GAZ-03-30 was a small-class service bus built on the chassis of the "polutorka" (a 1.5-ton light truck), the most mass-produced Soviet bus of the pre-war period and the first post-war years. It was manufactured by the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1933 to 1941; after the war production resumed and continued until 1950, with more than 18,000 vehicles built in total.[1][2]
Purpose
Growing passenger traffic called for a vehicle smaller and cheaper than a city bus, and in 1933 the plant fitted a seventeen-seat body onto a truck chassis.[1][2] The bus served not only as a staff and excursion vehicle but also as a city bus on regular routes — in effect, it was the country's first mass-produced route-taxi vehicle.[3]
Design
The body was of frame construction: a wooden frame sheathed in metal — a technique typical of bus-building at the time, which made it possible to do without large stampings. The running gear fully matched that of the truck, which made repairs easy at any motor depot.[3]