The bus was available in both transit (two-door) and suburban (single front door) configurations; OBI marketed the Orion I to both the Canadian and United States transit markets. Canadian buses were assembled at the OBI plant in
Mississauga, Ontario. For the US market, to meet 'Buy America' requirements for federally subsidized transit vehicles, the Orion I was initially produced under license before OBI incorporated the wholly owned subsidiary Bus Industries of America (BIA) in 1981 to assemble the Orion I in
Oriskany, New York. TMC marketed the T-30 Citycruiser as an ideal vehicle for smaller transit agencies; although it only seated approximately as many passengers as a typical 40-foot transit bus (31 versus 47), it offered better fuel economy at , compared to , with a turning radius of . Eventually OBI began producing larger Orion I buses, introducing a 35-foot model in 1979 and a 40-foot model in 1984.
Models Internally, OBI designated the bus model as 01.5
xx, with
xx denoting a combination of vehicle length and door configuration.
Citycruiser Transportation Manufacturing Corporation (TMC), a subsidiary of
Greyhound Lines, began manufacturing buses in
Roswell, New Mexico in 1975, producing approximately 450 per year to replace older suburban coaches for its parent company. Because Greyhound retired its coaches seasonally, production at TMC was inconsistent, and TMC acquired a license from OBI to produce the Citycruiser in 1979, TMC unveiled its first Citycruiser on May 31, 1979, during dedication ceremonies for the new factory. The entire 1979 production had already been sold. TMC sold its license back to OBI in 1981, and the last Citycruiser left Roswell in 1982. == Deployment ==