Blue Bird TC/2000

The Blue Bird TC/2000 is a product line of buses that was produced by the American manufacturer Blue Bird Corporation (then Blue Bird Body Company) from 1987 to 2003. Introduced as a second transit-style product range alongside the Blue Bird All American, the TC/2000 was produced in front-engine and rear-engine layouts. While produced primarily as a yellow school bus, Blue Bird offered the TC/2000 in commercial configurations and numerous custom-built variants. For commercial use, Blue Bird badged the model line as the TC/2000 or the APC 2000 (All Purpose Coach).

In 2003, Blue Bird ended production of the TC/2000 (after a short run of 2004 models), consolidating its transit-style product range with the All American. During its production, Blue Bird assembled the TC/2000 at five assembly facilities, including: Blue Bird Body Company (Fort Valley, Georgia), Blue Bird North Georgia (LaFayette, Georgia; closed 2010), Blue Bird Midwest (Mount Pleasant, Iowa; closed 2002), Blue Bird East (Buena Vista, Virginia; closed 1992), and Blue Bird Canada (Brantford, Ontario; closed 2007).

Background

In the 1930s, transit-style (flat-front) school buses made their first appearance as manufacturers sought to develop school buses with higher capacity and greater maneuverability. Before World War II, California-based manufacturers Crown Coach, Gillig and Seattle-based Kenworth-Pacific had put various versions of the type into production; the most common was the forward-control bus, with the engine positioned next to the driver.

After World War II, Blue Bird company founder Albert Luce developed the first Blue Bird All American; similar to a bus he viewed at the 1948 Paris Auto Show, it was also of a forward-control design. Unable to secure a supply of GMC chassis, Luce produced the initial All Americans on conversions of conventional truck chassis, as was the practice of the time.