History of the Bus in Montreal

A passer-by on today's Bridge Street can hardly figure what the urban landscape could have been like in the early 1900s. These former low lands of Montreal's south-west, once a wild goose hunting territory for First Nations people, quickly changed into an urban area about the end of the 19th century. The construction of the Victoria Bridge and that of the transcontinental railway, followed by the industrialization, are among the causes of the city's skyrocketing development; there was work for everyone. An urbanization movement followed, which would last until the present day, as well as large immigration waves. Thus, this area of Montreal Island became the promised land for many Irish immigrants fleeing the famine in their home country. Victoriatown and Griffintown Districts were born. Because of the proximity of the Lachine Canal, the entire vicinity was then known as the most important industrial area in Canada. Bridge Street and its surroundings were nothing but factories and workers' houses.

In these days, the urban transit network was a rail-only matter and most of the population thought it was fine that way. However, passenger service on Bridge Street became a problematic issue: The short road was crossed by many railway tracks linking the local factories to the national railway system. The tramways tracks in place since 1893 had to be renewed and replacement cost would be astronomic due to all the crossings to install. The bus seemed suddenly more appealing. Even so, the officials of the Montreal Tramways Company called these vehicles "Trackless Tramways". The two initial vehicles bought for this new service – number 50 and 51 – were nothing more than White trucks transformed into buses in the MTC's shops. The interior was quite basic: two lateral cane benches (the seats in the tramways were all made of that same material), some straps for standees and, of course, the usual ads! These buses were very uncomfortable; the passengers were terribly shaken about, and during the winter the interior was as cold as an icebox. There is no wonder why the French Montrealers nicknamed these vehicles: chars � bancs ("wagons with benches")!

Click on picures to obtain a screen size view.

In 1921, two other buses appeared on the Montreal scene: number 60 and 61, a pair of Reo trucks converted into open vehicles – called summer buses – shuttled on Berri Street between Craig St. (now St-Antoine) and Victoria Pier, where the passengers could transfer to the ferry to reach the South Shore. It was before the construction of the Montreal Harbour Bridge (now Jacques Cartier Bridge), inaugurated on May 24, 1930.

In 1925, the Montreal Tramways Company created a Bus Division, like many other large cities with organized public transit. The Company acquired ten White buses and put them into regular service between Montreal-West and Lachine. On the same year, a "deluxe" service was inaugurated on Sherbrooke St. and St-Hubert St. The tramway employees were envious of the smart uniforms – baggy trousers, high boots – that the drivers of the new Bus Division wore. This is the year when the bus really made its entry in Montreal!

Also in 1925 and later years, another make of vehicle was added to the fleet of the Bus Division, the Yellow Coach; the company would buy 56 of these. The interior shows that improvements were brought to the passengers comfort: the seats are now upholstered and heating is available on cold days. In spite of the rise of the bus, the managers of the company were very cautious in their opinion on the subject. On this matter the Annual Report for 1926 says:

"Owing to the popularity of the Autobus Service the Company is now operating ten autobus routes in the City and environs.

During the fiscal year the number of buses in operation has been increased from 24 to 55, and ten additional buses, each having a seating capacity of 33 passengers, have been ordered for delivery early in February.

In order to provide for the proper housing and maintenance of the Company's autobuses a large extension to the St-Henry Garage was completed during the year, this garage now having capacity for 85 vehicles under cover.

Your Directors, however, desire to point out that the Autobus service is only on trial and that the increased service is given with a view of meeting the wishes of the public and in an endeavour to relieve the traffic congestion."

In 1927 the Bus Division kept on growing; not only did the company announce that more buses were being added to its network, but it also declared that for the first time buses had replaced tramways on a line. In fact, the managers of the company were having headaches because of two crossings to be installed, one over the rails of the transcontinental railway and the second one over the Lachine Canal. Since the City had planned to widen Guy Street that same year, the company took advantage of the road work to remove all the urban rail infrastructure and replace the tramway service by a bus route on this line. When speaking of this specific change, the company's records say: "[...] We are pleased to state that the Autobus Service has given a more rapid and satisfactory service between Pointe St-Charles and the upper section of the City, and has been favourably commented upon by our patrons."

The new vehicles trials did not always have happy endings; for instance, the bad experience of the "Atwater Street Monster". Bus number 800 made by the Versare Company was a huge machine powered by a compound gas-electric motor.

The Atwater Street Monster in 1927

In 1930 the company decided to try out vehicles from Leyland Co., a British firm. Tramways officials judged these buses to be quite satisfactory, and found that prices and quality were excellent due to the existing competition between bus manufacturers. That same year the Company begins to look at the possibility to add trolley buses. The Annual Report says:

"Operations of the Bus Department offer satisfactory evidence that the use of 'free-wheel' vehicles may be expected to solve many of our transportation problems, especially in outside areas during the early period of development.

Your Company is following all new developments of automotive equipment and trolley coaches.

[...] The use of trolley coaches under certain limited conditions is also receiving careful attention."

The company found it important in 1931 to take a close look at the evolution of the bus service for the previous six years. The following table is from the 1931 Annual Report:

The autobus service which was inaugurated in 1925 as a feeder to the tramways system has expanded so rapidly that it now operates in many sections of the City and in some outside areas. Its progress can best be appreciated by the following figures:

In order to understand the relative position of the bus in Montreal's transit system at that time, a glance at the figures for the tramways in 1930 reveals that the total mileage for this division was 29 305 545, and the total number of paying passengers carried was 227 136 581.

The Great Depression of the 30s was reflected in the company's bus order book. The organization would wait a few years before buying more vehicles. However, in the summer of 1934, representatives of the company went abroad in order to study some of England's transit systems as well as their operation methods. Back in Montreal, these travelers claimed: "[...] Trolley cars are still the mainstay of urban transportation in cities of the size of Montreal but trolley and gas buses have an important place as adjuncts to the trolley car ."

In 1935, it was decided to go ahead with a pilot-project to test trolley buses. The proposed test route was to be on Beaubien Street.

During the year 1936, the tramway network shrank once more with the removal of the tracks on Notre-Dame Street east of George V and also on Broadway Street in Montreal-East. This eastern part of the rail transit system was replaced by a bus service.

On March 29, 1937, trolley bus service began on Beaubien Street. The initial fleet consisted of seven vehicles purchased in England and "considered as the finest vehicle of this type now in operation" according to tramway officials. By the end of the year, the company found that the trolley buses had rendered very satisfactory service and that the costs had been within the company's estimates. Nevertheless, it was decided to analyse the operations of this type of vehicle for a longer period before drawing any conclusions.

Life during the first half of the forties was in beat with the Second World War. This period represented the ridership peak in the history of urban transit in Montreal. Tramway lines were running at full capacity in order to bring all the duty-bound workers (including the new women workers!) to the war factories. The most part of the nation's industrial production being reserved for army needs, it was quite difficult to purchase transit vehicles. A co-ordinator was named by the federal government with the responsibility to look at an equal distribution between all Canadian cities of all new transit vehicles being manufactured. The situation was so difficult that Montreal Tramways officials shouted it from the rooftops when they managed to buy 11 used tramway cars in good condition.

The Kangaroos! That's what the bus drivers called the 800 series Mack buses. Since they were not equiped with a clutch, leaving a street corner was a rather jumpy experience!

Along with the prosperity period of the post-war years, the individual automobile gained popularity; it started to impose upon in the streets, and traffic jams started to become commonplace. The company's Annual Reports stated that the difficult traffic conditions were causing increased operation costs. On the other hand, without admitting it, the officials gave greater place to the bus in the network; more and more maintenance depots were adapted to the needs of buses.

On June 16, 1951, the transit authority became public property under the responsibility of the Montreal Transportation Commission according to a by-law adopted at the Legislative Assembly of Québec (now the National Assembly). Quick to react, the newly-born administration planned to substitute buses to tramways on all of its network, as well as undertaking studies for the implementation of a rapid transit system. The substitution plan was completed so swiftly that reading the annual reports of the Commission can feel like reading a suspense novel! The replacement was executed in eight years; the last rail car to circulate in the city did so on August 30, 1959; it was then stored in what used to be the Mount-Royal car barn but was by then a bus depot. The overhead wiring would stay for a few years since it was used by the trolley buses; these were maintained in service until soon before the inauguration of the Montreal metro in 1966. From then on the street level public transit has been strictly a bus affair in Montreal.

The Commission also worked to normalize its bus fleet. The vehicle inventory inherited from the Tramways Company included too many different makes of buses. The Commission finally chose diesel powered Canadian Car/Brill buses – a chassis built by Canadian Car Foundry in Lachine and a Brill motor from England. Any Montreal transit user of the period ranging from the 50's to the early 80's will certainly recall the Brills, with their brown livery and a thin red stripe, and the characteristic purring of their motor. In the earlier models of this bus, only a suspended cloth separated the driver and the passengers. And on cold winter days, it was usual to see the driver muffled in a heavy coat and holding the steering wheel with thick gloves.

Montreal transit's newborn, the Novabus, debuted in the 90s. Besides its exterior look, this vehicle represents a big change from its predecessors since it is a low-floor bus. This type of vehicle was preferred first to improve the access to senior citizens – a group of users on the rise – and also to give wheelchair users access to the regular network. These buses were not very popular at, since they suffered from many technical problems. Moreover, an unfortunate event took place in early 1999 when all of the low-floor buses had to be withdrawn for two full winter weeks, due to a mechanical failure! But all of this is now history and recent surveys carried out among our users reveal that these buses are gaining in general approval, mostly since the recent changes brought to the inside layout of these vehicles.

Bibliography

• A few dates
• The years leading up to the metro 1910-1966
• The origin of the STM