The RTS is notable for its then-futuristic styling featuring automobile-like curved body and window panels; the Advanced Design Buses were meant to be[by whom?]

The RTS was offered in 30-foot (9.14 m)-, 35-foot (10.67 m)-, and 40-foot (12.19 m)-long models and was built using a modular design that allowed the same parts to be used for all three lengths, the longest of which could seat up to 47 passengers.

RTX used the same GT-309 gas turbine engine that had previously been fitted to the Turbo Titan III and Turbo-Cruiser II/III concept vehicles along with a "toric" continuously variable transmission.

[4]: 1173–1174 In September 1985 GMC announced that due to lower than expected, or poor sales of their RTS series buses, that it was in the process of trying to sell or close its transit bus building business, and then later announced that they have sold its RTS design, and patent rights, and bus manufacturing equipment and production line to Transportation Manufacturing Corporation (TMC) of Roswell, New Mexico, a subsidiary of Motor Coach Industries[5] in May 1987, though the two companies completed a joint order for the New York City Transit Authority to prepare TMC for the production.

TMC eventually sold the design and patents to NovaBus in September 1994 in the midst of an order for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

Production was revived, however, by Millennium Transit Services, which announced plans to manufacture the bus in both high and low-floor configurations at the shuttered TMC facilities in Roswell.

MTS ceased to exist sometime after 2012 after failing to win any substantial bus orders, as the market for high-floor buses (using rear door mounted wheelchair lifts) had essentially vanished by that point; transit agencies had turned to New Flyer Industries, Orion, Gillig, NovaBus, and NABI and their low-floor models equipped with front door wheelchair ramps.

[16] On April 30, 2019, the NYCTA retired the last of these RTS buses from regular passenger service with 1998 NovaBus RTS-06 # 5108 having the honor of doing the final curtain call on the B3 bus route in Brooklyn, New York.

A retirement ceremony, with a ceremonial farewell celebrations with a last RTS partial trip on the M55 bus route with 1999 RTS-06 bus 5241 was held on Monday May 6, 2019 to officially announce that these RTS buses were officially retired from passenger service[17] with 1999 RTS-06 buses #'s 5241 & 5249 on display in front of MTA's headquarter's at 2 Broadway for this historic occasion.

Several RTS-06 buses were rebuilt by Complete Coach Works for the Winston-Salem Transit Authority starting in 2019 to extend their service life for 12 years.

Quebec-based Dupont Trolley Industries, specializing in rebuilding buses, previously offered a rebuilt RTS known as the Victoria with several styling changes.

Although in reality, the Royale has incorporated chassis from the Japanese bus manufacturer, Isuzu with Daewoo built MAN engine.

The Royale compared to RTS has a completely different body structure, boasting underfloor baggage compartments, and sporting no modular construction.

[20][21] However, General Motors did briefly consider building small quantities of the RTS at its GM Holden's subsidiary in Australia.

Besides the New Jersey Transit order, MTS had secured a contract from the City of El Paso, Texas, to convert 25 Transportation Manufacturing Corporation-built RTS buses from diesel to clean-burning CNG.

A map check in 2019 appears to indicate that MTS no longer exists as an entity, and their facilities at 42 W-Earl Cummings Loop is now a vacant building and lot.