All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems

Toronto, Ontario

Principal System

Yorkville Buss Line (1849 - 1862)
Omnibus service established by H. Williams (CTH). Company acquired by the TSR 1862 (Pursley 1958).

Toronto Street Railway Company (11 September 1861 - 01 September 1891)
Incorporated 29 May 1861 (Can.). Reincorporated 29 March 1873. Horse car operation. The City of Toronto assumed all operations at the end of the TSR franchise 20 May 1891. Municipal operation given up and the system sold by the City to TRyCo interests after only three months. (photo: City of Toronto Archives).

Toronto Railway Company (01 September 1891 - 31 August 1921)
Incorporated 14 April 1892 (Ont.) Succeeded at the end of its franchise by the TTC. Company dissolved in 1930.

Toronto Transportation Commission (01 September 1921 - 31 December 1953)
Public agency. Acquired the TRCo and TCR 1921, the Toronto Suburban 1923-1925, and the Toronto and York Radial 1927. Introduced motorbuses to Toronto 1921. Initiated construction of Canada's first subway system in the late 1940's. Name changed to Toronto Transit Commission 1954.

Toronto Transit Commission (01 January 1954 - present)
On 01 July 1954 the newly enlarged TTC took over the "urban" bus operations of TCL, HBL, DBL, and the Toronto Transportation Commission Metropolitan Area Base, as well as the "intercity and rural" class operations of David R. Murray and WYCL (DBS Transit Report, RFC). Prentice excluded Murray and TCL but included RBL, DBL, WYCL, and HBL in his expansion description. (CUTA 1989, CUTA 1991/2, CUTA 1992, Chow 1998, website). (Photos Blinkpunkt Straßenbahn, William A. Luke)

TTC Logo	Service area population	2,200,000 (1991)
	Vehicle fleet	1485 buses, 248 LR cars, 28 RT cars, 660 HR (subway) cars (2000)
	Employees	10,506 (1991)
	Ridership	471,233,000 (2009)
	Data sources:	CUTA 1991/2 CTHF/SSG 2000 Mike Rivest 1998 (logo) CTF [Aug. 2010] (ridership)
The TTC is very protective of their logo, and it (like all of the other transit system logos included in the All-Time List of Canadian Transit Systems) is included here solely for the historical record. No association with, or endorsement by, the TTC is implied or intended.

Toronto Industrial Exhibition Electrical Railway (September 1885 - September 1890 (two weeks each September))
The Toronto Industrial Exhibition was held annually for two weeks each September. From 1883 it included a demonstration of the latest electric railway technology. In 1883 a 350 yd (320 m) electric railway line was constructed by the Toronto Industrial Exhibition Association but it did not function properly. For the 1884 fair street railway pioneer Charles Van Depoele constructed a successful 3000 ft. (900 m) line inside the fair grounds and passengers were carried. For September 1885 the line was extended to meet a Toronto Street Railway horsecar line, providing public transit to the fair. The line, nearly a mile (1½ km) long, carried nearly 50,000. Operation of the line for the 1886 exhibition was conducted by the Toronto Electric Light Company. The line was last operated electrically in 1889, and operated for the last time in September 1890, using a steam locomotive.

Toronto Civic Railway (18 December 1912 - 31 August 1921)
Municipal operation. Became part of the TTC 1921. (Pursley 1961)

Toronto Jitney Association (17 March 1915 - circa September 1915)
The "jitney craze" in Toronto played out in similar fashion to other Canadian cities. The first jitney appeared 22 February 1915 in Rosedale, owned by W.D. Gregory and by May 1915 there were about 150 in service. Various associations came and went quickly. CR&MW made note of the following:

• Jitney Motor Bus Co. (applied 12 March 1915 for a municipal permit)
• Toronto Jitney Association (started operations 17 March 1915) Incorporated 12 May 1915. Association wound up circa September 1915.
• Canadian Jitney Association (started operations 15 April 1915)
• West Toronto Jitney Association (reported in May 1915 to be forming)
• Independent Jitney Association (dominated Yonge Street by 18 May 1915)

James Bristow (circa 1915)
Bus (probably jitney) service operated between Yonge and St. Clair and Leaside. (Gryfe 2001).

York Township Railways (19 November 1924 - 13 September 1948)
Lines in York township constructed for the municipality by the TTC commenced operation (by the TTC under contract) 1924. Suburban Lambton line of the Toronto Suburban Railway Company in the Township of York acquired 25 November 1924. York Township and the Town of Weston jointly acquired Toronto Suburban Weston line 28 November 1925. Operated under an agreement of 07 August 1924 by the TTC. Bus and/or trolley coach services were continued under separate accounts until the establishment of the Transit Comm. in 1954.

Own Your Own Bus Ltd. (? - ?)
Bus transit operation between Toronto and Long Branch, parallelling the TTC's Toronto - Long Branch - Port Credit electric railway line. In 1926 OYOB was operating 6 buses on a 20 minute headway, for a fare of 15¢/person (CR&MW May 1926, pp. 262-263).

P. Pedlar (? - ?)
Bus transit operation between Toronto (Broadway/Danforth) and Pape Avenue. In 1926 the operation consisted of 4 buses on a 20 minute headway, for a fare of 5¢/person or 6 tickets for 25¢ (CR&MW May 1926, pp. 262-263).

Gray Coach Lines (28 June 1928 - 01 July 1954)
Subsidiary of the TTC providing suburban and intercity bus service (Prentice). Also operated premium "coach" service on routes within Toronto. The downtown to hill district TTC service transferred to GCL 28 June 1928. GCL coach service between downtown and Rosedale begun 28 November 1928 (CR&MW December 1928, p. 743). TTC service area expanded 1954 replacing GCL suburban services. GCL remained an intercity bus operator and TTC subsidiary until it was sold to Stagecoach (Holdings) Ltd. of Scotland in June of 1990. The intercity operations were purchased by Greyhound Lines of Canada from Stagecoach December 1992. (photo William A. Luke).

A. Ireland (spring 1920 - ?)
Toronto - King City bus service. (Kennedy)

Foster Bus Lines (? - 14 May 1931)
R. Foster, owner (Kennedy). Toronto - King City bus service. Acquired 1931 by T.J. Shoniker. (Kennedy)

Eaton's Inter-Store Coach Service (30 October 1930 - 31 October 1942, 04 June 1945 - 11 March 1972)
The T. Eaton Company provided a coach service between its two Toronto department stores. The service was contracted to Gray Coach Lines 1930 - 31 December 1961 and the Toronto Transit Commission 01 January 1962 - 1972. Service suspended 1942 - 1945 due to wartime restrictions. (Knowles, photo Wikipedia).

Toronto Coach Lines, Ltd. (14 May 1931 - 01 July 1954)
Incorporated 1931 (Ont.) T.J. Shoniker, owner. Operating initially between downtown Toronto and King City replacing FBL. Acquired Swansea service from SBS 1938 and sold it to WYCL 06 March 1945 (Kennedy). (CR&MW 1931). Operations assumed by the TTC 1954.

Swansea Bus Service (? - 01 March 1938)
Sold to TCL 1938 (Kennedy).

C.F. Ramsell (Spring 1926 - June 1926)
In 1926 Toronto - Birchcliff Heights bus service was operated with one bus making 24 trips/day, 42/day on Saturdays. Fare was 5¢ (CR&MW May 1926, pp. 262-263). Sold to DBL 1926 (Kennedy).

Danforth Bus Lines (June 1926 - 01 July 1954)
T.J. Shoniker, owner (Kennedy). Suburban bus service from Toronto to Birchcliff and points east (CR&MW 1931). Operations assumed by the TTC 1954. (Pursley 1961). (Ticket image courtesy Wayne Miller).

Privit's Horse Boat (late 1844 - ?)
Most prominant of many early individual private ferry operators between Toronto and the adjacent Toronto Islands. Service also known as the " Peninsula Packet". (Pursley 1961). Other operators included (dates approximate) Michael O'Connor (operating "Sir John of the Peninsula" 1833 - 1851), George Heathcote ("Toronto" 1835 - 1851), James Good ("Victoria" 1851 - 1855), John Quinn ("Citizen" 1853 - ?), Robert Moodie ("Firefly" 1859 - ?), John Walsh ("Princess of Wales"/"General Wolsey" 1865 - 1883), James Saulter ("Bouquet" 1866 - ?), Thomas Lundy ("Perry" 1870 - ?). Turner Ferry Co. (various 1878 - 1890), Canada Steamship Co. (various 1880 - 1929), and A.J. Tymon Ferry Company (various 1882 - 1890). (Partridge)

Toronto Ferry Company (1890 - 1927)
Incorporated 1890. Acquired the vessels and operations of the Doty Ferry Company in 1890, and of the Island Park Ferry Company in 1894. Acquired by the City of Toronto 1927. (Pursley 1961).

Toronto Transportation Commission (1927 - 1954 (Annually Easter to 15 December))
Operation on behalf of the City of Toronto.

City of Toronto (1927 - 1954 (Annually 15 December to Easter))
Operation using ice-capable tugs, initially for City employees but eventually expanded to include a growing year round residential community on the Islands.

Toronto Transit Commission (1954 - 1961 (Year round))
Ferry service.

Metro Toronto Parks (1962 - 2001)
Ferry service between the Toronto mainland and the Toronto Islands. Bus service (until 1993?) on the Islands, using chartered TTC buses and Parks staff (CUTA TT89).

Toronto Parks Department (2001 - present)
Successor to Metro Parks.

Modes

References

• Bromley, John F., and Jack May, Fifty Years of Progressive Transit: A History of the Toronto Transit Commission, New York: Electric Railroaders' Association, 1973. Second edition, 1978.
• NewDavesRailPix: Toronto Tranit Commission, a World Wide Web gallery of photos at the URL: http://newdavesrailpix.com/ttc/ttc.htm, 2000.
• Filey, Mike, Not A One-Horse Town: 125 Years of Toronto and Its Streetcars, Toronto: Mike Filey, 1986.
• Filey, Mike, The TTC Story: The First Seventy-five Years Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1996.
• History of Public Transit, a world wide web site at the url: http://citd.scar.utoronto.ca/IT/B/B.5.html, 1998.
• Hood, J. William, The Toronto Civic Railways: An Illustrated History, Toronto: Upper Canada Railway Society, 1986.
• Kay, Jeffrey, GO Transit Dial-a-Bus Route History, a world wide web page at the URL: http://www.angelfire.com/ca/TORONTO/history/GOdialabus.html, 2000, 2001. Originally published in Transfer Points, No. 19.
• Kennedy, R.L., Independent Bus Lines: Toronto and Surrounding Area, a World Wide Web page at the URL: http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains/Toronto/IBL/independent.htm.
• Knowles, Jack, “Toronto Department Store Bus Services”, Canadian Coach Magazine, Vol. VIII, No. 4, April 1972, pp. 3-4.
• Miller, W.E., Toronto Transportation Commission, a World Wide Web page at the URL: http://www.trainweb.org/elso/ttc.htm 1997.
• Nicol, Kevin, “York University Shuttles” Transfer Points, Vol. XLIII, No. 9, Nov. 2017, pp. 11-14.
• Parberry, Darren, GTA (Greater Toronto Area) Transit Information - TTC - History of Rail Transit, a world wide web page at the URL: http://gtatransit.freehosting.net/tor1.htm 2000.
• Partridge, Larry, The Toronto Island Ferry Service, a web page at the URL http://www.angelfire.com/ca/TORONTO/history/islandferry.html, 2002. (Originally published in Transfer Points, March 1976).
• Partridge, Larry, Mind the Doors, Please: The Story of Toronto and Its Streetcars, The Boston Mills Press, Erin (Ontario), 1983.
• Prentice, Chris, "Buses in Toronto," Canadian Coach, Vol. V, No. 6, June 1969, pp. 4-25.
• Pursley, Louis H., Street Railways of Toronto: 1861 - 1921, Interurbans Special 25, Interurbans/Electric Railway Publications, Los Angeles (California), 1958.
• Pursley, Louis H. The Toronto Trolley Car Story: 1921 - 1961, Interurbans Special 29, Interurbans/Electric Railway Publications, Los Angeles (California), 1961.
• Toronto Trolleybuses photo gallery at the URL: http://www.einbahn.org/Trams/canada/tor-trol.shtml, 2004.
• TTC: History, a world wide web site at the url: http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/services/ttc/ttc_history.htm, 1998.
• Wheels of Progress: A Story of the Development of Toronto and its Public Transportation Services, Fifth edition, Toronto Transportation Commission, Toronto (Ontario), 1953.