Text by James Bow
See Also:
Before the early 1990s, advertising on TTC transit vehicles was limited to what could be printed and fitted into special frames mounted on the sides of vehicles. There were few options for advertisers to make a bolder statement. While transit vehicles, and even TTC streetcars could be repainted for special occasions, the cost of doing so was prohibitive. Transit agencies were not willing to take the time and effort, not to mention the paint, just to get an advertiser’s message out, unless the advertiser was willing to pay for it.
In the 1990s, however, advances in printing technology allowed for the creation of vinyl wrap that could be applied to the outside of a transit vehicle without damaging the paint finish. This durable wrap could stand up to the battering of the elements, and feature whatever graphic design advertisers were willing to pay for. The wrap was quick to apply, and even quicker to remove once the advertising period ended. In the early 1990s, as the TTC scrambled for advertising revenue, commissioners decided to test run the advertising wrap on ten vehicles, selling the advertising space for as much as $100,000 per vehicle to gauge interest from advertisers. The experiment was successful enough, and wrapped buses and streetcars have been plying Toronto’s streets ever since.
This gallery logs the wraps that TTC buses have carried, yesterday and today.
Wrapped Buses Image Archive
|
TTC Orion VII "Next Gen" hybrid bus #1647 picks up passengers late on Friday, August 29, 2014, while wearing a World Pride wrap. Photo by James Bow. |
|
TTC Flyer D-901 bus #6014 is wrapped for chocolate milk. Photo by Mike Vainchtein. |
|
TTC Flyer D-901 bus #6138 is seen made up for Rogers @Home Cable Internet service in this 2001 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6212 is seen on 6 BAY promoting the Toronto 2008 Summer Olympic bid in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6214 is seen here made up to look like a box of Smarties�. Photo by Richard Hooles |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6217 is seen here promoting the Bell QuickChange Phone Card at Eglinton station in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6217 is seen promoting Logitech's cordless computer equipment at Eglinton Station in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6217 is seen here promoting the Oh Henry chocolate bar in 2001. Photo by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6218 promotes the movie Jurassic Park III in this 2001 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6221 promotes Toronto's 2008 Summer Olympics bid in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic #6221 heads northbound on Spadina in an Enbridge advertising wrap, having passed Queen in 510 SPADINA bus substitution service. Jeffrey Kay snapped this photograph on August 15, 2000. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6222 promotes Helluva Good Foods in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6222 promotes the Toronto 2008 Summer Olympics bid in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6223 promotes the Bell Simpatico High Speed Edition Internet service in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6228 promotes Ontario's Cash for Life lottery in this 2001 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6233 promotes the Toronto 2008 Summer Olympic Bid in 2000. Photo by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6234 promotes the Toronto 2008 Summer Olympics Bid in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6236 promotes Starbucks Coffee in this 2001 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
Well, it's eye-catching, but... TTC GM Classic 6242 slinks out of Eglinton station in its pink advertising wrap. Photo by David Cavlovic. |
|
TTC GMC "Classic" bus #6249 prepares to pull out of Parliament Loop at the east end of the 121 FRONT-ESPLANADE bus on June 22, 2000, wearing a wrap for Apple's new iMacs. This photograph was taken by John F. Bromley and is courtesy the John Knight collection. |
|
TTC GM Classic bus #6290 promotes Walt Disney Videos in this 2000 shot by Richard Hooles. |
|
TTC Flyer D-40 bus #6444 promotes chocolate milk in this 2002 shot. Photo by Mike Vainchtein. |
|
TTC Flyer D40 bus #6457 promotes Honey Shredded Wheat. The bus is wrapped to look like a bee. This 1999 shot was taken by Richard Hooles. |
|
Jelo Gutierrez Cantos snapped the shot of TTC Orion VII bus #8057 passing Runnymede Road on Dundas Street West operating on route 30A HIGH PARK, sporting the Black History Month wrap, one of the four buses with these, on February 23, 2021. |
|
TTC wrapped Orion VII Next Gen bus #8212 is seen at Finch station, promoting the Tile Shoppe, operating on the B branch of 42 CUMMER on May 18, 2015. Photo by Flame Cube. |
|
TTC GM New Look bus #8284, wrapped for Milk covering the entire bus in blue, in service on route 60B STEELES WEST on the intersection of Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue on a summer day of Monday, August 22, 1988. This photo was taken by Bob Hussey, which is donated by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos. |
|
Wrapped in the Yellow Pages advertising, Paul A. Bateson captured TTC bus #8420 is a Flyer D-901 is seen loading passengers on route 21 BRIMLEY in this photo dated Wednesday, April 14, 1993. |
|
TTC Orion V bus #9386 is wrapped for the theatrical release of Goldmember. Photo by Mike Vainchtein. |
