Text by James Bow and Robert Lubinski

See Also

• A Brief History of Orion Bus Industries
• The Orion I
• The Orion II
• The Orion III / Ikarus Articulated
• The Orion IV
• The Orion V
• The Orion VII

The First Conventional Low Floor Buses

With the electric trolley bus fleet began to fade away and the Compressed Natural Gas experiment became a success, the Ontario Government announced in 1993 that all buses purchased in the province would have to be wheelchair accessible which permanently ended trolley buses that same year. At the start of 1994, the Toronto Transit Commission awarded Ontario Bus Industries a $37.7 million contract for the supply of 100 of their new low-floor buses. The TTC had previously purchased the low-floor Orion II, but the new 40-foot Orion VI would be used in conventional service. The decision to purchase the new low floor bus was supported by the elderly and disabled community.

The first of the new buses was planned to be delivered in September 1994 with all 100 units in service by the end of 1995, however, delays in production soon mounted. A prototype Orion VI CNG vehicle was delivered to the TTC in June 1995 for testing, numbered 2000 and painted in the TTC livery. It was used in service on the 7 BATHURST and eventually returned to Orion where it was eventually sold off to Ride-On.

In an attempt to expedite delivery of the new buses, half of the order was built as lift-equipped high floor buses (the 9400-series Orion V CNG). The buses, numbered 9200-9249, were finally delivered by the middle of 1998.

Short Times

The Orion VIs were based out of Wilson division and mainly operated on the 161 ROGERS RD., 7 BATHURST, 29 DUFFERIN, 42 CUMMER, 47 LANSDOWNE 79 SCARLETT ROAD and 105 DUFFERIN NORTH routes. Due to the all low-floor design, seating capacity was greatly reduced from high-floor bus models, and these buses were often filled to crush capacity when operating on busy routes which could lead to wheel failures. The TTC’s frustration with the Orion VIs design led TTC Commissioner David Gunn to criticize low floor buses in general, and issue a call for a thorough redesign that could combine accessibility with the means of serving the day-to-day needs of TTC passengers.

As a result, the TTC pulled all 50 buses from service in September 1998. A stronger wheel rim was sourced to rectify the problem. At the same time, the TTC also had to replace deficient steering arms after Orion gave notice of the problem. The buses returned to service in early 1999. The fleet had bike racks installed in 2005.

When the TTC decided to phase out its natural gas program and convert the Orion V lift buses to diesel, it decided that the Orion VI series would not be converted and would instead be retired early. By June 12, 2005, only 48 of these buses remained in service after unit 9243 fell off the hoist at Wilson Garage in 2004 while 9244 caught fire. Further retirements quickly followed, and the entire series was retired by the end of November 2006. As these buses only operated for just eight years, they are among the shortest-lived series of regular TTC buses.

The Full TTC Orion Fleet History

Orion VI Image Archive

	TTC Orion VI bus #9228 prepares to turn from Yonge to Queens Quay in service on the 320 YONGE NIGHT bus on March 27, 2006. Photo by Rob Hutchinson.
	The Toronto Transit Commission's bus #9243, a Daimler Buses North America/Orion Bus Industries Orion 06.501 "VI" CNG model, out of service and parked on Yorkdale Road in North York, Ontario, Canada. This photo was taken on August 20, 2003, and this bus has since been retired from TTC service. Photo by GTD Aquitaine.
	TTC Orion VI 9243 on display at the 1998 Bus "Roadeo".
	TTC Orion VI 9246 on display during a bus roadeo at the Arrow Road Garage, displaying a 12 KINGSTON ROAD route sign. Photo by Brad O'Brien.
	TTC Orion VI bus #9249 lays over at Earlscourt loop at the north end of the main branch of 47 LANSDOWNE. This photograph was taken by James Bow on May 31, 1999.
	TTC Orion V CNG bus #9384 wrapped in the Levi's ad, seen on route 42 CUMMER at Finch Station on September 27, 2001. Photo taken by Felix Tse.

References

• Articulated Bus, Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto (Ontario), 1990.
• Bus World Encyclopedia of Buses, Stauss Publications, Woodland Hills (California), 1988.
• Diesel City Bus, Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto (Ontario), 1991.
• “Orion International.” - CPTDB Wiki. Canadian Public Transit Discussion Board, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 July 2014.
• Royson James, Toronto S. “TTC Spends $38 Million on 100 ‘Low-Floor’ Buses New-Look Vehicles More Accessible to Disabled Riders.” Toronto Star Jan 12 1994: A7. ProQuest. 24 Nov. 2016.
• “‘Low’ Buses for Elderly Acceptable to the TTC.” Toronto Star Jun 12 1992: A4. ProQuest. 24 Nov. 2016.
• Bruce Campion-Smith, TORONTO S. “Delayed Deliveries of New Buses Hurt Transit Systems.” Toronto Star Oct 28 1994: A6. ProQuest. 24 Nov. 2016.