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

articulated bus An articulated bus, also referred to as a slinky bus, bendy bus, tandem bus, vestibule bus, stretch bus, or an accordion bus, is an articulated vehicle, typically a motor bus or trolleybus, used in public transportation. It is usually a ...

marketed to Canadian transit operators by

Ontario Bus Industries Orion International was a North American bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada operated a subsidiary of Daimler Buses North America, a division of German automaker Mercedes-Benz Group, Daimler AG. The company had its main manu ...

(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 is the primary Transit district, public transport agency for the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operating bus rapid transit, light rail, conventional transit bus, bus routes, and door-to-door paratransit in the nation's capital regi ...

) 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 The Orion III fleets were retired prematurely due to corrosion, and all examples were withdrawn from service by 2003.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 is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

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

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

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 United States, U.S. market from 1980 until 1986, under a joint venture between the Ikarus (Hungarian company), Ikarus Body and Coach Works (Ikarus), of Budapest, Hungaria ...

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 wer ...

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 (company), conglomerate. It was involved in aircraft, the space industry, defense and commercial electronics, components in the automotive industry, printing presses, avioni ...

; 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 ar ...

in June 1985 for service through the

Detroit–Windsor Tunnel The Detroit–Windsor region is an international transborder agglomeration named for the American city of Detroit, Michigan, the Canadian city of Windsor, Ontario, and the Detroit River, which separates them. The Detroit–Windsor area acts as a ...

, then was sold to St. Catharines Transit 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 primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

(TTC) for 90 buses in 1986; the cost of the TTC contract was . As delivered to the TTC, the Orion III had 61 seats and had a capacity of 107 riders. The first 9 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 is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

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-demonstration bus from St. Catherines (for parts) *

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

operated 90 buses from late 1987 to 2003; some sold to

* St. Catharines Transit operated the ex-demonstration (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, date=11 February 2009 Articulated buses Former joint ventures Ikarus buses Step-entrance buses Buses of Canada Vehicles introduced in 1984