The History of Optima Bus

Before becoming one of the Three Great Brands of North American Bus Industries, Inc., the Optima brand began in 1976 as Chance Coach Inc. manufacturing heavy duty, transit quality coaches.  In 2003, Chance Coach Inc. changed its name to Optima Bus Corp. and continued to be Optima until it was purchased in 2006 by North American Industries, Inc.  Since its inception, Optima manufactured transit tough products including the under 30' Opus low-floor bus, the under 35' Opus low-floor bus, and the American Heritage Streetcar.

Optima earned a reputation for producing quality, durable transit products as confirmed by the fact that the first streetcars manufactured by Optima in 1983 have just recently been retired by VIA Metropolitan Transit in San Antonio, Texas, after more than 20 years of service and were replaced with the new improved American Heritage Streetcars.

The Optima Opus under 30' low-floor bus was introduced at the International Public Transit Expo in Orlando, Florida, in 1999. The Opus under 35' low-floor bus was later introduced in 2002.  Optima also introduced the following products to the transit industry in 2006: the Opus low-floor bus with Streetcar Features, and the Streamlined Opus low-floor bus.

Optima began producing the ADA compliant, fully enclosed American Heritage Streetcar in 1993. The American Heritage Streetcar features authentic turn-of-the-century styling, with Philippine mahogany and antique brass trim, and transit necessities such as two operator-controlled doors and a wheelchair lift. The nostalgic look and durability of the American Heritage Streetcar have made it the most popular streetcar in America.

Optima’s reputation for quality and value is the reason that nearly half of all Optima customers are repeat customers. Optima depended on developing long-term partnerships with transit authorities and maintaining those partnerships throughout its years in the industry.

Optima produced over 1,800 low-floor buses, high-floor buses, and streetcars over the years. Throughout its history in the transit industry and still today, Optima offers flexibility to our customers, provides exceptional service after-the-sale, and produces the ultimate in transit products to the transportation industry.