1.
Flexity Outlook (Toronto streetcar)
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The Flexity Outlook is the latest model in the rolling stock of the Toronto streetcar system owned by the Toronto Transit Commission. The first new streetcars were deployed for service on route 510 Spadina in 2014. They are stored at Leslie Barns, a maintenance and storage facility of the TTC completed in 2015 and they will replace the existing fleet of streetcars, the iconic Canadian Light Rail Vehicle and Articulated Light Rail Vehicle streetcars which have been used since the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. The Flexity Outlook is the first modern low-floor and wheelchair accessible streetcar used in the city, with a length of over 30 metres, they are also the largest streetcars in the system. They have four sliding doors, air conditioning systems, seating of up to 70 passengers, the new streetcars include an on-board fare machine and introduced the use of proof-of-payment system along with Presto card readers, both of which are implemented across the TTC. Torontos light rail lines use the Flexity Freedom light rail vehicle. The two models are not compatible for several reasons including track gauge, with the TTCs streetcar fleet nearing the end of its service life, the commission began looking for a manufacturer to build new streetcars. In mid-2009, the TTC announced that it had chosen the Bombardier Flexity Outlook to replace the CLRV and ALRV fleet on its streetcar network, on June 26,2009, the Toronto City Council approved funding for 204 new vehicles and signed the contract with Bombardier. A partial mockup of the new streetcar was put on display at the Bathurst Hillcrest Complex for tours in November 2011, the first operating vehicle arrived in September 2012 and was unveiled to the public and media in November 2012. Beginning in 2013, the new Flexity streetcars were tested on routes. The vehicle is based on the Flexity Outlook product, but tailored to Torontos needs, the vehicles use TTCs unique track gauge rather than standard gauge, and trolley poles using 600 V DC for power collection. The Outlook is almost twice as long as the TTCs older streetcars, in the Flexity vehicles since the operator sits inside a closed cab and is not responsible for fare collection or providing transfers. A proof-of-payment system is used at all times, the POP system requires passengers to carry proof that they have paid their fares, such as a validated TTC ticket, paper transfer, pass or Presto card. There are two Fare and Transfer Vending Machines where passengers pay their fares by coins, tokens or credit/debit cards and those using senior/student tickets must date/time stamp their ticket by inserting the ticket inside a separate TTC Ticket Validator box located beside the FTVM. These machines are situated beside the double-doors in the second and fourth modules of each car, the vehicles are also equipped with six Presto card readers, with one at each door and two at each of the double-doors. The Flexity streetcars are equipped with a bell and a horn, instead of the mechanical gongs used on older vehicles, the Flexity vehicles use an amplified digital recording of a gong. They are also the first vehicles to have built-in electronic horns fleet-wide upon delivery, the Flexity streetcars are the TTCs first streetcars to be outfitted with orange digital LED destination and run number signs rather than manually-operated roller blinds used on older vehicles. The destination signs are posted at the front, rear, and sides of the vehicle, which identify the number, name
2.
Canadian Light Rail Vehicle
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The Canadian Light Rail Vehicle is a streetcar used by the Toronto Transit Commission. They have been the prevalent rolling stock on the Toronto streetcar system since the late 20th century and it comprises two variants, the standard, single-module CLRV and the longer, articulated, double-module Articulated Light Rail Vehicle. The ALRVs are used mainly on route 501 Queen but are sometimes used 504 King during peak periods, at the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, TTCs fleet of PCC streetcars had approached the end of its useful life. The Canadian Light Rail Vehicle was an attempt at a new, standardized streetcar design to be used in Toronto and they were intended to be numbered 4000-4009, however, as a cost-saving measure this number was reduced to six, accounting for the absence of CLRVs 4006-4009. The remaining 190 UTDC cars were numbered 4010-4199, CLRV car 4000 had a pantograph when being tested by SIG on the Orbe–Chavornay Railway and was converted to trolley pole before being delivered to Toronto. In 1980, cars 4027,4029 and 4031 were leased and tested by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to run on the Green Line, during this time, the cars were occasionally operated as two- and three-car trains. However, the MBTA did not adopt the CLRV design for its light rail fleet, the prototype for the ALRV, like the first CLRV prototype, was equipped with a pantograph and was numbered 4900. It was built in 1982 and used by the TTC for testing and it was returned to UTDC in 1987. Following a test run, it was rear-ended by another streetcar on the test track, suffering extensive damage, the production ALRVs cars were built by two contractors, MAN of Germany for bogies and articulation, and UTDC at the Thunder Bay Plant. When the CLRVs and ALRVs were delivered in the 1970s and 1980s respectively, most cars were retrofitted with horns in the late 1990s when the 510 Spadina line opened. Initially, the horns were salvaged from retired H1 and M1 subway cars which were replaced by the T1 subway cars, however, during the CLRV/ALRV streetcar fleet overhaul project between 2011 and 2012 the TTC reconfigured the streetcar horns with new air horns or automobile-type electric horns. The previous attempt to design a US standard light rail car design was unsuccessful, and this made the cars increasingly difficult and costly to maintain, as they required specially-made parts, including electronic modules no longer available. These cars, like the PCCs, have high floors and steps at every doorway, during the winters of 2013/2014 and 2014/2015, many of the CLRV and ALRV streetcars broke down operating in temperatures below -20C due to their age. On one of the worst days in January,2014,48 streetcars fail to run for the rush hour. The older streetcars use pressurized air passing through tubes and valves to operate such things as suspension, braking, windshield wipers, doors, condensation can freeze and block the air tubes causing a variety of malfunctions. Over time, salt erodes the air tanks and the tubing gets brittle and leaks leading to efficient air flow which may cause the compressor beneath the tail of the car to overheat. To address these problems, the TTC performed fixes taking 2–3 days per streetcar to implement, in January 2017, the TTC claimed that delays in delivery of the new wheelchair-compatible and air-conditioned Flexity Outlook streetcars had resulted in both streetcar and bus shortages. Because the old streetcars require extra maintenance, only 170 of the 200 old streetcars could be put into service
3.
S-series (Toronto subway)
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The S-series is the rolling stock of light metro trains used on Line 3 Scarborough of the Toronto subway system. They were built from 1983 to 1986 for the Toronto Transit Commission by the Urban Transportation Development Corporation in Millhaven and they were based on the Intermediate Capacity Transit System Mark I model of trains. The line first operated with units, and later as four-car units as ridership grew. A test run began in 1984 and full service began in 1985, the fleet numbers of the cars used are 3000 to 3027. Identical trains are used by the Vancouver SkyTrain and the Detroit People Mover, however, unlike these systems which are fully automated with no human operator onboard, the TTC employs a single operator to steer S-series trains along with Line 4. Toronto subway trains on Line 1, Line 2, on the other hand, since the retirement of the remaining H-series trains in 2014, the S-series trains have been the oldest in operation on the system. They are the rapid transit trains owned by the TTC with painted livery since the G-series trains. The trains used to have a logo of a lower-cased RT, referring to the lines original name. Since 2015, the cars have been undergoing refurbishment and repainting to prolong their lifespan until at least 2023, the new exterior of each car features a blue-finish, the Line 3 symbol, and the names of the lines six stations written on the top edge on both sides
4.
Eglinton station
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Eglinton is a subway station on the Yonge–University line in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the southwest corner of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue and it is one of the larger stations of the Toronto Transit Commission, with several shops located on the concourse level. It is the busiest station that is not a terminus or a major transfer point with another line or transit system. Wi-Fi service is available at this station, the tracks approach the station from the south in open cut before going underground at the Berwick Portal, immediately before the station. Here the tracks divide sharply to go either side of the island platform, north of the station the line swings to the east, to run directly under Yonge Street in a bored tunnel. This station is used as a point for subways operators who are coming off or coming on their shift. There are sometimes slight delays at this station as subway operators are being changed, all of the stations on this section of the line used similar vitreous marble wall tiles, with variations in colour schemes. Eglinton is the one to retain its original tiles, which had not deteriorated. In 2004, this station became accessible with elevators, metrolinx is building the new Eglinton Crosstown line, running along Eglinton Avenue from Mount Dennis to Kennedy Station, passing through Eglinton Station and Eglinton West Station on the way. On November 17,2016, Eglinton station is the last station on Line 1 to be Presto enabled, which means all of the stations along Line 1 are Presto enabled
5.
Toronto Subway (typeface)
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Toronto Subway is a geometric sans-serif typeface designed for the original section of the Toronto Transit Commission’s Yonge subway. It is today used at entrances, fare booths and track level signage throughout the system. The font is a distinctive rectangular font composed of capital letters etched into the tiles of the Toronto subway stations opened between 1954 and 1974, as well as on signs. It can also be seen at various stations along the part of the Yonge line, the University line, and was incorporated into the renovated Bloor, Wellesley. The font is used on all Sheppard line stations, as well as on all stops and stations along the 512 St. Clair streetcar line, the font was recreated by David Vereschagin in 2004. This is now used by the TTC as their font for station names, Vereschagin designed a matching lowercase, inspired by Futura and other similar designs. As one of the few typeface designs to have originated in Canada, in 2011, Dominion Modern ran an exhibit on Toronto Subway at George Browns School of Design. On October 23,2013, the TTC announced new wayfinding standards, including using Toronto Subway on more signage – at station entrances, fares booths and this decision was made in conjunction with adding subway numbers to the subway and RT lines. Often misidentified as Gill Sans, the Toronto Subway Font is based on Futura, somewhat similar typefaces include Johnston, Verlag, Bernhard Gothic, Metro, Brandon Grotesque, Neutraface, and Eagle. Public signage typefaces Toronto subway Toronto Transit Commission Toronto Subway
6.
Wheel-Trans
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Wheel-Trans is a specialized accessible transit service in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, provided by the Toronto Transit Commission. It involves door-to-door accessible transit service for persons with physical disabilities using its fleet of accessible minibuses or contracted accessible taxis, users must register with the TTC who will typically grant access to those with permanent disabilities or show difficulty in traveling short distances. Wheel-Trans only provides service within the City of Toronto and accepts regular TTC fare, the para-transit system was created in 1975 as a two-year pilot project contracted to Wheelchair Mobile and operated on behalf of Metropolitan Toronto and the province of Ontario until 1976. Only individuals using wheelchairs were accepted as the original 46 users of the pilot project, in 1977 the service was contracted to All-Way Transportation Corporation of Toronto before being taken over by the TTC in 1985. Service is provided by buses and contracted accessible taxi mini-vans. Wheel-Trans buses operates as part of the main TTC fleet but do not include wheelchair assessable buses from the regular fleet, most of Wheel-Trans operations are provided by the TTC, but some of the services are contracted out to private operators. As for 2017, all 1,869 buses are low floor to allow for easy accessible by mobility devices, while all subway trains are accessible, only 35 of the 69 stations have elevators. The SRT cars are not accessible and only 30 streetcars are fully accessible and restricted to 3 routes
7.
Toronto Rocket
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The Toronto Rocket is the latest model in the rolling stock of passenger trains used on the Toronto subway system. Owned and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission, the trains were built by Bombardier Transportation in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada with designs based on the Movia family of trains. They are the first subway trains in North America that feature open gangways, allowing passengers to walk through the length of the train. The TR trains replaced the last remaining H-series trains in 2014, the trains operate in a six-car configuration on Line 1 Yonge–University and four-car configuration on Line 4 Sheppard. The trains were designated under the name as T35A08 before the name Toronto Rocket was chosen through a contest open to the public. Delivery of the TR trains was expected to begin in late 2009, however, delivery was delayed by the bankruptcy of a key part manufacturer, Curtis Doors, which was to install door components for the TTCs TR subway trains. The initial order was signed in 2006 for the delivery of 234 cars, making 39 six-car fixed trains, on May 6,2010, the TTC voted to exercise a contract option with Bombardier for an additional 186 cars, making 31 six-car fixed train sets. However, the opening of the extension has since been delayed until approximately December 2017, a further 10 train sets were authorized in March 2014 to bring the total to 80 six-car train sets and 480 cars. These four-car TR trains entered service on Line 4 on May 30,2016 with two crew members, on October 9,2016, OPOTO was introduced on that line. On October 1,2010, the first train set was delivered to Wilson Yard and it was unveiled to the public and media at Downsview station on October 14,2010. Between October 2010 and July 2011, the TR trains underwent a series of testing and training runs on Line 1, the first TR trainset entered passenger service on Line 1 on July 21,2011. In the summer of 2016, some TR trains were used on Line 2 to address the shortage of T1s caused by faulty air-conditioning units, regular use of TR trains on Line 2 is planned for 2025–2026. An exterior blue light on each car leading to the nearest accessible seating area for passengers using mobility devices, red stanchions and high visibility floor markings to assist visually impaired passengers. As with all TTC vehicles, priority seats are covered in blue velour, electronic LED route maps that indicate which stations have been served and which stations are next to follow. A two-way passenger assistance intercom system for passengers to communicate with the crew in the event of an emergency. Built-in evacuation ramps located at the ends of the train to allow for faster and easier evacuation in the event of an emergency, full-width operator cabs located at the ends of the train for the enhanced safety and security of operating personnel. Railfan window is replaced with one-way mirror, bright orange digital LED exterior destination and train run number signs at the ends of the train. Ceiling-mounted CCTV cameras with four in each car for safety and security
8.
Municipal government of Toronto
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The municipal government of Toronto, or City of Toronto, is a public corporation providing services to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is administered by 44 elected councillors, who along with the mayor, torontonians elect a new council every four years, in October. The City of Toronto is legally bound by the City of Toronto Act and it lays down the division of powers, responsibilities and required duties of the corporation. The Council itself forms several committees after every election to divide the administration of the corporation, the Council also forms several Community Councils which hear matters relating to narrower, district issues, such as building permits and developments requiring changes to zoning by-laws. Community Council decisions, as well as those of the Mayor, the top civil servant in the corporation is the City Manager, who reports to the Mayor and City Council. Prior to 2005, the city had various departments headed by Commissioners and these heads were simplified by replacing the departments with divisions headed by Deputy Manager. All department heads now report to the City Manager.8 billion, the citys net debt stood at $4.4 billion as of the end of 2010 and has an AA credit rating from Standard & Poors, and an Aa1 credit rating from Moodys. Toronto is expected to pay million of the debt in 2011. The citys debt increased by $721 million in 2010, the City of Toronto was incorporated in 1834, succeeding York, which was administered directly by the then-province of Upper Canada. The new city was administered by a council, which served a one-year term. The first mayor, chosen by the councillors, was William Lyon Mackenzie. The first law passed was an Act for the preventing & extinguishing of Fires, the first mayor directly elected to the post was Adam Wilson, elected in 1859. Through 1955 the term of office for the mayor and council was one year, to finance operations, the municipality levied property taxes. In 1850, Toronto also started levying income taxes, Toronto levied personal income taxes until 1936, and corporate income taxes until 1944. Until 1914, Toronto grew by annexing neighbouring municipalities such as Parkdale, after 1914, Toronto stopped annexing bordering municipalities, although some municipalities overwhelmed by growth requested it. After World War II, an group of suburban villages. Change to the structure came in 1954, with the creation of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto in 1954. The new regional government built highways, water systems and public transit, while the thirteen townships, villages, towns, to manage the yearly upkeep of the new infrastructure, the new regional government levied its own property tax, collected by the local municipalities
9.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
10.
Mississauga
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Mississauga /ˌmɪsɪˈsɒɡə/ is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Situated in Southern Ontario, it lies on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel and it is part of the Greater Toronto Area, to the west of Toronto. The city has a population of 721,599 as of the Canada 2016 Census, a suburb of Toronto, Mississaugas growth is attributed to its proximity to that city. It is the largest suburb in Anglo-America by population, in recent decades, the city has attracted a multicultural population and has plans for developing its downtown core. Residents of the city are called Mississaugans or Saugans, Toronto Pearson International Airport, Canadas busiest airport, is located in the city, and it is the location of many major corporate headquarters for Canada. At the time of the arrival of the Europeans in the 1600s, One of the First Nations groups the French traders found around the Credit River area were the Algonquian Mississaugas, a tribe originally from the Georgian Bay area. The name Mississauga comes from the Anishinaabe word Misi-zaagiing, meaning Great River-mouth, by 1700 the Mississaugas had driven away the Iroquois, yet during the Beaver Wars they played a neutral or post-emptive role. Toronto Township, consisting of most of present-day Mississauga, was formed on 2 August 1805 when officials from York purchased 84,000 acres of land from the Mississaugas. In January 2010, the Mississaugas and the government settled a land claim, in which the band of aboriginal people received $145,000,000, as just compensation for their land. The original villages settled included, Lakeview, Clarkson, Cooksville, Dixie, Erindale, Lorne Park, Port Credit, Sheridan and this region would become known as Toronto Township. Part of northeast Mississauga, including the Airport lands and Malton were part of Toronto Gore Township, a group of settlers from New York City arrived in the 1830s. The government wanted to compensate the Loyalists for property lost in the colonies, in 1820, the government purchased additional land from the Mississaugas. Additional settlements were established, including, Barbertown, Britannia, Burnhamthorpe, Derry West, Elmbank, Malton, Meadowvale Village, Mount Charles, european-Canadian growth led to the eventual displacement of the Mississaugas. In 1847, the government relocated them to a reserve in the Grand River Valley, in 1873, in light of the continued growth seen in this area much as a result of the many railway lines passing through the township which spurred on industry. The Toronto Township Council was formed to oversee the affairs of the villages that were unincorporated at that time. The Councils responsibilities included road maintenance, and the constitution of a police force, in the 1920s, cottages were constructed along the shores of Lake Ontario as weekend getaway houses for city dwellers. 17 years later in 1937,1,410.8 acres of land was sold to build the Malton Airport and it became Canadas busiest airport which also put the end to the community of Elmbank. The first prototypical suburban developments occurred around the time, in the area south of the Dixie Road/QEW interchange
11.
Vaughan
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Vaughan is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is within the region of York, just north of Toronto, Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006, achieving a population growth rate of 80. 2% according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. It is the fifth-largest city in the Greater Toronto Area, in the late pre-contact period, the Huron-Wendat people populated what is today Vaughan. The Skandatut ancestral Huron village overlooked the east branch of the Humber River and was home to approximately 2000 Huron in the sixteenth century. The township was named after Benjamin Vaughan, a British commissioner who signed a treaty with the United States in 1783. Despite the hardships of life, settlers came to Vaughan in considerable numbers. The population grew from 19 men,5 women, and 30 children in 1800 to 4,300 in 1840, the first people to arrive were mainly Pennsylvania Germans, with a smaller number of families of English descent and a group of French Royalists. This migration from the United States was by 1814 superseded by immigrants from Britain, while many of their predecessors had been agriculturalists, the newer immigrants proved to be highly skilled tradespeople, which would prove useful for a growing community. Vaughan changed little in its history, from the 1840s when the number of inhabitants stood at 4,300 to 1935 when it had 4,873 residents. However, World War II sparked an influx of immigration, and by 1960, as well, the ethno-cultural composition of the area began to change with the arrival of different groups such as Italians, Jews and Eastern Europeans. Incorporated in 1850 as Vaughan Township, a government was established. In 1991, it changed its legal status to City of Vaughan. An F2 tornado tore through the city of Vaughan during the Southern Ontario Tornado Outbreak on August 20,2009. Premier Dalton McGuinty and Mayor Linda Jackson toured the destruction the day and reported 200 homes in critical shape. The tornado also ripped up trees, flipped cars, and left thousands of people without power, Vaughan declared a state of emergency because of the widespread damage. One man injured in the storm suffered an attack the following morning. Vaughan City Council has nine members, the mayor, three councillors, and five local councillors. The mayor, elected at large, is the head of Vaughan council, the three regional councillors are elected to represent Vaughan at both local and regional levels of government
12.
Markham, Ontario
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Markham is a city in the Regional Municipality of York within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. Markhams population in 2015 was estimated at 342,000 through The Region of York population census data monitoring, the city is the fourth-most populous community within the Greater Toronto Area after Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton and is the York regions most populous municipality. Markham is also Canadas 16th largest city, Markham changed its status from town to city on July 1,2012. The city gained its name from the first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, who named the area after his friend, William Markham, the Archbishop of York from 1776 to 1807. The first European settlement in Markham occurred when William Berczy, a German artist and developer, while they planned to settle in New York, disputes over finances and land tenure led Berczy to negotiate with Simcoe for 64,000 acres in Markham Township in 1794. Through much of Markhams history the community has been described as an agricultural community, a turn towards a more urbanized community within the township began after World War II when the township began to feel the effects of urban encroachment from Toronto. The completion of Highway 404 during the mid-1970s accelerated urban development in Markham, as of 2013 tertiary industry mainly drives Markham. As of 2010 business services employed the largest proportion of workers in Markham – nearly 22% of its labour force, the city also has over 1,100 technology and life-sciences companies, with IBM as the citys largest employer. Each family was granted 200 acres of land, however the lack of roads in the region led many to settle in York, German Mills later became a ghost town. Between 1803 and 1812, another attempt at settling the region was made, the largest group of settlers were Pennsylvania Dutch, most of whom were Mennonites. These highly skilled craftsmen and knowledgeable farmers settled the region and founded Reesorville, in 1825, Reesorville was renamed to Markham having taken the name of the unincorporated village. By 1830, a number of Irish, Scottish and English families began immigrating to Upper Canada. Markhams early years blended the rigours of the frontier with the development of agriculture-based industries, the many rivers and streams in the township soon supported water-powered saw and gristmills and later wooden mills. With improved transportation routes, such as the construction of Yonge Street in the 1800s, in 1842 the township population was 5,698,29,005 acres were under cultivation, and the township had eleven gristmills and twenty-four sawmills. By 1850, the first form of structured municipal government formed in Markham, by 1857, most of the township had been cleared of timber and was under cultivation. Villages like Thornhill, Unionville, and Markham greatly expanded, in 1851 Markham Village was a considerable village, containing between eight and nine hundred inhabitants, pleasantly situated on the Rouge River. A woollen factory, oatmeal mill, barley mill, and distillery, foundry, a temperance hall and four churches. In 1972, Markham was incorporated as a town, as its population skyrocketed due to urban sprawl from Toronto, in 1976, Markhams population was approximately 56,000
13.
Bus
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A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry many passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers, many types of buses, such as city transit buses and inter-city coaches, charge a fare. Other types, such as elementary or secondary school buses or shuttle buses within a post-secondary education campus do not charge a fare, in many jurisdictions, bus drivers require a special licence above and beyond a regular drivers licence. Horse-drawn buses were used from the 1820s, followed by steam buses in the 1830s, the first internal combustion engine buses, or motor buses, were used in 1895. Recently, interest has been growing in hybrid electric buses, fuel cell buses, as of the 2010s, bus manufacturing is increasingly globalised, with the same designs appearing around the world. Bus is a form of the Latin word omnibus. The first horse-drawn omnibus service was started by a businessman named Stanislas Baudry in the French city of Nantes in 1823, Nantes citizens soon gave the nickname omnibus to the vehicle. The omnibus in Nantes was a success and Baudry moved to Paris, a similar service was introduced in London in 1829. The first mechanically propelled omnibus appeared on the streets of London on 22 April 1833, in parallel to the development of the bus was the invention of the electric trolleybus, typically fed through trolley poles by overhead wires. The Siemens brothers, William in England and Ernst Werner in Germany, sir William first proposed the idea in an article to the Journal of the Society of Arts in 1881 as an. arrangement by which an ordinary omnibus. The first such vehicle, the Electromote, was made by his brother Dr. Ernst Werner von Siemens and presented to the public in 1882 in Halensee, Germany. Although this experimental vehicle fulfilled all the criteria of a typical trolleybus. Max Schiemann opened a trolleybus in 1901 near Dresden, in Germany. Although this system operated only until 1904, Schiemann had developed what is now the standard trolleybus current collection system, in the early days, a few other methods of current collection were used. Leeds and Bradford became the first cities to put trolleybuses into service in Great Britain on 20 June 1911, in Siegerland, Germany, two passenger bus lines ran briefly, but unprofitably, in 1895 using a six-passenger motor carriage developed from the 1893 Benz Viktoria. Another commercial bus line using the same model Benz omnibuses ran for a time in 1898 in the rural area around Llandudno. Daimler also produced one of the earliest motor-bus models in 1898, the vehicle had a maximum speed of 18 kph and accommodated up to 20 passengers, in an enclosed area below and on an open-air platform above. With the success and popularity of bus, Daimler expanded production, selling more buses to companies in London and, in 1899, to Stockholm
14.
Rapid transit
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Rapid transit, also known as heavy rail, metro, subway, tube, or underground, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains and they are typically integrated with other public transport and often operated by the same public transport authorities. However, some transit systems have at-grade intersections between a rapid transit line and a road or between two rapid transit lines. It is unchallenged in its ability to transport large numbers of people quickly over short distances with little use of land, variations of rapid transit include people movers, small-scale light metro, and the commuter rail hybrid S-Bahn. The worlds first rapid-transit system was the partially underground Metropolitan Railway which opened as a railway in 1863. In 1868, New York opened the elevated West Side and Yonkers Patent Railway, china has the largest number of rapid transit systems in the world. The worlds longest single-operator rapid transit system by length is the Shanghai Metro. The worlds largest single rapid transit service provider by both length of revenue track (665 miles and number of stations is the New York City Subway. The busiest rapid transit systems in the world by annual ridership are the Tokyo subway system, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, the Moscow Metro, the Beijing Subway, Metro is the most common term for underground rapid transit systems used by non-native English speakers. One of these terms may apply to a system, even if a large part of the network runs at ground level. In Scotland, however, the Glasgow Subway underground rapid transit system is known as the Subway, in the US, underground mass transit systems are primarily known as subways, whereas the term metro is a shortened reference to a metropolitan area. In that vein, Chicagos commuter rail system, serving the area, is called Metra. Exceptions in naming rapid transit systems are Washington DCs subway system the Washington Metro, Los Angeles Metro Rail, and the Miami Metrorail, the opening of Londons steam-hauled Metropolitan Railway in 1863 marked the beginning of rapid transit. Initial experiences with steam engines, despite ventilation, were unpleasant, experiments with pneumatic railways failed in their extended adoption by cities. Electric traction was more efficient, faster and cleaner than steam, in 1890 the City & South London Railway was the first electric-traction rapid transit railway, which was also fully underground. Both railways were merged into London Underground. The 1893 Liverpool Overhead Railway was designed to use electric traction from the outset, budapest in Hungary and Glasgow, Chicago and New York all converted or purpose-designed and built electric rail services. Advancements in technology have allowed new automated services, hybrid solutions have also evolved, such as tram-train and premetro, which incorporate some of the features of rapid transit systems
15.
Tram
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A tram is a rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets, and also sometimes on a segregated right of way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars are called tramways, Tramways powered by electricity, the most common type historically, were once called electric street railways. However, trams were used in urban areas before the universal adoption of electrification. Tram lines may run between cities and/or towns, and/or partially grade-separated even in the cities. Very occasionally, trams also carry freight, Tram vehicles are usually lighter and shorter than conventional trains and rapid transit trains, but the size of trams is rapidly increasing. Some trams may also run on railway tracks, a tramway may be upgraded to a light rail or a rapid transit line. For all these reasons, the differences between the modes of rail transportation are often indistinct. In the United States, the tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains. Today, most trams use electrical power, usually fed by a pantograph, in some cases by a sliding shoe on a third rail. If necessary, they may have dual power systems — electricity in city streets, trams are now included in the wider term light rail, which also includes segregated systems. The English terms tram and tramway are derived from the Scots word tram, referring respectively to a type of truck used in coal mines and the tracks on which they ran. The word tram probably derived from Middle Flemish trame, a Romanesque word meaning the beam or shaft of a barrow or sledge, the identical word la trame with the meaning crossbeam is also used in the French language. The word Tram-car is attested from 1873, although the terms tram and tramway have been adopted by many languages, they are not used universally in English, North Americans prefer streetcar, trolley, or trolleycar. The term streetcar is first recorded in 1840, and originally referred to horsecars, when electrification came, Americans began to speak of trolleycars or later, trolleys. The troller design frequently fell off the wires, and was replaced by other more reliable devices. The terms trolley pole and trolley wheel both derive from the troller, Modern trams often have an overhead pantograph mechanical linkage to connect to power, abandoning the trolley pole altogether. Conventional diesel tourist buses decorated to look like streetcars are sometimes called trolleys in the US, the term may also apply to an aerial ropeway, e. g. the Roosevelt Island Tramway. Over time, the trolley has fallen into informal use
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Toronto subway
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The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. It is a system consisting of three heavy rail lines operating predominantly underground and one elevated light metro line, collectively encompassing 69 stations and 68.3 kilometres of track. It accommodated an average of 1,066,100 passenger trips each weekday during the quarter of 2015. There are 4 rapid transit lines in Toronto plus another under construction, Line 1 Yonge–University, is the longest and busiest rapid transit line in the system. It opened as the Yonge subway in 1954 with a length of 7.4 kilometres, Today, the line is U-shaped having two northern terminals looping on its southern end via Union Station. An 8. 6-kilometre, six-station extension of Line 1 north to Vaughan is under construction, Line 2 Bloor–Danforth, opened in 1966, runs parallel to Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue between Kipling Station in Etobicoke and Kennedy Station in Scarborough. There is a plan to extend Line 2 eastwards from Kennedy Station to Scarborough Town Centre, Line 3 Scarborough is an above-ground medium-capacity rail line serving the citys eponymous suburban district. The line runs from Kennedy Station to McCowan Station passing Scarborough Town Centre and this is the only rapid transit line in Toronto to use Intermediate Capacity Transit System technology. There is a plan to close and dismantle Line 3 after Line 2 is extended to Scarborough Town Centre, Line 5 Eglinton is a 19-kilometre light rail line under construction scheduled to open in 2021. The line will have 25 stations of which 15 will be underground, here is a list of line, extension and station openings on the Toronto subway system. Canadas first subway, the Yonge subway, opened in 1954 with a length of 7.4 kilometres, the line ran under or parallel to Yonge Street between Eglinton Avenue and Union Station. It replaced the Yonge streetcar line, Canadas first streetcar line, in 1963, the line was extended under University Avenue north to Bloor Street to connect with the Bloor-Danforth subway at the double-deck St. George Station. In 1974, the line was extended from Eglinton Station north to Finch Station, the Spadina segment of the line was constructed north from St. George Station initially to Wilson Station in 1978, and eventually to Downsview Station in 1996. Part of the Spadina segment runs in the median of an expressway, four decades of extensions gave the line a U-shaped route running from its two northern terminals and looping on its southern end at Union Station. As of 1996, the line was 30.2 kilometres long, opened in 1966, the Bloor–Danforth subway runs east-west under or near Bloor Street and Danforth Avenue. It replaced the Bloor streetcar line, initially, the subway line ran between Keele Station to Woodbine Station. In 1968, the line was extended west to Islington Station and east to Warden Station, opened in 1985, the Scarborough RT is a light metro line running from Kennedy Station to McCowan station. The TTC started to construct the line to use Canadian Light Rail Vehicles and this line was never extended, and the current plan is to close and dismantle the line, replacing it with an extension of Line 2 to Scarborough Town Centre
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Toronto streetcar system
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The Toronto streetcar system is a network of eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission. It is both the largest and busiest light-rail system in North America as well as the largest tramway in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, the network is concentrated primarily in Downtown Toronto and in proximity to the citys waterfront. Much of the route network dates to the 19th century. Most of Torontos streetcar routes operate on trackage shared with vehicular traffic. Some routes operate wholly or partly within their own rights-of-way, at the eight downtown stations, excepting Union, from Queens Park to College on Line 1 Yonge–University, streetcars stop on the street outside the station entrances. Torontos streetcars provide most of the downtown cores surface transit service, four of the TTCs five most heavily used surface routes are streetcar routes. In 2013, ridership on the system totalled more than 100 million. In 1861, the City of Toronto issued a transit franchise for a horse-drawn street railway. Alexander Eastons Toronto Street Railway opened the first street railway line in Canada on September 11,1861, operating from Yorkville Town Hall to the St. Lawrence Market. At the end of the TSR franchise, the City government ran the railway for eight months, the TRC was the first operator of horseless streetcars in Toronto. The first electric car ran on August 15,1892, there came to be problems with interpretation of the franchise terms for the City. By 1912, the city limits had extended significantly, with the annexation of communities to the north and the east and the west. After many attempts to force the TRC to serve these areas, the City created its own street railway operation, the Toronto Civic Railways to do so, repeated court battles forced the TRC to build new cars, but they were of old design. When the TRC franchise ended in 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission was created, the TTC began in 1921 as solely a streetcar operation, with the bulk of the routes acquired from the private TRC and merged with the publicly operated Toronto Civic Railways. In 1923, the TTC took over the Lambton, Davenport and Weston routes of the Toronto Suburban Railway, in 1925, routes were operated on behalf of the Township of York, but the TTC was contracted to operate them. One of these routes was the former TSR Weston route, in 1927, the TTC became the operator of three radial lines of the former Toronto and York Radial Railway. The last TTC-operated radial closed in 1948, after the Second World War, many cities across North America and Europe began to eliminate their streetcar systems in favour of buses. In 1966, the TTC announced plans to eliminate all streetcar routes by 1980, Streetcars were considered out of date, and their elimination in almost all other cities made it hard to buy new vehicles and maintain the existing ones
18.
William McBrien Building
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William McBrien Building is the administrative headquarters of the Toronto Transit Commission. Dolphin and opened in 1958, the building is located at 1900 Yonge Street above the Davisville subway station. The building is named for former TTC Chairman William C, McBrien who died in 1954, shortly after the opening of the Yonge Subway. It replaced the old Toronto Board of Trade Building at Yonge and Front Streets, TTC has made known its desire to relocate from the building due to on going concerns about the state of the building, and for head office staff to be in one location. Earlier plans to relocated to Yonge and York Mills had been rejected due to costs, besides 1900 Yonge, the TTC leases 7 other locations to house head office staff. Media related to McBrien Building at Wikimedia Commons
19.
Yonge Street
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Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Yonge Street is actually 86 kilometres long, the construction of Yonge Street is designated an Event of National Historic Significance in Canada. Yonge Street was fundamental in the planning and settlement of western Upper Canada in the 1790s. Once the southernmost leg of Highway 11, linking the capital with northern Ontario, today, no section of Yonge Street is a provincial highway. The street was named by Ontarios first colonial administrator, John Graves Simcoe, for his friend Sir George Yonge, in Toronto and York Region, Yonge Street is the north-south baseline from which street numbering is reckoned east and west. See the Public Transit section below, Yonge Street originates on the northern shore of Toronto Bay at Queens Quay, a four-lane arterial road proceeding north by north-west. Torontos Harbourfront is built on landfill extended into the bay, with the industrial area now converted from port, rail. The street passes under the elevated Gardiner Expressway and the rail lines of the Toronto viaduct on their approach to Union Station. The road rises slightly near Front Street, marking the pre-landfill shoreline, beyond Front Street the road passes through the east side of the Financial District, within sight of many of Canadas tallest buildings, fronting an entrance to the Allen Lambert Galleria. Between Front Street and Queen Street, Yonge Street is bounded by historic and commercial buildings, the east side has two historic performance venues, the Ed Mirvish Theatre and the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres. In addition, Massey Hall is located just to the east on Shuter Street, opposite the Eaton Centre lies Yonge-Dundas Square. It is used for public events. Another stretch of busy retail lines both sides of Yonge Street north of Dundas Street, including Sam the Record Man until its closure on June 30,2007, the density of businesses diminishes north of Gerrard Street, residential towers flank this section. The Art Deco College Park building, a shopping complex of the T. Eaton Company, occupies most of the west side of Yonge Street from Gerrard Street north to College Street and it was converted into a residential and commercial complex after the building of the Eaton Centre. From College Street north to Bloor Street, Yonge Street serves smaller street-level retail, the intersection of Yonge and Bloor Streets is a major crossroads of Toronto, informally considered the northern edge of the downtown core. Subway Line 2 Bloor–Danforth intersects the Yonge line here, with the transfers between lines making Bloor-Yonge Station the busiest in the city. The Hudsons Bay Centre and Two Bloor West office towers dominate the corner, the Mink Miles borders extend from Yonge to Avenue Road along Bloor
20.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
21.
Toronto subway rolling stock
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The rolling stock is owned and maintained by the Toronto Transit Commission. The Toronto Rocket is the newest version of TTC subway trains and its design deviates from its predecessors, which were formed by building trains from married pairs of identical cars. The trains consist of six cars for Line 1 and four cars for Line 4 both of which are connected with open gangways, similar to Bombardiers Movia family of metro trains. They only have two full-width operator cabs per trainset, greater accessibility options and the skin of the train is welded rather than the previously used riveting method. The TRs exterior destination and train run number signs are outfitted with digital orange LED boards, while all previous TTC train models use back-lit roller signs. The first of the new TR trains was scheduled to be delivered in late 2009, the first train arrived on TTC property in October 2010 and entered revenue service on July 21,2011. Most subway work cars are painted yellow with the number as RTXX. The exception are converted subway cars, which are not repainted and have the RT fleet number replacing their fleet number. Note that RT35 and RT36 are mixed-matched, the TTC uses two different track gauges,1,435 mm – Line 3 Scarborough, which uses standard gauge 4 ft 10 7⁄8 in – Subway
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Track gauge
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In rail transport, track gauge is the spacing of the rails on a railway track and is measured between the inner faces of the load-bearing rails. All vehicles on a network must have running gear that is compatible with the track gauge, as the dominant parameter determining interoperability, it is still frequently used as a descriptor of a route or network. There is a distinction between the gauge and actual gauge at some locality, due to divergence of track components from the nominal. Railway engineers use a device, like a caliper, to measure the actual gauge, the nominal track gauge is the distance between the inner faces of the rails. In current practice, it is specified at a distance below the rail head as the inner faces of the rail head are not necessarily vertical. In some cases in the earliest days of railways, the company saw itself as an infrastructure provider only. Colloquially the wagons might be referred to as four-foot gauge wagons, say and this nominal value does not equate to the flange spacing, as some freedom is allowed for. An infrastructure manager might specify new or replacement track components at a variation from the nominal gauge for pragmatic reasons. Track is defined in old Imperial units or in universally accepted metric units or SI units, Imperial units were established in United Kingdom by The Weights and Measures Act of 1824. In addition, there are constraints, such as the load-carrying capacity of axles. Narrow gauge railways usually cost less to build because they are lighter in construction, using smaller cars and locomotives, as well as smaller bridges, smaller tunnels. Narrow gauge is often used in mountainous terrain, where the savings in civil engineering work can be substantial. Broader gauge railways are generally expensive to build and require wider curves. There is no single perfect gauge, because different environments and economic considerations come into play, a narrow gauge is superior if ones main considerations are economy and tight curvature. For direct, unimpeded routes with high traffic, a broad gauge may be preferable, the Standard, Russian, and 46 gauges are designed to strike a reasonable balance between these factors. In addition to the general trade-off, another important factor is standardization, once a standard has been chosen, and equipment, infrastructure, and training calibrated to that standard, conversion becomes difficult and expensive. This also makes it easier to adopt an existing standard than to invent a new one and this is true of many technologies, including railroad gauges. The reduced cost, greater efficiency, and greater economic opportunity offered by the use of a common standard explains why a number of gauges predominate worldwide
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Public transport
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Public transport modes include city buses, trolleybuses, trams and passenger trains, rapid transit and ferries. Public transport between cities is dominated by airlines, coaches, and intercity rail, high-speed rail networks are being developed in many parts of the world. Most public transport runs to a timetable, with the most frequent services running to a headway. Share taxis offer services in many parts of the world. Paratransit is sometimes used in areas of low demand and for people who need a door-to-door service, there are distinct differences in urban public transit between Asia, North America, and Europe. In Asia, mass transit operations are run by profit-driven privately owned and publicly traded mass transit. In North America, mass transit operations are run by municipal transit authorities. In Europe, mass transit operations are run by both state-owned and private companies. Public transport services can be profit-driven by use of pay-by-the-distance fares or funded by government subsidies in which flat rate fares are charged to each passenger. Services can be profitable through high ridership numbers and high farebox recovery ratios, or can be regulated. Fully subsidized, zero-fare services operate in some towns and cities, for geographical, historical and economic reasons, there are differences internationally regarding use and extent of public transport. It has 3,400 members from 92 countries, conveyances designed for public hire are as old as the first ferries, and the earliest public transport was water transport, on land people walked or rode an animal. Ferries appear in Greek mythology—corpses in ancient Greece were buried with a coin underneath their tongue to pay the ferryman Charon to take them to Hades, the omnibus was introduced to London in July 1829. The first passenger railway opened in 1806, it ran between Swansea and Mumbles in southwest Wales in the United Kingdom. In 1825 George Stephenson built the Locomotion for the Stockton and Darlington Railway in northeast England, the usability of different types of public transport, and its overall appeal, can be measured by seven criteria, although they overlap somewhat. These are speed, comfort, safety, cost, proximity, speed is calculated from total journey time including transfers. Proximity means how far passengers have to walk or otherwise travel before they can begin the public transport leg of their journey, timeliness is how long they have to wait for the vehicle. Directness records how far a journey using public transport deviates from the shortest route, an airline provides scheduled service with aircraft between airports
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Transit bus
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A transit bus is a type of bus used on shorter-distance public transport bus services. Several configurations are used, including Low-floor buses, high-floor buses, double-decker buses and these are distinct from all-seated coaches used for longer distance journeys and smaller minibuses, which are typically used for paratransit services. Some industry members and commentators promote the idea of making the interior of a bus as inviting as a private car. Due to the local authority use, transit buses are built to a third-party specification put to the manufacturer by the authority. Early examples of such include the Greater Manchester Leyland Atlantean. New transit buses may be purchased each time a route/area is contracted, the operating area of a transit bus may also be defined as a geographic metropolitan area, with the buses used outside of this area being more varied with buses purchased with other factors in mind. Some regional-size operators for capital cost reasons may use transit buses interchangeably on short urban routes as well as longer routes, sometimes up to 2 or 3 hours. Often transit bus operators have a selection of dual-purpose fitted buses, sometimes transit buses may also be used as express buses on a limited-stopping or non-stop service at peak times, but over the same distance as the regular route. For rear doors, most buses have doors opened by the controls or patron. Most doors will signify that they are unlocked and open with lights, transit buses can be single-decker, double-decker, rigid or articulated. Depending on local policies, transit buses will usually have two, three or four doors to facilitate rapid boarding and alighting. In cases of low-demand routes, or to small local streets, some models of minibus. Due to their public role, transit buses were the first type of bus to benefit from low-floor technology. Transit buses are now subject to various disability discrimination acts in several jurisdictions which dictate various design features also applied to other vehicles in some cases. Fare collection is also seeing a shift to off-bus payment, with either the driver or an inspector verifying fare payments
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Paratransit
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Paratransit services may vary considerably on the degree of flexibility they provide their customers. At their simplest they may consist of a taxi or small bus that will run along a more or less defined route, in addition to public transit agencies, Paratransit services are operated by community groups or not-for-profit organizations, and for-profit private companies or operators. Typically, minibuses are used to provide paratransit service, most paratransit vehicles are equipped with wheelchair lifts or ramps to facilitate access. In the United States, private companies often provide paratransit service in cities. Veolia Transport, First Transit and MV Transportation are among the largest private contractors of paratransit services in the United States, definition, any type of public transportation that is distinct from conventional transit, such as flexibly scheduled and routed services such as airport limousines, carpools, etc. Etymology, para- alongside of + transit The use of paratransit has evolved and these are still extremely important in many parts of the world. Paratransit is a mode of flexible passenger transportation that does not follow fixed routes or schedules. Since the early 1980s, particularly in North America, the term began to be used increasingly to describe the second meaning, in this respect, paratransit has become a subsector and business in its own right. The term paratransit is rarely used outside of North America, Section 504 prohibited the exclusion of the disabled from any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. Most transit agencies did not see fixed route accessibility as desirable and opted for a system of small paratransit vehicles operating parallel to a system of larger. With the passage of the ADA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act was extended to all activities of state. Its provisions were not limited to programs receiving federal funds and applied to all public transit services, Title II of the ADA also more clearly defined a disabled persons right to equal participation in transit programs, and the providers responsibility to make that participation possible. In revisions to Title 49 Part 37, the Federal Transit Administration defined the requirements of the ADA. These requirements included complementary paratransit to destinations within 3/4 mile of all fixed routes, Paratransit service is an unfunded mandate. Title 49 Part 37 details the eligibility rules along with requirements governing how the service must be provided and managed, in the United States, paratransit service is now highly regulated and closely monitored for compliance with standards set by the Federal Transit Administration. As the ADA became effective in 1992, the FTA required transit systems in the United States to plan and begin implementing ADA compliant services, during this period, paratransit demand and services rapidly expanded. This growth led to new approaches to manage and provide these services. Since the passage of the ADA, paratransit service has grown rapidly as a mode of transit in the United States
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Greater Toronto Area
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The Greater Toronto Area is the most populous metropolitan area in Canada. As of the 2016 census, it has a population of 6,417,516, the Greater Toronto Area is defined as the central city of Toronto, and the four regional municipalities that surround it, Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. The regional span of the Greater Toronto Area is sometimes combined with the city of Hamilton, Ontario and its region, to form the Greater Toronto. The Greater Toronto Area anchors a much larger urban agglomeration known as the Golden Horseshoe. However, it did not come into everyday usage until the mid- to late 1990s, the latter includes communities like Barrie, Guelph and the Niagara Region. The GTA continues, however, to be in use elsewhere in the Government of Ontario. For example, Oshawa, which is the centre of its own CMA, other municipalities, such as New Tecumseth in southern Simcoe County and Mono Township in Dufferin County are included in the Toronto CMA but not in the GTA. Other nearby urban areas, such as Hamilton, Barrie or St. Catharines-Niagara and Kitchener-Waterloo, are not part of the GTA or the Toronto CMA, but form their own CMAs near the GTA. Ultimately, all the places are part of the Golden Horseshoe metropolitan region, an urban agglomeration. When the Hamilton, Oshawa and Toronto CMAs are agglomerated with Brock and Scugog and it is part of the Great Lakes Megalopolis, containing an estimated 59 million people in 2011. The term Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area refers to the usual GTA plus the former Regional Municipality of Hamilton–Wentworth, the Greater Toronto Area was home to a number of First Nations groups who lived on the shore of Lake Ontario long before the first Europeans arrived in the region. At various times the Neutral, Seneca, Mohawk and Huron nations were living in the vicinity, the Mississaugas arrived in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century, driving out the occupying Iroquois. While it is unclear as to who was the first European to reach the Toronto area, the area would later become very crucial for its series of trails and water routes that led from northern and western Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Known as the Toronto Passage, it followed the Humber River, for this reason area became a hot spot for French fur traders. In 1787, the British negotiated the purchase of more than a million acres of land in the area of Toronto with the Mississaugas of New Credit. The Town of York would later be attacked by American forces in the War of 1812 in what is now known as the Battle of York, in 1816, Wentworth County and Halton County were created from York County. In 1851, Ontario County and Peel County were separated from York, the idea for a single government municipality would not be seriously explored until the late 1940s when planners decided the city needed to incorporate its immediate suburbs. However, due to opposition from suburban politicians, a compromise was struck which resulted in the creation of Metropolitan Toronto
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Public transportation in Toronto
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Public transportation in Toronto dates back to 1849 with the creation of a horse-drawn stagecoach company. Williams Omnibus Bus Line was the first mass transportation system in the old City of Toronto, Ontario, established in 1849 by local cabinetmaker Burt Williams, it consisted of horse-drawn stagecoaches operating from the St. Lawrence Market to the Red Lion Hotel in Yorkville. The bus line was a success, and four larger vehicles were added in 1850. After a few years, even more buses were in use, in 1861, the city gave a 30-year franchise to Toronto Street Railway, which built a horse car line, and the gauge of the buses was modified so as to fit between the tracks. The bus system lasted only until 1862, when it was out by the TSR. After the Williams Omnibus Bus Line had become heavily loaded in 1861, the winner was Alexander Eastons Toronto Street Railway which opened the first street railway line in Canada on September 11,1861, operating from Yorkville Town Hall to the St. Lawrence Market. The second line was on Queen Street, on other routes, the TSR continued to operate omnibuses. By 1868, the railway passed into the hands of the bondholders, in 1873 a new act of incorporation was obtained under the old name. In 1874, extensions were made, and new cars were ordered, new lines were added until the 30-year franchise expired on March 26,1891. The Toronto Railway Company was the first operator of horseless streetcars in Toronto, at the end of the TSR franchise, the city ran the railway for eight months, but ended up granting another 30-year franchise to a private operator, the TRC. The first electric car ran on August 15,1892, when the TRC franchise ended in 1921, the Toronto Transportation Commission was created. There came to be problems with interpretation of the franchise terms, a series of annexations, especially in 1908–12, significantly extended the city limits to include such areas as Dovercourt, Earlscourt, East Toronto, Midway, North Toronto, and West Toronto. After many attempts to force the TRC to serve these areas, the city created its own street railway operation, the Toronto Civic Railways, to do so, repeated court battles did force the TRC to build new cars, but they were of old design. In 1921, with the TRC franchise ending, the city merged TRC, between 1921 and 1953, the TTC added 35 new routes in the city and extended 20 more. It also operated 23 suburban routes on a service-for-cost basis and it abandoned the unprofitable North Yonge Railways radial railway line. The Great Depression and World War II both placed heavy burdens on the ability of municipalities to finance themselves, during most of the 1930s, municipal governments had to cope with general welfare costs and assistance to the unemployed. The TTC realized that improvements had to be made, despite the depression, and in 1936, purchased the first of the newly developed PCC streetcars, the war put an end to the depression and increased migration from rural to urban areas. After the war, municipalities faced the problem of extending services to accommodate the increased population, ironically, the one municipal service that prospered during the war years was public transit, employers had to stagger work hours in order to avoid overcrowding the streetcars
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Toronto Transportation Commission
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Toronto Transportation Commission was the public transit operator in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which operated buses, streetcars and the island ferries. The system was renamed to the Toronto Transit Commission in 1954, torontos first public transportation company was the Williams Omnibus Bus Line and owned by undertaker Burt Williams. The franchise carried passengers in horse-drawn stagecoaches along Yonge Street between the St. Lawrence Market and the Village of Yorkville for sixpence in 1849. The city granted the first franchise for a railway in 1861 to Alexander Easton under the franchise of Toronto Street Railways. In 1891, the franchise was passed onto William Mackenzies Toronto Railway Company for 30 years, however, the TCR routes were operating in areas not served by the private TRC. In 1920, a Provincial Act created the Toronto Transportation Commission and, in 1921, between 1921 and 1953, the TTC added 35 new routes in the city and extended 20 more. It also operated 23 suburban routes on a service-for-cost basis and it abandoned money-losing radial railway line, North Yonge Railways. The Great Depression and the Second World War both placed heavy burdens on the ability of municipalities to finance themselves, during most of the 1930s, municipal governments had to cope with general welfare costs and assistance to the unemployed. The TTC realized that improvements had to be made despite the depression, the war put an end to the depression and increased migration from rural to urban areas. After the war, municipalities faced the problem of extending services to accommodate the increased population, ironically, the one municipal service that prospered during the war years was public transit, employers had to stagger work hours in order to avoid overcrowding the streetcars. Toronto continued their program of purchasing PCC cars, running the worlds largest fleet, with the creation of Metro Toronto in 1954 and the building of the Yonge subway line, the Toronto Transportation Commission was renamed the Toronto Transit Commission. Some older wooden cars were retired due to wear and replaced by Peter Witt orders, buses are a large part of the TTC operations today, but before the 1960s they played a lesser role to streetcar operations. Bus service in Toronto started in 1921, but it was not until the creation of the TTC that buses become a part of public transit, Gray Coach used inter-urban coaches to link Toronto to outlying areas throughout Southern Ontario. In addition, Gray Coach operated tour bus operations in association with Gray Line tours, the main terminal was at the Toronto Bus Terminal on Elizabeth Street, downtown. The first route began operation with four buses on June 19,1922 and this early trolley coach operation was replaced by a streetcar line. In later years, many of these routes replaced streetcar routes, the buses consisted of a standard bus platform with electric motors with two trolley poles connected to electrical lines above
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North America
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North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere. It can also be considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers, about 16. 5% of the land area. North America is the third largest continent by area, following Asia and Africa, and the fourth by population after Asia, Africa, and Europe. In 2013, its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states, or about 7. 5% of the worlds population, North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period, via crossing the Bering land bridge. The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago, the Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries. The Pre-Columbian era ended with the migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery. Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists, indigenous peoples, African slaves and their descendants, European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south. Because of the history of colonialism, most North Americans speak English, Spanish or French, the Americas are usually accepted as having been named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci by the German cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann. Vespucci, who explored South America between 1497 and 1502, was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a different landmass previously unknown by Europeans. In 1507, Waldseemüller produced a map, in which he placed the word America on the continent of South America. He explained the rationale for the name in the accompanying book Cosmographiae Introductio, for Waldseemüller, no one should object to the naming of the land after its discoverer. He used the Latinized version of Vespuccis name, but in its feminine form America, following the examples of Europa, Asia and Africa. Later, other mapmakers extended the name America to the continent, In 1538. Some argue that the convention is to use the surname for naming discoveries except in the case of royalty, a minutely explored belief that has been advanced is that America was named for a Spanish sailor bearing the ancient Visigothic name of Amairick. Another is that the name is rooted in a Native American language, the term North America maintains various definitions in accordance with location and context. In Canadian English, North America may be used to refer to the United States, alternatively, usage sometimes includes Greenland and Mexico, as well as offshore islands
30.
New York City Transit Authority
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The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U. S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City. Part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the busiest and largest transit system in North America, the NYCTA operates the following systems, New York City Subway, a rapid transit system in Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. Staten Island Railway, a transit line in Staten Island New York City Bus. As part of establishing a common identity, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1994 assigned popular names to each of its subsidiaries and affiliates. The New York City Transit Authority is now known popularly as MTA New York City Transit, newer contracts and RFPs, however, have also used the popular name. The Authority is also referred to as NYCT, or simply the TA. The Executive Director of the MTA is, ex officio, Executive Director of the Transit Authority, the Transit Authority has its own management structure which is responsible for its day-to-day operations, with executive personnel reporting to the agency president. Veronique “Ronnie” Hakim is the current President of New York City Transit, the subway system today is composed of what once were three separate systems in competition with one another. Two of them were built and operated by companies, August Belmonts Interborough Rapid Transit Company. The third, the public Independent Subway System was owned and operated by the City of New York. The IRT and BMT systems were acquired by the city on June 1,1940 for $317,000,000, the buses on Staten Island had been operated by a private company operating under a franchise that expired in 1946. When it became known that the company would not renew its franchise and this group ran into financial difficulties and the city took over the company on February 23,1947. The city then controlled all of the bus routes on Staten Island, on March 30,1947, the City took over the bus lines of the North Shore Bus Company, which comprised half of the privately owned lines in Queens, after that company went into financial troubles. On September 24,1948, the City acquired five bus lines in Manhattan for similar reasons, factories began to work around the clock, and therefore business boomed. Transit repairs were kept at a minimum as basic materials were in supply for civilian use. Operating revenues were raised and maintenance costs were reduced, but as a result, the future problems of deferred maintenance and falling ridership. In 1946, costs rose and profits turned to losses, and to obtain needed funds, the fare was raised in 1948 to ten cents on the subways and elevated and this increase only produced a revenue surplus for a single year. In 1951 a uniform ten-cent fare was established on both the transit and surface lines
31.
Mexico City Metro
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It is the second largest metro system in North America after the New York City Subway. In 2015, the system served 1.623 billion passengers, the inaugural STC Metro line was 12.7 kilometres long, serving 16 stations, and opened to the public on 4 September 1969. The system has expanded since then in a series of fits and starts, as of 2015, the system has 12 lines, serving 195 stations, and 226.49 kilometres of route. Ten of the lines are rubber-tyred, instead of steel wheels, they use pneumatic traction. The system survived the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, of the STC Metros 195 stations,24 serve two or more lines. Many stations are named for figures, places, or events in Mexican history. It has 115 underground stations,54 surface stations and 26 elevated stations, all lines operate from 5 am to midnight. This line opened on 30 October 2012, the metro has figured in Mexicos cultural history, as the inspiration for a musical composition for strings, Metro Chabancano and the 1982 Rodrigo Rockdrigo Gonzálezs 1982 song, Metro Balderas. It has also been a site for the 1990 Hollywood movie Total Recall, public intellectual, Carlos Monsiváis has commented on the cultural importance of the metro, a space for collective expression, where diverse social sectors are compelled to mingle every day. 65 of the 91 lines of bus and electric transport served this area, with four thousand units in addition to 150,000 personal automobiles peak hours, the average speed was less than walking pace. The principal promoter of the construction of the Mexico City Metro was engineer Bernardo Quintana and he carried out a series of studies that resulted in a draft plan which would ultimately lead to the construction of the Mexico City Metro. On 19 June 1967, in the crossroad of Chapultepec Avenue with Avenida Bucareli, two years later, on 4 September 1969, an orange train made the inaugural trip between stations Zaragoza and Insurgentes, thus beginning daily operation up to today. The first stage of construction comprised the construction and inauguration of lines 1,2 and 3. Between 1,200 and 4,000 specialists and 48,000 workers participated, building at least one kilometer of track per month, during this stage of construction workers uncovered two archaeological ruins, one Aztec idol, and the bones of a mammoth. By the end of the first stage, namely on 10 June 1972, the STC Metro had 48 stations and a total length of 41. Construction of lines 4 and 5 was begun and completed on 26 May and 30 August 1982, respectively, the first one from Martín Carrera to Santa Anita and the latter from Politécnico to Pantitlán. Line 4 was the first STC Metro line built as an elevated track and this construction stage took place from the beginning of 1983 through the end of 1985. Lines 1,2 and 3 were expanded to their current lengths, the length of the network was increased by 35.29 kilometres and the number of stations to 105
32.
History of the Toronto Transit Commission
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Torontos first public transportation company was the Williams Omnibus Bus Line, owned by furniture–maker and undertaker Burt Williams. The line began operation in 1849 and it carried passengers in horse-drawn stagecoaches via King and Yonge Streets, between the St. Lawrence Market and the Village of Yorkville. The price of each trip was six pence, in 1861, a 30-year franchise for a street railway was given to Alexander Easton in 1861. The company operated under the name Toronto Street Railway, in 1891, the TSR franchise was not renewed. After a few months of operation, a 30-year franchise was granted to William Mackenzies Toronto Railway Company. The TRC was required to replace streetcars with electric ones by 1894. From their introduction, streetcars were only allowed to operate six days a week and this was upheld in an 1892 referendum, but a second referendum in 1897 overturned the law by a narrow margin, and the first Sunday streetcars ran on May 16 of that year. In 1885, north of the city, a franchise was granted to the Metropolitan Street Railway, outside of the city, transit connections to the suburbs were provided by interurban lines, known in Ontario as radial railways because their lines radiated from the city. These included the Toronto and York Radial Railway and the Toronto Suburban Railway, between 1921 and 1953, the TTC added 35 new routes in the city and extended 20 more. It also operated 23 suburban routes on a service-for-cost basis and it abandoned the unprofitable North Yonge Railways radial railway line. The Great Depression and World War II both placed heavy burdens on the ability of municipalities to finance themselves, during most of the 1930s, municipal governments had to cope with general welfare costs and assistance to the unemployed. The TTC realized that improvements had to be made, despite the depression, the war put an end to the depression and increased migration from rural to urban areas. After the war, municipalities faced the problem of extending services to accommodate the increased population, ironically, the one municipal service that prospered during the war years was public transit, employers had to stagger work hours in order to avoid overcrowding the streetcars. Toronto continued their program of purchasing PCC cars, running the worlds largest fleet, public transit was one of the essential services identified by Metropolitan Torontos founders in 1953. The assets and liabilities of the TTC and four independent bus lines operating in the suburbs were acquired by the Commission, in 1954, the TTC became the sole provider of public transportation services in Metro Toronto. Canadas first subway system, the Union Station-to-Eglinton section of the Yonge Street subway, was conceived, gasoline rationing limited the use of automobiles, resulting in increased usage of public transit. After five years of work, the line opened to the public on March 30,1954. The original Yonge Street subway line went from the railways Union Station on Front Street, at 2,30 p. m. that day, the last streetcar to travel Yonge Street south of Eglinton made its final ride
33.
Toronto Transit Commission incidents
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This article lists major incidents of the Toronto Transit Commission since 1954. On March 27,1963, a subway train was completely destroyed by fire. This occurred on a track near Union station, after the few remaining passengers were evacuated. On November 7,1975, a schoolgirl was murdered in St. Patrick station, nine people were killed and 20 others injured. This was the worst accident in terms of loss of life in the history of the TTC, the level crossing was replaced by an overpass a few years later. This also led to the Ontario-wide law that all public buses, on October 15,1976, an arson destroyed a train and caused significant damage to Christie station. There is evidence today with the odd-coloured trim tiles on the walls on the centre of the platforms. A section of the line was closed for two days, on June 1,1982, electrician Reynold Achong was killed by a train while working on the tracks at Summerhill station. On August 11,1995, the Russell Hill subway accident resulted in the deaths of three passengers and injuries to 30 others, there were an additional 100 passengers who filed injury-related claims from the accident. In late 1995, TTC employee Jimmy Trajceski was killed during a robbery at Victoria Park station, adrian Kinkead was arrested four months later for the crime and was found to be responsible for two other murders. He was convicted of all three crimes and sentenced to life in prison, on September 27,1997, 23-year-old Charlene Minkowski was killed when she was pushed in front of a southbound train at Dundas Station. Herbert Cheong, a schizophrenic, was convicted of second-degree murder. Between January 2 and 4,1999, a large snowstorm paralyzed parts of Central Ontario. As a result, the city and the system ground to a halt. In the following days, major interruptions and delays were incurred, on December 8,2000, a garbage train caught fire while en route through Old Mill station. The train was destroyed and the station remained closed for two days. Since the incident, the TTC has stopped the practice of using garbage trains and maintains a fleet of surface garbage trucks to collect refuse. On August 14,2003, at around 4,15 p. m. EDT, the Northeast Blackout affected parts of Canada, the city of Toronto, like many other cities involved, effectively ground to a halt
34.
Metropolitan Toronto
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The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of old town Toronto, York Township, Scarborough Township and it was commonly referred to as Metro Toronto or Metro to avoid confusion with the original city of Toronto, which was its administrative headquarters. Passage of the 1997 City of Toronto Act caused the 1998 amalgamation of Metro Toronto, prior to the formation of Metro, the municipalities surrounding the central City of Toronto were all independent towns and villages. All were members of either York Township, Scarborough Township or Etobicoke Township, after 1912, the city no longer annexed suburbs from York Township. At times the suburbs asked to be annexed into Toronto, in 1924, Ontario cabinet minister George S. Henry, was the first to propose a metropolitan district with its own council from the city and the county to administer shared services. He wrote a bill, but the government chose not to act on it. The Great Depression saw almost all of the towns and villages of the County go insolvent, when that happened they were, financially, taken over by the province. In 1933, Henry, now the premier, appointed an inquiry into forming a metropolitan district. A proposal was made for Toronto to provide several of its services to the suburbs as well, the inquiry died with the defeat of Henry in 1934. In the 1930s, a Liberal Ontario government named the first minister of municipal affairs, David A. Croll, and introduced a bill to amalgamate the City. The draft bill faced strong opposition in Toronto and was withdrawn, the government then started its own inquiry into issues of the suburbs surrounding Toronto. Through consensus, it came to the conclusion that a municipality was the best solution. The inquiry reported in September 1939, and its conclusions put aside for the duration of World War II, two factors changed in the 1940s. A Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario government was elected in 1943, with a changed policy, also in 1943, the first Master Plan was adopted in Toronto. It recognized that future growth would place in the vacant land of adjacent suburbs. Planning would have to take account the whole metropolitan area. In 1946, the province passed the Planning Act required each urban municipality to have its own Planning Board, a Toronto and Suburban Planning Board was founded, under the chairmanship of James P. Maher, and the vice-chairmanship of Fred Gardiner. The Board promoted specific projects, and promoted a green belt, a unified system of arterial roads
35.
G-series (Toronto subway)
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The G-series was the first rolling stock of rapid transit cars used on the Toronto subway. The Chicago influence was felt through the work of DeLeuw, Cather & Co. of Chicago, the G-series cars were frequently described as robust and reliable, despite being constructed overweight and energy-inefficient. On October 6,1990 the last G-series trains operated on the Bloor-Danforth line and were replaced by the H-series trains. The only surviving cars, still mated in original condition, are fleet number 5098 and 5099, most were steel-bodied and had painted exteriors, however, six experimental aluminum-bodied cars demonstrated the benefits of using aluminum for rapid transit car construction. The G cars were designed in 2-car married pair formations. They were the only trains with painted livery. Upon retirement from service, several G-Series cars were rebuilt or refitted for duties as subway work cars. The model cars are stored and on display at the Hillcrest Training Centre
36.
Great Depression
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The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place during the 1930s. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, in most countries it started in 1929 and it was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. In the 21st century, the Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how far the economy can decline. The depression originated in the United States, after a fall in stock prices that began around September 4,1929. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide GDP fell by an estimated 15%, by comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s, however, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II. The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade plunged by more than 50%, unemployment in the U. S. rose to 25% and in some countries rose as high as 33%. Cities all around the world were hit hard, especially dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries, farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most. Even after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 optimism persisted for some time, john D. Rockefeller said These are days when many are discouraged. In the 93 years of my life, depressions have come, prosperity has always returned and will again. The stock market turned upward in early 1930, returning to early 1929 levels by April and this was still almost 30% below the peak of September 1929. Together, government and business spent more in the first half of 1930 than in the period of the previous year. On the other hand, consumers, many of whom had suffered losses in the stock market the previous year. In addition, beginning in the mid-1930s, a severe drought ravaged the agricultural heartland of the U. S, by mid-1930, interest rates had dropped to low levels, but expected deflation and the continuing reluctance of people to borrow meant that consumer spending and investment were depressed. By May 1930, automobile sales had declined to below the levels of 1928, prices in general began to decline, although wages held steady in 1930
37.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
38.
Mike Harris
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Michael Deane Mike Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26,1995 to April 14,2002. He is most noted for the Common Sense Revolution, his Progressive Conservative governments program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes, Harris was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Hope Gooding and Sidney Deane Harris. He grew up in North Bay, where his father operated the Wasi Falls Resort fishing camp, Harris attended Waterloo Lutheran University but left after a year. At the age of 21, following his fathers purchase of a ski-hill, Harris moved to Sainte-Adèle, after the end of his first marriage, he enrolled at Laurentian University and North Bay Teachers College where he received his teaching certificate. He continued in his previous occupation as a ski-instructor at Nipissing Ridge on weekends as well as working at his fathers fishing camp during the summer season and he eventually left the teaching profession as the success of the ski resort escalated. After his father sold his own operation, Harris was hired to manage North Bays Pinewood Golf Club. Harris was elected to office as a school board trustee in 1974. He entered provincial politics in the 1981 election, and defeated the incumbent Liberal Member of Provincial Parliament in Nipissing, Harris later suggested that he was motivated to enter politics by an opposition to the policies of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He sat as a backbencher in Bill Daviss Progressive Conservative government from 1981 to 1985 and he supported Frank Millers successful bid to succeed Davis as party leader in 1985, and took the role of rival candidate Dennis Timbrell to prepare Miller for the partys all-candidate debates. Miller was sworn in as Premier of Ontario on February 8,1985, the Tories were reduced to a minority government in the 1985 provincial election, although Harris was personally re-elected without difficulty. He kept the Natural Resources portfolio after the election, and was also named Minister of Energy on May 17,1985, an agreement between the Liberals and the NDP allowed a Liberal minority government to govern for two years in exchange for the implementation of certain NDP policies. This decision consigned the Tories to opposition for the first time in 42 years, Miller resigned and was replaced by Larry Grossman, who led the party to a disastrous showing in the 1987 election and announced his resignation shortly thereafter. Harris was again re-elected in Nipissing without difficulty, the party was not ready to hold a leadership convention in 1987. Grossman, who had lost his seat, remained the official leader of the party until 1990 while Sarnia MPP Andy Brandt served as interim leader in the legislature. Harris was chosen as PC house leader, and had become the dominant voice in the legislature by 1989. Harris entered the 1990 leadership race, and defeated Dianne Cunningham in a vote to replace Grossman as the partys official leader. The 1990 provincial election was called soon after Harris became party leader, with help from past leader Larry Grossman, Harris managed to rally his partys core supporters with pledges of tax cuts and spending reductions. Due to his background, Harris was personally endorsed by several local members of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation
39.
Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario
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The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, often shortened to Ontario PC Party or PC, is a right-of-centre political party in Ontario, Canada. It governed the province for 80 of the 149 years since Confederation and it is the Official Opposition in the current Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The first Conservative Party in Upper Canada was made up of United Empire Loyalists, once responsible government was granted in response to the 1837 Rebellions, the Tories emerged as moderate reformers who opposed the radical policies of the Reformers and then the Clear Grits. The modern Conservative Party originated in the Liberal-Conservative coalition founded by Sir John A. Macdonald and it is a variant of this coalition that formed the first government in Ontario with John Sandfield Macdonald as Premier. Sandfield Macdonald was actually a Liberal and sat concurrently as a Liberal Party of Canada MP in the Canadian House of Commons, after losing power in 1871, this Conservative coalition began to dissolve. The party became opposed to funding for schools, opposed to language rights for French-Canadians. Paradoxically, an element of the party gained a reputation for being pro-labour as a result of links between the Orange Order and the labour movement. After 33 years in Opposition, the Tories returned to power under James P. Whitney, the Whitney government initiated massive public works projects such as the creation of Ontario Hydro. It also enacted legislation against the French-Canadian population in Ontario. The Tories were in power for all but five years from 1905 to 1934, after the death of Whitney in 1914, however, they lacked vision and became complacent. The Tories lost power to the United Farmers of Ontario in the 1919 election but were able to regain office in 1923 election due to the UFOs disintegration and they were defeated by Mitch Hepburns Liberals in 1934 due to their inability to cope with the Great Depression. Late in the 1930s and early in the 1940s, the Conservatives re-organized and developed new policies, the Conservatives took advantage of Liberal infighting to win a minority government in the 1943 provincial election, reducing the Liberals to third-party status. Drew called another election in 1945, only two years into his mandate, to get a majority government, the party would dominate Ontario politics for the next four decades. In 1961, John Robarts became the 17th premier of Ontario and he was one of the most popular premiers in years. Under Robarts lead, the party epitomized power and he hosted the 1967 Confederation of Tomorrow conference in Toronto in an unsuccessful attempt to achieve an agreement for a new Constitution of Canada. Robarts opposed Canadian medicare when it was proposed, but later endorsed it fully, and he led the party towards a civil libertarian movement. As a strong believer in the promotion of official languages, he opened the door to French education in Ontario schools. In 1971, Bill Davis became party leader and the 18th premier, anti-Catholicism became an issue again in the 1971 election, when the Tories campaigned strenuously against a Liberal proposal to extend funding for Catholic separate schools until Grade 13
40.
Toronto City Council
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The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors, for ease of electoral division, wards are based upon the citys federal electoral districts as of the year 2000. While the federal districts have been redistributed since then, the boundaries remain the same. The city council has 45 members,44 ward councillors plus the mayor, the current decision making framework and committee structure at the City of Toronto was established by the City of Toronto Act and came into force January 1,2007. The decision-making process at the City of Toronto involves committees that report to City Council, Committees propose, review and debate policies and recommendations before their arrival at City Council for debate. Citizens and residents can only make deputations on policy at committees, each City Councillor sits on one committee. The Mayor is a member of all committees and is entitled to one vote, There are three types of committees at the City of Toronto, the Executive Committee, Standing Committees and other Committees of Council. The City posts agendas for council and committee meetings on its website, the Executive Committee is an advisory body chaired by the mayor. The Executive Committee is composed of the Mayor, Deputy Mayor, the role of the Executive Committee is to set the City of Torontos priorities, manage financial planning and budgeting, labour relations, human resources, and the operation of City Council. Source, City of Toronto There are eleven other committees that report to Toronto City Council, the seven standing policy committees are, There are four other committees that report to Council, Source, City of Toronto All members of Toronto city council serve on a community council. Community Councils report to City Council but they also have final decision-making power on certain items, such as front yard parking and appointments to local boards, the city is divided into four community councils. The salary for the mayor was $177,499 for 2014, the salary for a city councillor was $105,397 for 2014. In 2017, Councillor pay will be $111,955, the office of the Mayor is located on the second floor at Toronto City Hall. The general public and media can access it via stairs, office staff and the Mayor can reach the office by elevator from the ground floor or the garage. Staffing roles and hiring is directed by the Mayor and not by Council or City of Toronto, before that Toronto had a Board of Control, as did former cities North York and Etobicoke. Vacancies in a seat may be filled in one of two ways, either by the holding of a by-election or through direct appointment of an interim councillor chosen by the council in an internal vote. The process often results in public debate, however, the by-election process is widely seen as more democratic, while the appointment process is seen as less expensive for the city to undertake. Peter Leon considered registering as a candidate in the 2014 election following his appointment as a councillor in 2013
41.
Anglo-America
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Anglo-America is distinct from Latin America, a region of the Americas where Romance languages are prevalent. The term Anglo-America frequently refers specifically to the United States and Canada, other areas composing the Anglophone Caribbean include territories of the former British West Indies, Belize, Bermuda, and Guyana. Two notable territories with substantial non-Anglophone majorities are often included in Anglo-America for linguistical reasons. Similarly, Spanish-speaking Puerto Rico is considered part of Anglo-America because of its status as a territory of the United States. People from other parts of the world have immigrated to Anglo-America to have a quality of life, find better employment
42.
Toronto Island ferries
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The Toronto Island Ferry connects the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario to the mainland of Toronto, Canada. The main ferry service carry passengers and vehicles from Jack Layton Ferry Terminal at the foot of Bay Street to several docks on the islands, another ferry carries passengers and vehicles to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the island from the foot of Bathurst Street. Private ferries carry passengers to various island boat clubs, Ferry services to the islands began in 1833, and the Toronto Island Ferry company began in 1883. There are four public ferry services to the islands, service frequencies vary by time of year, with two round trips per hour on each route in summer, but fewer sailings on fewer routes in winter. The fourth public ferry service is operated by the PortsToronto and provides a vehicle, the ferry makes the round trip across the 121 metres channel every 15 minutes during airport operating hours. There is no access between the airport and the rest of the island chain. Beside the public services, several yacht clubs and marinas located on the islands provide private ferry services for their members. The first ferry to cross Toronto Harbour to what are now the Toronto Islands was in 1833 and this was a four-horse team boat, operated by Michael OConnor, between York and his hotel on the island. At this time, persons could still access the peninsula from a road to the east of York, in 1835, the hotel came under new management and the first steam-powered ferry to the hotel, the Toronto was inaugurated. However, the steamboat was removed from service and sold and the horse boat reinstated, in 1843, the Peninsular Packet, a converted steamboat, which was propelled by paddle wheels driven by horses was pressed into service for the hotel. In 1853, the hotel came under new management again, that of John Quinn, Quinn introduced another steam ferry, the Victoria. Competition for the business came the next year when Robert Moodie introduced his own the steam ferry. Quinn responded with another vessel, the Welland, another steam ferry, in 1857, Moodie added the Lady Head steam vessel. A vicious storm hit the island on April 13,1858, destroying Quinns hotel, throughout the rest of the 19th-century, the popularity of the Island increased. With no links to the mainland, ferries proliferated, with most being paddle steamers operated by individual owners, eventually two competing ferry companies came into being, the Turner Ferry Company and A. J. The assets of the Turner Ferry Company were bought by the John Doty Engine & Ferry Company, tymons Island Ferry Company in 1892 to form the Toronto Ferry Company. In 1906 and 1910, the Toronto Ferry Company built two double-decked, double-ended paddle steamers, with a capacity of 1,450 passengers and they were named Bluebell and Trillium. They were retired in 1955 and 1957 respectively, but Trillium survived and re-entered service in 1976 and it is operated by the Great Lakes Schooner Company for corporate and private functions, and for ferry runs throughout the summer
43.
Toronto Islands
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The Toronto Islands are a chain of small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the only group of islands in the part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the city centre. The islands are home to parkland, the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, several clubs, Centreville Amusement Park. The island community is considered to be the largest urban community in North America. Access to the Islands is by ferry, including the City of Toronto ferries operating from Jack Layton Ferry Terminal at the foot of Bay Street, the island is a popular recreation destination. Recreational bicyclists are accommodated on the ferries, there is a public bicycle sharing station operated by Bike Share Toronto at Jack Layton Ferry Terminal and bicycles and quadracycles can be rented at Centre Island. Canoes, kayaks and paddle boats can also be rented on the island, a frisbee golf course exists on the island. The main beach is along the shore and the beach on the west shore is clothing-optional. There is ample park land suitable for picnicking which is popular, several playgrounds, the area of the islands is about 820 acres. The largest, outermost island, called Centre Island, is crescent-shaped, Algonquin and Olympic are two of the other major islands. The former is mostly an area and the latter is parkland. Centre Island is home to the citys Island Public/Natural Science School, what is commonly called Wards Island is actually the eastern end of Centre Island and like Algonquin is a residential area. The Centre Island dock and Centreville amusement park are located on Middle Island, Centre Island is sometimes referred to as Toronto Island to prevent this type of confusion. The islands are composed of deposits from the erosion of the Scarborough Bluffs. In 1852, a storm flooded sand pits on the peninsula, the channel was widened and made permanent by a violent storm in 1858. The channel became known as the Eastern Gap, the peninsula to the west became known as the Toronto Islands. To the east of the Gap, the area of todays Cherry Beach was known as Fishermans Island, sediment deposition was halted in the 1960s when the Leslie Street Spit was extended beyond the southern edge of the islands. Left to nature, the islands would diminish over time, over the years land reclamation has contributed to an increase in the size of the islands
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Gray Line Worldwide
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Gray Line Worldwide operates local sightseeing tours, activities and travel packages around the world using trolley coaches, double-deckers and standard single deck coaches. It also offers services, airport transfers, and convention services. The company was founded in 1910 by restaurateur Louis Bush, who refurbished a Mack Truck and offered tours of Washington, the companys name is based in the blue and gray paint scheme on the Mack Truck. Gray Line has since grown into a global sightseeing network of local experts offering one of a kind itineraries in adventure, luxury, the brand is currently managed from an office based in Denver, Colorado. Gray Line has a presence in over 700 locations, spanning six continents, in 2004 its carriers handled some 25 million passengers
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Toronto Coach Terminal
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The Toronto Coach Terminal is the central bus station for inter-city services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 610 Bay Street, in the citys Downtown, the terminal is owned by Toronto Coach Terminal Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of the Toronto Transit Commission. The TTC managed the station directly until July 8,2012, opened in 1931 as the Gray Coach Terminal, the Art Deco style terminal was home base for Gray Coach, an interurban bus service then owned by the TTC. It replaced an open air terminal, Gray Line Terminal. The Toronto Coach Terminal is located one block west of Dundas subway station and it is also about the same distance from St. Patrick subway station. The bus platforms are located on Edward Street, on the west side of the terminal building, a small side entrance on the west side off Elizabeth Street, is connected to the main concourse area on Bay Street by a corridor behind the bus platforms. The terminal is a historic building. In 1984, the containing the bus bays was renovated by demolishing the internal walls. An annex, located to the west of the terminal building on Elizabeth Street. A renovation of the terminal building occurred in 1990 to create more seating for waiting passengers. Nearby landmarks include the Toronto Eaton Centre, the Atrium on Bay, the Hospital for Sick Children, and it is also within walking distance of Chinatown. The terminal is now used by Coach Canada and Greyhound Canada, from the Toronto Coach Terminal, Coach Canada operates casino shuttles from Toronto to Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. Under the Megabus Canada brand, Coach Canada operates double-decker buses to Montreal via Kingston with stops in Kirkland, QC, Cornwall, Brockville, Coach Canada also operates buses to Niagara Falls, with select buses going to Buffalo and Buffalo International Airport. C. Please see the Toronto Hub section on this page for information on their schedules. Greyhound Canada operates buses from the Toronto Coach Terminal to Ottawa, Belleville, Peterborough, Pembroke, London, Windsor, Greyhound Canada also operates a small network of commuter services branded as Quicklink. Buses run from the Toronto Coach Terminal to Barrie, Cambridge, Guelph, Kitchener, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Peterborough, however, in September 2014 Metrolinx announced plans to relocate the Union Station Bus Terminal to a new terminal building and development at 45 Bay Street. The relocation of intercity bus service from the Coach Terminal to the new station is under negotiation, media related to Toronto Coach Terminal at Wikimedia Commons
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Stagecoach Group
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Stagecoach Group plc is an international transport group operating buses, trains, trams and express coaches. The group was founded in 1980 by current chairman Brian Souter, his sister Ann Gloag, the group is headquartered in Perth, Scotland, and operates subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada. Stagecoach operates around 8,100 vehicles and covers over 90 major towns and cities in the United Kingdom, Stagecoach UK Bus employs 18,000 people. In North America, Stagecoach owns the Coach USA and Coach Canada brands, previous operations in Australia, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malawi, New Zealand, Portugal and Sweden have been sold. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange, where it is a constituent of the FTSE250 Index, anns accountant brother Brian Souter joined the firm and expanded the business into bus hire. Robin Gloag subsequently sold his shareholding in the business and ceased any involvement in 1982 with the collapse of his marriage to Ann, for a while, they offered a very personal service with Brian Souter doing the driving and Ann Gloag making up sandwiches and snacks for the passengers. Its early success allowed Stagecoach to take advantage of the privatisation of the national bus groups, several firms were purchased from the National Bus Company, Scottish Bus Group, London Buses and various city councils. The company consolidated its operations during the 1990s by purchasing ex NBC and SBG bus companies that had purchased by management. Stagecoach left the long distance coach market in 1988 when it sold its operations to National Express. It was sold to a management buyout before being purchased by Stagecoach in August 1996, in April 2000 Stagecoach sold Porterbrook to Abbey National for £773 million. In 1997 Stagecoach won the franchise to operate the Sheffield Supertram system, from the South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, when Stagecoach took over the system, it was struggling, both financially and in terms of attracting passengers, but it is now an extremely popular and successful operation. Stagecoach took another turn in 1998, when it purchased Scotlands Prestwick Airport for £41 million, by the summer of 1999, the company was rumoured to have been offered some £80 million for Prestwick. They sold the airport in January 2001 to concentrate on surface transport, on 21 November 2005 Stagecoach announced the sale of its New Zealand operations to Infratil. On 14 December 2005 Stagecoach purchased Barnsley based Traction Group for £26m, Traction operated 840 buses in South and West Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Angus. Traction was the largest remaining privately owned independent bus operator in the UK, in September 2005, following competition with its Megabus coach operation, Stagecoach launched a joint venture with Scottish Citylink coaches. After a competition enquiry, in October 2006 Stagecoach was instructed to sell some of the Scottish coach services, Stagecoach are also active in the rail industry, currently operating the South West Trains franchise and having a 49% stake in Virgin Rail Group. In 2007 the group won the right to take over the part of the old Central Trains franchise, in July 2007, Stagecoach commenced operating the Manchester Metrolink tram network. In January 2009, Stagecoach bought Preston Bus, a rival in the Lancashire area
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Greyhound Canada
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Greyhound Canada is the prominent operator of inter-city coach services in Canada. Greyhound Canada is a subsidiary of British transport company FirstGroup, linked with Dallas-based Greyhound Lines, in 1929, Greyhound Canada was founded as Canadian Greyhound Coaches, Limited, operating first in BC and then Alberta. It merged with Greyhound USA in 1935 and split after Greyhound Canada was sold in 1987 and it was not until Laidlaws purchase of the Canadian operations in 1987 and U. S. operations in 1999 did the two operations link up again. Toronto area routes and some buses were acquired from Gray Coach in 1991, Greyhound Canadas scheduled bus service operates in eight of Canadas provinces and territories. Greyhound operates 480 buses, but it has a fleet through connecting operators, Greyhound Canadas fleet. In Ontario, Voyageur buses and some Greyhound buses have Ontario plates, from the 1985 model year 96A3 to the 1995 model year D4000 and D4500, as well as the first Prevost H3-45 coaches, Greyhound Canada specified manual transmissions in all their intercity coaches. At first, five speed Eaton Fuller transmissions were equipped in all 96A3 and 102A3 coaches, beginning with the 1989 model year 102C3SS coaches, Greyhound Canada specified seven speed manual transmissions. Allison B500 and B500Rs have been used on coaches equipped with Automatic transmissions until the D4505s which use the ZF-AStronic transmission, amalgamated Transit Union Local 1374 represents unionized Greyhound employees in Western Canada and Northern Ontario and is based in Calgary. Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1415 represents unionized Greyhound employees in Southern Ontario, december 23,2000, An attempted hijacking of a Greyhound Canada bus near Thunder Bay, Ontario left one woman dead and 31 others injured. July 30,2008, Tim McLean, a passenger on an Edmonton to Winnipeg schedule, was beheaded by another passenger near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. The attacker was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree murder, Greyhound Canada withdrew ads with the slogan Theres a reason youve never heard of bus rage following the event, citing that the campaign was no longer appropriate. September 21,2008, A young man was attacked by another passenger on a Greyhound Canada schedule in northwestern Ontario, police arrested a 28-year-old man near the town of White River, about 300 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie, shortly after the bus driver let him get off at the side of the highway, december 16,2010, A Toronto Transit Commission 505 Dundas streetcar was heading eastbound at River Street when it crashed into a Greyhound Canada bus after running a red traffic signal. 17 passengers, including 4 schoolchildren, received serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, gare dautocars de Montréal Gray Coach Lines Greyhound Air Greyhound Lines Penetang-Midland Coach Lines Voyageur Colonial Bus Lines Greyhound Canada Greyhound USA Gray Line Canada Historical timeline
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Toronto Transit Commission bus system
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The Toronto Transit Commission uses buses and other vehicles for public transportation. The TTC has more than 172 bus routes in operation, most bus routes serve the suburban areas of the city, and are integrated with the subway system, and several run into downtown. Buses are comparatively rare in the city centre as a streetcar system serves the urban core. Many TTC bus routes are divided into branch routes, which deviate slightly from the original route, as well, there are express routes which skip some stops along its route. The system is available 24 hours a day,7 days a week, of these,693 are hybrid electric vehicles, the second largest such fleet in North America. Since 2011, all buses are accessible and equipped with bicycle racks. In 2009, the TTC began its first bus rapid transit service in the city, when Line 1 Yonge–University is extended to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre in December 2017, only one bus route will use the busway, which will be an express bus route. Bus service in Toronto began in 1849, when the first public system in Toronto. The service began with a fleet of six horse-drawn stagecoaches, after ten years, the use of streetcars were introduced in the city as the Toronto Street Railway was established in 1861. After a year of competition between the two companies, the TSR had surpassed Williams Omnibus Line in ridership, until 1921, several private and publicly owned transport systems were established and ended up being merged into one another or abandoned. Electric streetcars were used in Toronto and surrounding settlements during the new century. After the establishment of the Toronto Transportation Commission, streetcar routes were taken over from predecessors in 1921 and it ran bus routes by using motor buses for the first time in the city. The TTC also experimented the use of buses from 1922 to 1925. Gray Coach, an intercity bus line by the TTC, began operation in 1927, as the coach service increased in ridership, the TTC built the Toronto Coach Terminal. By 1933, the TTC introduced the local bus and streetcar stop design, throughout the 1930s and 1940s, the city began replacing various street railway routes extending to surrounding municipalities with bus routes. Between 1947 and 1954, the TTC acquired new trolley buses, all services were taken over by the TTC on January 1,1954, when it became the sole public transit operator in the newly formed Metropolitan Toronto. In 1966, plans were made to replace all routes with buses in the next 20 years. The plan was cancelled in 1972 and streetcar routes were rebuilt, two years before the cancellation of the plan, GO Transit was established by the Government of Ontario with Gray Coach serving as its operator for most of its routes
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