Oshawa Transit

OTC Patch worn on mechanics' uniforms

Beginning with the change-over from CNR to Oshawa PUC in 1960, Oshawa Transit drivers and inspectors were required to wear a military-style tunic and cap. Over time, this uniform dress code became more relaxed: tunics became optional in the mid-1980s, but were still worn by many drivers after that. The cap, which had the driver's identification badge attached, no longer had to be worn by the on-duty drivers after the mid-1970s. Drivers were only required to keep the hat nearby for ID purposes.

In 1979, with the introduction of the clip-on ID badge system, the old-style caps were rendered obsolete. However, many veteran drivers continued using the caps until retirement.

Harvey Bodashefsky behind the wheel of a bus

The first Oshawa Bus Roadeo was held at the Oshawa Centre in 1975. It continued throughout most of the 1980s. The last Roadeo was held in 1992 when Oshawa Transit competed with the Whitby, Ajax, and Pickering transit agencies in a regional Roadeo.

The Roadeo consisted of drivers safely driving a 40-foot (12.19-metre) bus through an obstacle course. At the end of the course, the bus had to be navigated through a row of barrels with only inches to spare before coming to a complete stop as close as possible to the finish line. The entire course was timed, and a time limit applied to the completion of each obstacle. Obstacles included simulated passenger stops, left dual turn, right rear dual clearance, offset street, right hand reverse, diminishing clearance and judgement stops.

In 1989 Harvey Bodashefsky won the Oshawa Roadeo and travelled to Ottawa to participate in the national event where he placed third in Canada.

• October 2, 1959 - PUC agrees to operate bus service
• December 4, 1959 - Reginald Smith hired as first Superintendent
• January 2, 1960 - PUC takes over Oshawa Transit
• March 25, 1968 - Oshawa bus fleets expands to 32
• October 4, 1968 - Bus service expands to Oshawa Centre and Civic Auditorium
• April 15, 1972 - 5 buses equipped with 2-way radio system
• March 27, 1974 - Cal Cathmoir is named new Superintendent of Oshawa Transit
• January 15, 1976 - Transit extension to Whitby being studied
• January 26, 1979 - Western Flyer awarded Oshawa tender
• September 25, 1988 - Oshawa hires first female bus driver
• December 11, 1991 - Doors open in Oshawa for regional transit bid
• June 1992 - Oshawa Centre Bus Terminal opens. It is the first major route change in 20 years (buses no longer 'meet' downtown Oshawa with it being their 'central point'-- it is now the Oshawa Centre.)
• June 1996 - City of Oshawa takes control of transit service from PUC, forming the Oshawa Transit Commission
• September 2000 - Taunton route begins operations, serving Durham College and the city's growing northeast end
• November 2004 - Major service expansion includes new Taunton/Rossland route, operated jointly with Whitby Transit
• February 2005 - Durham Region council votes to merge all transit systems into new Durham Region Transit effective January 2006

PUC bus 56, a 1960 GMC TGH3102, was the first Oshawa Transit bus to have a full body advertisement. The advertisement was painted on as part of the bus paint scheme, predating the vinyl body wraps of later years. It was for Certified Heating Co. Later buses would include painted advertisements for Crush, 7 Up, and Pepsi and were known as the "Pop" buses.

In 1996 Oshawa Transit purchased five used 1981 General Motors T8H-5308A buses from Denver Regional Transit and assigned them bus numbers 146 thru 150. The Denver Regional Transit buses were distinct, aside from their higher bus numbers on older GMC buses within Oshawa Transit's fleet, in that they had the retrofitted air conditioning unit on the roof when they were purchased whereas the Oshawa Transit GMC buses of the same make did not. The newly acquired Denver Regional Transit buses also lacked a small window between the front doors and the first opening passenger window. This might have been due to the needed reinforcement of the body structure to hold the extra weight of the Air Conditioning units on the roof.

Soon after, Oshawa Transit was taken over by the OTC. The paint colour flag on the face and rear side of all new and refurbished buses was changed from the yellow and blue stripe of the bus to the forward-leaning OTC logo.

In 2003 a computer mouse pad was issued showcasing two new buses in the Oshawa Transit fleet while promoting the newly opened University of Ontario Institute of Technology. The destination signs on the mouse pad buses read: "Ontario Institute of Technology" and "Durham College" respectively (Nova 152 and Nova 151).

After bus 112, a 1977 GMC model, was refurbished and put back into service, it showcased Oshawa's heritage on its interior and exterior. Various historic photograph reproductions were displayed on the interior with a historical mural painted on the exterior of the bus. Sound speakers and a radio were installed inside the bus and during its service, mostly along the 1 Simcoe route, it played the broadcast from Oshawa's CKGE-FM, known as Magic@94.9 at that time. The "1 Simcoe" (and later 1 Simcoe South/1 Simcoe North) route was the main north-south line (2 King and 2 Bond was the main East-West line). After retirement, bus 112 was displayed on the front yard of the Oshawa Transit garage as the Mural Bus, where it stood until sometime in mid to late 2012 before being removed from the property.

Bus 156, a 2002 Nova LFS, was the first bus with a full body vinyl wrap ad. The advertisement was for the Gordon Biersch brewery and restaurant located in Whitby. Because of the ad it was often referred to as "The Beer Bus" and made its way onto page 5 of "The End of an Era" along with a photo and the nickname.

Oshawa Transit bus 115

With the creation of Durham Region Transit, all Oshawa Transit buses were reassigned bus numbers with the addition of an 8 before their original number designation, thus bus 1xx became bus 81xx.

• 1 Simcoe
• 2/2A King
• 3/3B Park
• 4 Bloor (Service Terminated 2004)
• 4A College Hill
• 5 Central Park
• 6/6B Dean
• 7/7B Ritson
• 8 Rossland (Renamed 8 Stevenson after 2006)
• 9/9B Thornton
• 10 Olive Harmony
• 11 Grandview
• 12 Adelaide
• 13 Go Shuttle
• 14 Community Bus
• 15 Taunton (Merged To 15-17 Taunton Route In 2004)
• 15/15B Taunton East (After 2004)
• 16/16B Rossland West (After 2004)
• 17/17B Taunton West (After 2004)
• 18/18B Rossland East (After 2004)

Routes 2 King and 9 Thornton became wheelchair accessible shortly after June 2005.

denotes fully accessible service

Prior to its dissolution these were the Oshawa Transit fares.

The 10 Ride Card was the same size as regular monthly pass (the size of a credit card) and a hole was punched by the bus driver in one of the designated 10 spaces upon initial boarding. A transfer would be issued on request to allow continuous travel on other routes within the system until the time specified on the transfer.

As there were only two secondary schools in Oshawa (Monsignor John Pereyma and Monsignor Paul Dwyer) a Restricted Student monthly pass was issued through these secondary schools to students residing outside a set boundary from within the closest school. Initially it was a regular student pass allowing unlimited travel at any time, but in an effort to save costs to the school board in the late 1990s Oshawa Transit began offering the Restricted Student pass. Similar to the regular student pass it allowed unlimited transportation on the Oshawa Transit system, but its use was restricted from the hours of 07:00 thru 19:00, Monday thru Friday. A new pass was issued each month for the duration of the school year. The pass had a yellowed background to help distinguish it from the other passes with the word "Restricted" above the Student mark on the pass and the conditions of its use printed on the back.

Children under 5 years of age rode free.