GMC T6H 5703N (Fishbowl) 2358

Location: Scarborough Town Center Station, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Operator of Vehicle: Toronto Transit Commission
Date of Photo: March 12, 2007

It has been a long time since the Toronto Blue Jays have played in the World Series.  Prior to the ongoing series, their last appearance was in 1993, 32 years ago.  At that time, the streets of Toronto were dominated by GMC “New Look” buses, nicknamed “Fishbowls” due to the appearance of their front windshields.  These buses were first ordered in 1959 and would be ordered many times through 1982, to the point the earliest New Looks were replaced by other New Looks.  (Technically, the last New Looks purchased by the TTC was a group of 20 second hand buses from Montreal that arrived in 1999).  When the TTC was cash strapped in the mid 1990s, the agency opted to rebuild were rebuilt some of the New Looks that were built between 1977 and 1983.  Some of these buses were rebuilt a second time in 2004.  However, the TTC also wished to introduce as many wheelchair lift equipped buses as possible (primarily the Orion V in the mid-1990s) and then low-floor buses (the Orion VII in the early 2000s) to make the fleet fully accessible.  This would result in the retirements of the New Looks, but it took a long time for the fleet to be fully replaced with newer buses.  The New Looks remained in service until the end of 2011.  With the last New Looks operating for 28 years, those buses had a service life that was almost as long as the Blue Jays’ gap between World Series appearances.  

For more photos of Toronto TTC buses, please click here.