BUS INDUSTRIES-GRAND RAPIDS
P.O.NO.501520
D-3170-MA SINGLE FRONT CURTAIN
10-29-91  TRANSIGN,INC.
This style of mylar rollsigns was printed after the ones to the left although neither
has a sign tag or print date. Each rollsign has 35 exposures. On both front and side
sign, the "/76th" on the first Route 1 and the "Oak Ind. Dr." on the second Route 4
exposures were blacked out, and the Route 12 exposure was a later addition.

With the side sign it appears it was originally printed too narrow for the sign boxes, so
strips of blank mylar were taped on to either side of the rollsign to make it fit. The
newer Route 12 exposure was made to the correct width, and doesn't have the add ons.
Rollsigns from Grand Rapids, MI
Tap on, or hover
your mouse
over each
numbered
exposure to
enlarge it.

(The fonts on
the actual side
rollsign are very
small on some
exposures.)
This mylar side rollsign was originally
designed for one of Grand Rapids's thirteen
1990 built MCI TC40-102A "Classic" buses.
The sign is dated August 23, 1990 and has
35 exposures. The "/76th" on the first Route
1 and the "OAK IND. DR." on the second
Route 4 exposures were blacked out. The
Route 12 exposure was a later addition
LES AUTOBUS MCI-GRAND RAPIDS
P.O.NO.D08140Q
G5006162 SIDE M531A
8/23/90 TRANSIGN,INC.
This mylar side rollsign has the
same print style as the one to the
left, but was made to the correct
width. It has no print date, but with
the original inclusion of Route 12
and the changes to other routes,
this sign is newer than the
previous one. It has 33 exposures.
This mylar front rollsign was originally
designed for one of Grand Rapids's eight 1991
built Orion 05.501 buses. The sign is dated
October 29, 1991 and has 35 exposures. The
"/76th" on the first Route 1 and the "OAK IND.
DR." on the second Route 4 exposures were
blacked out. The Route 12 exposure was a
later addition. Its sign tag is shown below.
Public transportation has been operated in Grand Rapids since 1963 when the City of Grand Rapids formed the Grand Rapids Transit
Authority (GRTA). While it was supported by operating assistance from the state and federal governments, the City of Grand Rapids was
the only local government that supported GRTA, and it did so for 15 years. By 1978, residents and employees in the surrounding
jurisdictions had a sufficient need for transit service so the six cities of East Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Grandville, Kentwood, Walker
and Wyoming voluntarily agreed to support a more regional transit service with general fund revenues. The expanded service was
rebranded as the Grand Rapids Area Transit Authority (GRATA). Because GRATA’s funding was discretionary in nature, most jurisdictions
only paid the bare minimum to keep buses on the street. With limited revenues and rising expenses over time, the amount and quality of
service provided by GRATA deteriorated. In 1998, a long range plan was adopted to improve key elements of public transportation
involving urban growth, pedestrian and transit access integrated into future projects, transit priority on corridors, and the funding blueprints
for projects like these. GRATA couldn't handle this alone, so the six cities worked to establish the Interurban Transit Partnership (ITP) as a
State Act 196 authority with dedicated millage funding from those cities. In April 2000, the six cities approved a dedicated millage rate to
support the transit agency. In October 2000, the ITP took over as the designated public transit provider and GRATA was dissolved. Shortly
after incorporating under Act 196, the ITP chose to rebrand its service under the name "The Rapid", which continues to be used today.