Compiled by Peter Coulman
Originally posted by Alan Gryfe
In December 1946, the City of Toronto banned all daytime parking on all main thoroughfares in the downtown area. In conjunction with this, the City asked the Toronto Transportation Commission to install a PARKING AREA bus service looping through the downtown area, serving parking lots south of the railway viaduct located south of Front Street.
December 30, 1946
Service begins, with buses operating around a clockwise loop from Harbour and Bay via north on Bay, east on Temperance, south on Yonge and west on Harbour. Service provided daily (except Sundays and holidays) from 7:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m.
January 1, 1947
Parking ban comes into effect.
April 1, 1947
Under pressure from downtown merchants, the City of Toronto restores most of the banned parking. Service continues.
July 14, 1947
Service revised to operate from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Mondays through Fridays and from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Buses operate every 6 minutes during rush hours and 7 minutes, 30 seconds at other times.
The cost of providing this service is estimated at 21 cents per passenger ($21,400 per year), resulting in an operating loss of $16 cents per passenger. Over the next five years, the TTC considers the following statistics.
Year | Miles operated | Passengers Carried | Revenue per mile (cents) | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1947 | 53,333 | 105,685 | 9.91 | |
1948 | 35,877 | 104,676 | 14.59 | |
1949 | 35,808 | 119,779 | 16.73 | |
1950 | 35,747 | 102,818 | 14.41 | |
1951 | 35,935 | 100,503 | 13.98 |
The TTC estimated that, if the decline in ridership continued, the annual deficit for the route in 1952 would be $17,000.
May 31, 1952
Last day of operation.