Retired - MAN Standard Diesel Bus
The last of the M.A.N. buses rolled off the Ryerson Base lot at the end of October 2004, heading for the old bus retirement home. They logged an amazing 83 million miles of service in King County and were reliable coaches that stayed on the road and didn't require much maintenance. M.A.N. by the way is an acronym for Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nuernburg, in reference to their German heritage, and enough of a mouthful to make it easy to understand why we've always referred to them simply as "M.A.N.s."
The M.A.N. buses are gone, but they won't be forgotten. M.A.N. coach number 3152 will be added to the historic fleet maintained by the Metro Employees Historic Vehicle Association.
The MAN 40 ft diesel buses are the oldest diesel buses in the Metro fleet. This bus features wide doorways and a boxy look. The ten MAN buses with fleet numbers from 3150-3159 are an example of Metro's early commitment to investigate cleaner buses. These buses were delivered with engines that burned methanol instead of diesel. This ten bus test lasted three years. During the test, Metro learned that parts for the methanol engine were expensive, that the fuel economy was much worse than diesel, and that methanol fuel required special handling. At the end of the test, Metro concluded that any environmental advantages were more than offset by the operational disadvantages. The buses were converted to diesel.
- Manufacturer: MAN
- Fleet Numbers: 3000-3146, 3150-3159
- Quantity: 157 buses
- Seats: 44 passengers
- Length: 40 feet
- Year: 1986-1987
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