wherever they are in use. They certainly seem to be a major improvement on the cutaway/fiberglass “buses” that generally seem to be of very poor quality and a less than solid feel.
The Lower Mainland of British Columbia has its own bus line know as “Coast Mountain Bus.” They never used these busses, so I have never seen one. BC Transit services the rest of the province.
There were a few VMC trucks for sale at a local dealer until one day they all got hauled away as part of the bankruptcy.
Our transit buses are VMCs here. Look like a nice little bus.
I hope they were better than the 90 Dennis Darts BC Transit bought. Which fell apart when they saw interior and northern BC potholes.
If they do get them back into production, I doubt they’ll be able to sell them in the States, thanks to the tariff situation.
On visits to Vancouver in the last year, I’ve taken the ferry to Bowen Island and Gibsons (on the Sunshine Coast), and then taken buses. The buses I rode were more like vans, definitely smaller than these.