Text by James Bow
If it had its way, the TTC would have a single model of bus providing all of the transportation needs outside the city’s subway and streetcar network. One model vastly simplifies maintenance, allows the TTC to save money by buying spare parts in bulk, and provides a consistent look and feel for the commission’s operations. But technologies change, and some bus models are better able to adapt to unique aspects of the TTC’s operations.
Further, the TTC cannot just purchase a single bus model sight unseen. As vehicle manufacturers improve their designs and test new concepts, those same manufacturers sometimes commission demonstrator models which they loan to transit agencies like the TTC to test in practical operating conditions. This way, the transit agency and the manufacturer can see how well these new models deal with road conditions outside of the factory test track. Improvements can be made, and the transit agency can decide if this is a model they want to upgrade their fleet to.
Demonstrators add a splash of difference in what is an otherwise monolithic fleet. This gallery highlights some of the demonstrator models that have appeared on the TTC network throughout its history.
Demonstrator Vehicles Image Archive
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TTC Mack-built C-49-DT bus #0504 operates westbound on Bernard, in service on the SPADINA bus in this February 1956 shot. The bus was a demonstrator designed to compete with the GM Old Look model. It didn't take, and bus #506 was the last Mack-built bus to operate on the TTC. The photographer is unknown and the image is courtesy the Pete Coulman collection. |
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British Leyland demonstrator bus #501 operates in service on the LAWRENCE bus route at Lawrence and Yonge in this 1951 shot. The photographer is unknown and the image is courtesy the Rob Pineault collection. |
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British bus manufacturer Leyland hoped to break into the North American market with its Olympian model in 1966, and sent over demonstrator vehicle #507, which can be seen operating in TTC colours, northbound on Bay Street, crossing Louisa in 6 BAY service on March 11, 1967. Leyland wasn't able to drum up interest in a major purchase, in spite of its bus touring Toronto and Montreal, and this vehicle never returned to British shores, and eventually ended up in a field at St. Cesaire, Quebec. Photo by John F. Bromley. |
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In 1986, Belgian bus manufacturer Van Hoole delivered an unnumbered demonstrator articulated bus for the TTC to test on a number of routes, especially in the northern suburbs. Dave Chalmers captured the bus here on Finch Avenue East at Middlefield Road on July 25, 1986, in service on 39 FINCH EAST. The TTC was looking for a decent articulated bus model to handle the large crowds on some of its suburban routes. Eventually, it went with the Orion III/Ikarus model, but design flaws soured the TTC on articulated buses for years afterward. Though Van Hoole was unsuccessful in entering the Ontario market in the 1980s, it did break in with a purchase by York Region Transit in 2005 for its VIVA Bus Rapid Transit network. Photo is courtesy the Pete Coulman collection. |
