Mack Trucks built the C49DT model between 1954 and 1960, and New York acquired over 300 buses of this type between 1954 and 1958. One bus, 6259, has been preserved in the vintage bus fleet.

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The "Old Look" was a transit bus model retroactively named after GMC introduced the "New Look" in 1959. The Old Look was first introduced by Yellow Coach in 1940. Yellow Coach was partially owned by General Motors at the time and GM ultimately purchased Yellow Coach outright in 1943. Many Old Look buses of different models were purchased in the 1950s and 1960s, three of which have been preserved by New York City Transit. Bus number 2969 is a GMC TDH-5101 Old Look that was manufactured in 1949. Originally numbered 4789, it was renumbered to 2969 to honor the bus Jackie Gleason character Ralph Kramden drove in the classic TV series "The Honeymooners." Bus 3100 is a GMC TDH-5106 Old Look manufactured in 1956 as part of a demonstration of air conditioned buses, making it the first air conditioned bus in New York City. Bus 9098 is also a GMC TDH-5106 Old Look but does not have air conditioning and was built in 1958.

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New York City Transit operated many iconic "Fishbowl" buses, manufactured by General Motors, from the 1970s until the mid-1990s.

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New York City Transit ordered 851 Grumman Flxible 870 buses in 1980. However, these buses were removed from service following several incidents in which cracks in the metal "A frames" of the buses were discovered. After repairs were made, the buses were returned to service until 1984, at which point they were permanently withdrawn from service in New York City following a fire on board a bus. Ultimately, the buses were sold to other transit agencies (New Jersey Transit, Queen City Metro in Cincinnati, Pioneer Valley Transportation Authority in Massachusetts, and an agency in Puerto Rico). NYCT did not order from Flxible again until the mid-1990s, at which time it ordered Flxible Metro-Es. However, Flxible would enter bankruptcy and shut down before any of the buses were built. A single Grumman Flxible 870, number 236, was preserved; it had been one of 16 buses retained while lawsuits between NYCT and Grumman were litigated.

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The RTS can be thought of as the "flagship" bus model to traverse New York City throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and much of the 2000s. The first order of RTS buses was delivered to New York City in 1981. A total of 4,877 and RTS buses were ordered from three different manufacturers (GMC sold the rights to the RTS design to TMC who later transferred those rights to NovaBUS).  These buses were also the first buses to be equipped with wheelchair lifts, and helped New York City Transit become one of the first agencies of its size to have a 100 percent accessible fleet.  The final RTS buses in the fleet were retired in May 2019.

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The MTA purchased Orion V buses multiple times in the 1990s. Orion Vs were ordered by both New York City Transit and for use by NYCDOT franchised operators. The MTA also acquired some units secondhand from Bee Line (Westchester County) in 2009. The Orion V remained in service with MTA until 2016.

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MTA ordered ten Orion VI/HEV buses to serve as prototypes for NYC Transit's Clean Fuel Bus program. These were also the first low floor buses ordered by the agency. All ten buses were retired by 2005.

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The MTA was one of two agencies to purchase New Flyer Viking D45S Cruiser Buses (the other was The Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County in Houston, TX). Three buses were ordered in 1999 and operated on the X51 route between Queens and Manhattan for their entire service lives. They were removed from service in 2008.

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The MTA ordered its first articulated buses in 1996, when it acquired D60HF buses from New Flyer. Multiple orders for D60HF buses were made until the product was discontinued in 2006. The last D60HF bus made its final trips in revenue service on March 31, 2019.

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