The
United States Secret Service formerly used rented buses as part of the presidential motorcade, retrofitted for secure communications where necessary. The bus was nicknamed "Ground Force One" following an unofficial solicitation for names held by
Mike Allen, who announced the results on the
Politico Playbook blog. The model
X3-45 VIP was designed and built as a conversion shell on a three-axle bus chassis by
Quebec,
Canada-based specialist firm
Prevost Car, and then fitted out by
Hemphill Brothers Coach Company in
Nashville, Tennessee, to provide of interior space, including flashing police-style red and blue lights on the front and the back. It was then further outfitted by the Secret Service with secure communications and other specialized equipment. The two buses cost $1.1 million each and were leased from Hemphill Brothers during the
Obama administration. The coaches are part of the federal government fleet and are painted plain black, but can be wrapped in campaign materials at the campaign's expense. In July 2012, the official Presidential Seal was applied to the side of the bus for a trip through Ohio and Pennsylvania. The second bus was used by Republican presidential nominee
Mitt Romney during the campaign leading up to the 2012 presidential election, and then deployed as a back-up for visiting dignitaries. In 2020,
Mike Pence was transferred from Ground Force One to a limo after it was involved in a minor crash while traveling in western Pennsylvania. The bus was wrapped in
Trump-Pence campaign livery and was not damaged. A wrapped bus was used by the
Harris-Walz campaign in 2024. == See also ==