The Niagara Parks Commission People Mover was a tourist-oriented,

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

service in the city of

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

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 C ...

, Canada. It was operated by the

Niagara Parks Commission The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River. History The Commission was founded in 1885 and charged with preserving and ...

from 1985 to 2012. It linked various tourist sights and attractions along the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

side of the

and the gorge downstream of it. The People Mover buses replaced the ''Victoria Park Viewmobile'', which had begun service in 1971 in an effort to ease traffic congestion in

Queen Victoria Park Queen Victoria Park is the main parkland located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada opposite the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Established by the Niagara Falls Park Act in 1885 and opened in 1888, the park is operated by the Niagara Par ...

. The Viewmobiles were two red towing trailers attached to a tractor truck, and served the boundaries of the park, as well as the adjacent Dufferin Islands. The Viewmobiles were retired from service when the new People Mover system launched in time for the 1985 tourist season. The buses were unusual in that they operated as two-unit buses, comprising a motor unit towing a separate trailer. It should not be confused with the city transit bus service, operated by

Niagara Falls Transit Niagara Falls Transit operates the public transport bus services in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. Established in 1960, Niagara Transit originally operated ten routes. In 2007 the operation of Niagara Transit was taken over by the transportat ...

, although that also had provided shuttle bus service to the falls area from various parts of the city. The People Mover service was discontinued in 2012, when the Niagara Parks Commission partnered with Niagara Falls Transit and the City of Niagara Falls to bring new, fully accessible vehicles into service, together with a new identity as the

WEGO Niagara Falls Visitor Transportation WEGO Visitor Transportation System (WEGO) is a bus system in Niagara Falls, Ontario jointly operated by Niagara Falls Transit and the Niagara Parks Commission. It replaced Niagara Falls Transit's Falls Shuttle, as well as the Niagara Parks Commi ...

system.

Service

The service operated along a single route along the

Niagara Parkway The Niagara Parkway, formerly known as Niagara Boulevard and historically as the Niagara Road, is a scenic road in the province of Ontario that travels on the Canadian side of the Niagara River from the town of Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake. ...

from Table Rock Point by the

Horseshoe Falls Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, flows ...

, downstream to the

Floral Clock A floral clock, or flower clock, is a large decorative clock with the clock face formed by carpet bedding, usually found in a park or other public recreation area. Most have the mechanism set in the ground under the flowerbed, which is then pla ...

in the north. The stops along the route served attractions including: * The

Journey Behind the Falls Journey Behind the Falls (known until the early 1990s as the ''Scenic Tunnels'') is an attraction in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada located in the Table Rock Centre beside the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. It is open year round and run by the Niag ...

* The ''

Maid of the Mist The Maid of the Mist is a sightseeing boat tour of Niagara Falls, starting and ending on the American side, crossing briefly into Canada during a portion of the trip. The fleet currently consists of two vessels, both of which launched in 2020. ...

'' boat cruise * The foot of the Clifton Hill tourist promenade * The Whirlpool Aero Car At Table Rock Point, the People Mover connected with a free shuttle bus to and from the Rapidsview parking lot, with its hotels and casinos. The service operated every 20 minutes from April to October each year. A single all-day ticket, issued as a sticker, allowed passengers to hop on and off the buses along the route. Fares for 2011 ended as follows: * Adult $8.85* Children 6-12 $5.35* Children under 5 FREE The WEGO Green Line now follows much of the same route as the former People Mover, and continues to be operated by the Parks Commission (as opposed to the Red and Blue Lines, which are operated by Niagara Falls Transit). Since 2013, a separate shuttle service operated during the peak season essentially extends the line as a shuttle to Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Fleet

The service was operated by a fleet manufactured by

Orion 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 ...

between 1985 and 1989 exclusively for the Parks Commission. It consisted of a combination of powered motor units equipped with

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

s and

drivetrain A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...

s, and unpowered trailer units which were coupled to and towed behind motor units to increase capacity during peak periods. Both motor units and trailers had a single set of double-leafed

plug door A plug door is a door designed to seal itself by taking advantage of pressure difference on its two sides and is typically used on aircraft with cabin pressurization. The higher pressure on one side forces the usually wedge-shaped door into its ...

s for entry and exit, and despite the buses having a

low-floor Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i. ...

design, they were not

wheelchair-accessible Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible development ensures both "direct access" (i.e ...

. The motor units were powered by

liquified petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking ...

, then considered an unusual fuel type. The fleet contained: * 13x Orion IV 04.501 - motor units * 12x Orion IV 04.502 - trailers With the replacement of the People Mover by the WEGO system, the Orion IV fleet was retired and scrapped in favour of modern, wheelchair-accessible Nova Bus LFX 40-foot and 60-foot

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were sometim ...

vehicles. Entire Orion IV fleet sold to private buyer in late 2012.

References

External links

Unofficial web page about the Niagara Falls People Mover
{{clr Transport in Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Parks Commission

Service

Fleet

See also

References

External links