Service History
In 1985, the CTA purchased 362 “Americana” buses from Maschinenfabrik-Augsburg-Nurenburg (MAN). The order came after the CTA had recently ordered 145 articulated buses from the same company.
The most notable feature in the 4000-series buses is that they were the first CTA buses to include digital flip-dot destination signs. While the signs were not as visible or reliable as traditional roll signs, they could be easily changed when new or modified routes were introduced.
The 4000-series were originally painted in the same white and light green paint scheme used on the 9800- and 1600-series Flyer buses, but eventually were repainted in the CTA’s white, blue, and red scheme.
The buses were retired in 2004.
