Gray Coach 

Gray Coach was an inter-city bus line based in Toronto, Canada, from 1927 to 1991.

Contents

Overview and history

Gray Coach Lines was suburban bus operator founded in 1927 by the Toronto Transit Commission. From 1927 to the 1930s, Gray Coach acquired numerous and smaller competitors in the Greater Toronto Area. The operator eventually dominated inter-urban bus service by the end of the 1930s. Gray Coach used inter-urban coaches to link Toronto to outlying areas throughout Southern Ontario, such as Owen Sound, London, Kitchener, Guelph, Niagara Falls, Sudbury, North Bay, Barrie and Hamilton. Gray Coach also offered service to Buffalo, and in a pooling agreement with Greyhound, to New York City. In addition, Gray Coach operated sightseeing tour service in and around Toronto, eventually in association with Gray Line tours. The Gray Coach Lines also provided one-hour Motor Launch Tours of the lagoons off Toronto's harbour and of the waterfront. The main terminal was at the Toronto Bus Terminal on Elizabeth Street, downtown. A secondary terminal for parcel service was operated at the corner of Front St. and Sherbourne St.

Gray Coach was contracted to operate GO Transit bus service when the latter was inaugurated in 1971. Eventually some Gray Coach routes were incorporated to operate under GO Transit, including the routes to Hamilton, Oshawa and Port Perry. The contracting of GO Transit bus services ended in 1985, when GO Transit began to fully operate its bus services independently.

By the 1980s, Gray Coach faced fierce competition in inter-urban service in the Greater Toronto Area. In order to strengthen its position, Gray Coach bid to acquire inter-urban operator Trentway-Wagar Ltd. This transaction, however, was not completed. Facing budgetary pressure, the TTC decided to focus on its basic urban transit service. The TTC agreed to sell Gray Coach Lines in 1990 to British carrier Stagecoach Holdings Ltd. Stagecoach sold it to Greyhound Lines of Canada and Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services in 1993.

Gray Coach's Gray Line franchised tour operations were taken over by Greyhound Lines of Canada.

Roster

Historic and current buses used by the Gray Coach:

Product list and details
 Make/Model   Description   Fleet size   Year acquired   Year retired   Notes 
AEC/CCC Ranger Coach highway coach 4 1932-1934
Flxible Clippers highway coach acquired by Independent Bus Lines
General Motors Diesel Division Buses SDH-5302 glass-roof sightseeing bus for operation as Gray Line Worldwide franchisee
Motor Coach Industries MC-9 highway coach
Motor Coach Industries MC-5B highway coach
Motor Coach Industries 102A3 highway coach
General Motors Highway Palour Coach highway coach
Flyer Industries D901SS suburban bus 1981 used for Gray Line tours; 1 later transferred to TTC
Yellow Coach 743 coach

Stops

GCL operated at various locations across Toronto:

Facility details
 Terminal/Stop   Location   Notes 
(Metro) Toronto Bus Terminal Dundas Street West and Elizabeth Street Now used by Greyhound Canada, Coach Canada and other bus operators - terminal owned by the TTC
Toronto Pearson International Airport Terminal 1 (former) and 2 - Arrival and Departure levels Served by TTC and other private charters at Terminal 1 (new) and 3; formerly served terminal 2
Downtown hotels N/A Now served by Pacific Western Bus Line's Airport Express Aeroport
Islington subway station Islington Avenue and Bloor Street West No longer in use; TTC Airport Rocket Route 192 operating out of Kipling Station
Yorkdale Bus Terminal Yorkdale Shopping Centre Now used by Greyhound, GO Transit and Ontario Northland Motor Coach Services
York Mills subway station York Mills Road and Yonge Street - old bus platforms terminal demolished and now served as GO Transit terminal within York Mills Centre
Jane Loop Jane Street and Bloor Street West Demolished, office building stands on site
North Yonge Terminal Glen Echo Road and Yonge Street abandoned upon opening of York Mills, now a Loblaws supermarket
Finch Bus Terminal Yonge Street and Bishop Avenue Now serving GO Transit, Viva, York Region Transit and Brampton Transit; private charters
Sunnyside Bus Terminal Queen Street West, Roncesvalles Avenue, King Street West, and The Queensway West Toronto (Roncesvalles Village) Pick-up and drop off location at corner of Roncesvalles Carhouse, now a McDonald's

City routes

Toronto city routes once travelled by Gray Coach:

Other Interurban Operators

A list of independent operators acquired by Gray Coach:

See also