In 2008,
BC Transit and
Ottawa's
OC Transpo issued a Requested for Proposal (RFP) for heavy-duty, mid-size buses from the major bus manufacturers. These companies either had no interest in producing such a bus or did not have capacity. As a result, Grande West was founded that same year, led by businessman William Trainer. The company built key partnerships with BC Transit and tailored their proposed bus designs to the agency's needs. Grande West worked closely with management and engineers with BC Transit to understand requirements and specifications of the Vicinity. The company initially targeted the niche demand for green, compact buses in the North American market with their 27.5 foot bus. In October 2011, BC Transit placed an initial order for 15 Vicinity-model buses valued at $3.8 million. The first Vicinity buses were delivered on August 30, 2013. While the buses were designed by Grande West, they were manufactured in Yangzhou, China by
Yaxing Motor Coach. Grande West went public with the
initial public offering (IPO) at the end of 2013. In 2015, Grande West entered a non-binding letter of intent (LOI) with
Weichai Power to explore the possibilities of mutual bus development under the
Weichai Group. The objective is to increase sales and distribution in North America. At the time of the LOI, Weichai Group was already part of the manufacturing process as they provided assemblies and the uni-body frame. Final assembly was located in Aldergrove. In 2017, the
Brooklyn Navy Yard bought six Vicinity buses for their
shuttle service. In 2019, they bought two more to replace the older fleet of
Freightliner cutaways. Grande West Transportation Group consolidated its shares and changed its name to Vicinity Transportation Corp. on 29 March 2021, after receiving shareholder approval. The Vicinity buses meet the
Buy America requirements in the
United States allowing the sales of buses to government public transit agencies. This allows Alliance Bus Group, the exclusive distributor for the US, to bid on all public transit projects in the United States. The deal with Alliance Bus Group was finalized in May 2015 with the first orders placed four months later for 50 30-foot buses. Along with the Buy America requirements, the Vicinity 30 foot model passed the
Altoona Testing Program in
Altoona, Pennsylvania. All new bus models used for mass transit revenue service and purchased with
Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds must complete an Altoona Test. On July 7, 2021, Vicinity started construction of an assembly facility in
Ferndale, Washington. On July 29, 2021, the
Morongo Basin Transit Authority selected Vicinity as the supplier for a large bus procurement agreement that could include up to 8,000 vehicles under the California Association for Coordinated Transportation partnership. On October 21, 2024, Vicinity Motor Corp. was placed in receivership on application by the Royal Bank of Canada. and the company was declared insolvent by November. ==Vehicle models==