DETROIT'S FIRST WHEEL-CHAIR LIFT "RTS" COACHES

[OBrayant]

Thank you for posting this video. I'm really glad to see something on Beverly Payne. I idolilzed her as a teen and chose to study journalism because of her. I am sorry to know she passed. She was truly a Detroit icon.

[OBrayant]

Thank you for posting this video. I'm really glad to see something on Beverly Payne. I idolilzed her as a teen and further my career in journalism because of her. I am sorry to know she passed. She was truly a Detroit icon.

[BassmanII]

1980 saw NFTA buses 5066-5078 as the second wheelchair lift equipped buses in Buffalo (first lift equipped buses were 30 foot Twin Coach buses with separate lift doors). The next batch were the entire fleet of 6000-series RTS 04 buses in 1984 (6001-6110)

[RoyalOui]

Thank you very much for posting this. This is the only visual reminiscence (photo or video) of the lovely Beverly Payne I have ever seen on the web (and I have looked for others).

Growing up in suburban Detroit, I had a bit of a crush on Ms. Payne as a lad. My brother later saw her when visiting the television studio, and he thought her the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

It is very sad that she passed away, but I'm glad she was an inspiration to so many people.

Again, thank you.

[keepthapinit]

Ha Ha!!! He said that "the bus drivers have empathy for passengers that's confined to wheel chairs during rush hour"...

You can't have empathy when school is in, on those lines like 7 mile, Grand River and Woodward...

Fuck around and find yourself late...

[DrSurprise]

That Beverly Payne chick kinda looks like Liz Cho from WABC 7 here in New York!

[hbc2nddetroit]

Oh yeah, Beverly Payne. I can definitely remember her anchoring the evening news on channel 2 during my younger years. Beverly Payne (Draper) was an anchor/reporter for WJBK-TV2 (CBS) from 1973-1982, where she became the first female African-American anchor in Detroit. Unfortunately, she's no longer with us, having passed away from ovarian cancer at the age of 54 in November of 1999.

[DrSurprise]

she was an African American? wow! she looks white.

[TheTransitCamera]

Wow, I didn't know they had lift equipped buses before the 80s. Thanks for posting the video.

[hbc2nddetroit]

They sure did! With the arrival of the DDOT #1800-series RTS-IIs in July of 1980, Detroit's DDOT had 237 lift-equipped RTS coaches in its fleet. Of the 307 RTS-IIs purchased by DDOT between 1978 and 1980, all but the first 70 (#1300-1369) were equipped with those problem-plagued wheel-chair lifts.

[TheTransitCamera]

Cool, and yet Metro Transit was still getting no lift buses in 1989 LOL

[qwandiddy]

Well, I don't know how did handicapped/ disabled people got around in Chicago because CTA never had any lift- equipped buses until late 1989-1990 when they recieved 1990-91 TMC RTS buses and never gotten to 100% Lift-equipped fleet until late 2004 when The NABI Artics came in service.

[ClassicTVMan1981X]

@qwandiddy

Aren't you forgetting about the Flxible Metro B's (1990-91) numbered #5300-5770?

[qwandiddy]

@TheTransitCamera Same thing with Cleveland RTA's 1989 TMC RTS with none W/C lift