Compiled by Jeffrey Kay

Neilson Road was likely named for the one settler, Alexander Neilson, who arrived in Scarborough in 1824. Construction and development on the modern Neilson Road began in the late 1960s through the 1970s with transit service provided by the 9 BELLAMY bus. Following the opening of the SCARBOROUGH RT in 1985 and the establishment of the Morningside Heights neighbourhood in 2002, bus service on Neilson was extended through the Morningside Heights neighbourhood.

March 23, 1985

Coincident with the opening of the SCARBOROUGH RT, service begins on a new route replacing the northern portion of the 9 BELLAMY bus. Buses on 133 NEILSON operate from Scarborough Centre station via east on Triton, south on McCowan, east on Ellesmere, and north on Neilson, looping west on Crow Trail, north on Baldoon, east on Finch and south on Neilson, returning over the reverse route. Service is operated from Malvern Garage, Monday to Saturday, with no Sunday service.

April 20, 1987

Service is revised at the north end. Buses now operate north on Neilson, and east on McLevin to turn in the cul-de-sac just east of Morningside at Casebridge. Service to Finch and Neilson is now provided by the revised 134 TAPSCOTT route.

November 22, 1987

Sunday service is introduced, with the last trip leaving Scarborough Centre at 11 PM.

April 1, 1990

Buses are rerouted north on Neilson to Finch and once again follow the same routing as they did from 1985 to April 1987.

March 27, 1994

Service is revised to operate both ways through the Centenary Health Centre on Neilson south of Ellesmere at all times except westbound in the AM rush and southbound in PM rush.

January 5, 1997

During evenings, Monday through Saturday, and all day Sunday (when the 134 TAPSCOTT route is not operating) the northern looping is expanded. Buses now loop north on Neilson, west on Crow Trail, and south on Tapscott.

October 14, 2003

During the Monday through Friday peak periods alternate buses are extended north of Finch into the new Morningside Heights residential area. Buses operate on the new “133C-Morningside Heights” branch over the regular route from Scarborough Centre to Neilson & Crow Trail, then continue north on Neilson, east on Nightstar, north on Morningside, north on Oasis and east on Seasons, to loop clockwise via Canoe. Buses return south over the reverse routing. All Finch-Baldoon trips now use branch designation 133A. All trips on all branches will service the Centenary Health Centre EXCEPT bus TO Scarborough Centre in the AM Peak, and buses FROM Scarborough Centre in the PM Peak, but direct service no longer has its own branch designation.

May 9, 2004

Weekday early evening service is added to the Morningside Heights branch.

June 20, 2004

Accessible service is now operated on this route using Lift Equipped buses (Orion V 7000s and 7100s). Not all buses and not all stops are accessible.

September 7, 2004

The looping of the 133C buses in Morningside Heights is expanded as new streets are built. Buses now operate north on Neilson, then loop east on Nightstar, north on Morningside Extension, north on Neilson, east and north on Oasis, east on Seasons Drive, south on Staines, west on Stains, north on Mantis, and west on Nightstar, returning south on Neilson.

March 27, 2006

Service to Morningside Heights (133C) is added during the midday Monday through Friday and during the daytime and early evening on Saturdays Sundays and Holidays. This service is now operated seven days a week until about 9 PM.
133A Finch Scarborough Centre 6d12h 133B Finch & Tapscott - Scarborough Centre 6d evening, Sun 18h 133C Morningside Heights - Scarborough Centre 7d 15h

September 4, 2005

October 16, 2005

All trips run through to Morningside Heights Monday through Friday midday and early evening, on Saturday during the daytime and early evening and on Sunday during the daytime. Service is discontinued on the 133A Finch branch Monday through Friday midday and on Saturday during the daytime. Service is discontinued on the 133B Finch & Tapscott branch Monday through Saturday during the late evening and during the daytime on Sundays, service on the 134 PROGRESS route now operates to Finch during these hours. Sunday early evening is the only period when two branches operate, in this period alternate buses from Scarborough Centre run as branch 133 and branch 133B.

June 25, 2007

A new late evening service will be operated into Morningside Heights, Monday through Friday, replacing the current late evening service to Finch, except during late evenings on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

February 17, 2008

The routing is changed operate over the newly open Finch Avenue roadway between Neilson and Morningside. Buses now operate north on Neilson, east on Finch, then loop east and north on Staines, north on Mantis, west on Nightstar Road, north on Morningside Avenue, east on Oasis Boulevard, east on Seasons Drive, south and west on Staines Road, west on Finch Avenue, south on Neilson Road and continue over existing route. Service will now operate with Orion VII Low Floor buses instead of Orin V Lift Equipped buses.

May 26, 2008

Buses operating on this route are now bike racked equipped.

November 23, 2008

As part of the Ridership Growth Strategy, service on Saturday late evening and Sunday evening service is extended from Finch to Morningside Heights. With this change the 133B branch is eliminated at all times.

November 19, 2023

Following the closure of the LINE 3 SCARBOROUGH RT in July after a derailment, buses on the 133 NEILSON are extended from Scarborough Centre Station to Kennedy Station along the priority route southbound on Midland Avenue and northbound on Kennedy Road. Stops on Midland/Ellesmere, Midland/Lawrence (southbound) and Kennedy/Lawrence (northbound) are added. Buses on this route board Bay 14 on Platform B in the new terminal at Kennedy Station.

Service frequencies on this route are adjusted by one to five minutes on weekends in most time periods to match scheduled capacity to demand.

133 Neilson Image Archive

	A view of the Scarborough Centre bus platform level, with pedestrian link to the mall on April 18, 1985. Note the original bus platform arrangements viewed from east such as the 134 TAPSCOTT, 129 McCOWAN NORTH, 16 McCOWAN and 133 NEILSON. Photo courtesy of the Toronto Transit Commission, via City of Toronto Archives.
	An official TTC map of 133 NEILSON operations, effective December 1, 2013.
	TTC Orion VII Next Gen bus #1201 turns from Finch Avenue East southbound onto Neilson, in service on 133 NEILSON. This photograph was taken by James Bow on March 22, 2016.
	TTC "Next Gen" Orion VII hybrid turns from southbound McCowan onto eastbound Ellesmere in service on 133 NEILSON, on January 29, 2011. Photo by James Bow.
	TTC Orion VII "Next Generation" bus #1754 pauses at Scarborough Centre station in service on 133 NEILSON. This photo was taken on May 4, 2011 by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos.
	TTC GM New Look bus #2102 seen in service on the 133 NEILSON at Scarborough Centre Station. Photo taken by Felix Tse on January 26, 2001.
	TTC New Flyer D40-89 bus #6445 seen on a Winter 1990 day in service on route 133 NEILSON by an unknown photographer. Photo donated by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos.
	TTC New Flyer D-40-90 bus #6602 seen in service on the 133B NEILSON at Scarborough Centre station. Photo taken in 1999 by Brad O'Brien.
	TTC Orion V bus #7034 picks up passengers at Scarborough Centre station, in service on 133 NEILSON. This photo was taken May 4, 2011 by Jelo Gutierrez Cantos.
	TorontoTransportGuy snapped this view of TTC Orion V #7106 serving the 133 NEILSON route, as it exited Scarborough Center Station on September 18th, 2014.
	TTC Orion V 7127 makes a rare appearance along the 133 NEILSON route at Neilson Road and McClevin Ave on January 20, 2015. Photo: TorontoTransportGuy
	TTC GM "New Look" bus #8775 operates on Casebridge Road on a revision of the 133 NEILSON bus on New Year's Day, 1988. Photo by Dave Chalmers, courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC GM "New Look" bus #8775 poses on Casebridge Court, in service on the 133 NEILSON route on January 1, 1988. Photo by D. Chalmers, courtesy the John Knight collection.
	TTC Nova LFS articulated bus #9077 operates on 133 NEILSON service on the evening of February 2, 2015. Photo by Toronto Transit Guy.
	On January 8th, 2015 TTC Orion V Ex-CNG 9446 made an appearance at Neilson Road and Sheppard Avenue East, heading to Scarborough Centre along the 133 NEILSON route. Photo by TorontoTransportGuy.