History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Automotive Industries page on X February 2025, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The Gillig Low Floor (originally named Gillig H2000LF and also nicknamed Gillig Advantage) is a transit bus manufactured by Gillig since 1997. Introduced as a second product range by the company (alongside the Gillig Phantom), the Low Floor later replaced the Phantom entirely. Since 2008, the model line has become the sole vehicle platform produced by Gillig.

The Low Floor was the second low-floor bus design introduced in the United States, following the New Flyer Low Floor. During the 2000s, the configuration came into wide use by transit operators in place of previous high-floor designs. Along with several lengths and body styles, the Low Floor is offered with several different powertrain options, including options for diesel engines, diesel-electric hybrid, compressed natural gas, and battery-electric powertrains.

The Low Floor is currently assembled by Gillig at its Livermore, California facility; prior to 2017, the vehicle was assembled in Hayward, California.

The Gillig Low Floor began life in the mid-1990s as Gillig was approached by Hertz Corporation, who sought a shuttle bus for its airport locations (to replace its fleet of GMC RTS buses). Featuring a carpeted interior, luggage racks, and a central entry door, the primary design requirement of Hertz was a low-floor entry for those carrying luggage or with limited mobility. In 1996, the first buses for Hertz (named the Gillig H2000LF) entered production, with Hertz placing the H2000LF in service at Logan International Airport in Boston (expanding to other airports in the United States). Gillig would produce the H2000LF for Hertz through 2005, as the design was replaced by standard Gillig Low Floor buses.

In 1997, Gillig developed the H2000LF shuttle bus into the Low Floor transit bus. Several changes were made to the design, distinguished primarily by the reconfiguration of the entry doors (replacing the central entry with dual entry doors).

Following the renaming of the model line, Gillig introduced the Low Floor as an expansion of its product range, marketed alongside the step-entrance Phantom.

Article Index

Date	Article	Details
23 October 2023	Gillig, LLC, Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance Gillig has determined that certain model year 1998-2022 Gillig Low Floor buses do not fully comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205, Glazing Materials.	Federal Register Notice (text) Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Byline: Otto G. Matheke III Topic: Gillig Low Floor