The Orion-Ikarus 286, commonly known as the Orion III, was an

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a banana bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, wiggle wagon, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, (either a motor bus or trolleybus) is an articulated vehicle used in public transportation. It is usua ...

marketed to Canadian transit operators by

Ontario Bus Industries Orion Bus Industries, also known as Bus Industries of America in the United States, was a private bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. The company had its main manufacturing plant in Mississauga and sent bus body shells to t ...

(OBI). It was produced as a joint venture between Ikarus Body and Coach Works and OBI from 1985 to 1989, and deployed primarily in Ottawa (for

OC Transpo OC Transpo, officially the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Transit Commission, is the public transit agency for the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It operates an integrated hub-and-spoke system including light metro, bus rapid transit, conventional ...

) and Toronto (for the TTC). The Orion III fleets were retired prematurely due to corrosion, and all examples were withdrawn from service by 2003.

Production and design

Rolling

Ikarus 280 Ikarus 280 was an articulated bus produced by Hungarian bus manufacturer Ikarus from 1973 to 2002. It was succeeded by the Ikarus 435 in 1985. Construction features The Ikarus 280 is a model of the Ikarus 200 series. It is made of two rigid ...

shells (frame and body) were built by Ikarus in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, with modifications to conform with standard Canadian transit bus dimensions, and then shipped to OBI's plant in

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

via Montreal, where final assembly (including the installation of a domestic powertrain, doors, windows and seats) was performed. The Orion III was built from 1985 to 1989. Local assembly also was used for the similar

Crown-Ikarus 286 The Crown-Ikarus 286 is a type of transit bus that was manufactured for the U.S. market from 1980 until 1986, under a joint venture between the Ikarus Body and Coach Works (Ikarus), of Budapest, Hungary, and Crown Coach Corporation from Los Ange ...

for the United States, finished and sold by

Crown Coach Corporation The Crown Coach Corporation (founded as the Crown Carriage Company) is a defunct American bus manufacturer. Founded in 1904, the company was best known for its Supercoach range of yellow school buses and motorcoaches; the former vehicles were ...

in Los Angeles for the United States transit market. The bus used a "puller" design, with the engine driving the middle axle. All three axles were built by

Rockwell International Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avionics and industrial products. R ...

; the non-powered front and rear axles were Model FL-941, and the powered middle axle was Model 59742W, equipped with a standard 4.56:1 drive ratio. One demonstrator vehicle was assembled in 1984. It was later leased by

Transit Windsor Transit Windsor provides public transportation in the city of Windsor, Ontario, Canada as well as LaSalle, Essex, Kingsville, Amherstburg and Leamington and serves more than 6 million passengers each year (6.72 million in 2017), covering an area ...

in June 1985 for service through the

Detroit–Windsor Tunnel The Detroit–Windsor tunnel (french: tunnel de Détroit-Windsor), also known as the Detroit–Canada tunnel, is an international highway tunnel connecting the cities of Detroit, Michigan, United States and Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is the ...

, then was sold to

St. Catharines Transit St. Catharines Transit (SCT) provides bus service to St. Catharines, Ontario, and the neighbouring city of Thorold. The St. Catharines Transit Commission took over operation of transit services within the city from Canadian National Transportatio ...

in 1988. Eventually, the 1984 demo model was sold to

(serving Ottawa, Ontario) for parts.

Deployment

The first production contract was awarded to OBI by OC Transpo in November 1984. This was followed by an order from

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and largest ...

(TTC) for 90 buses in October 1986; the cost of the TTC contract was million. As delivered for TTC, the Orion III had 61 seats and had a crush capacity of 107 riders. The first nine Orion III buses for TTC were delivered in 1987 for acceptance testing, with revenue service anticipated to start in early 1988. In service, the Orion III prematurely developed corrosion, and were retired starting in 1995. By 2003, both OC Transpo and TTC had completely retired their Orion III fleets.

Operators

Four transit agencies used the Orion III, but only 3 had them on full roster: *

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

operated 189 buses from 1985 to 2003; the agency also acquired 25 ex-TTC Orion III buses in the late 1990s as well as the ex-Demo from St. Catherines (for parts) *

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

operated 90 buses from late 1987 to 2003 (retirement began in 1997-1998); some sold to

operated the ex-Demo (1984) Orion III from 1988 to the early 1990s.

Competitors

* GM New Look articulated (TA60-102N) * New Flyer D60(HF)

References

External links

CPTDB wiki
* * * {{cite web , url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/curtis55/albums/72157713881927181 , title=OC Transpo Orion III Ikarus 286 , website=flickr , author=concurtis Articulated buses Joint ventures Ikarus buses Step-entrance buses Buses of Canada Vehicles introduced in 1984