Flash Player 9 Required1930
1930
Western Auto and Truck Body Works founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba by John Coval with five employees. They built their first bus for Red River Motor Coach Lines. 1933
1933
Manitoba Motor Transit Ltd. was founded, operating bus routes from Brandon Manitoba to points throughout Northern and western Manitoba. A Western Auto and Truck Body Works bus was on the first regularly-scheduled route into the northern community of Swan River, Manitoba. 1940
1940
Developed 12-passenger sedan for, now century-old, Brewster Transport Ltd. in Banff, Alberta. Brewster ordered hundreds of buses of various custom designs throughout this, their expansion era. The open-top buses built by Western Auto and Truck Body Works had Ford chassis. Later, some of the first glass-top buses built by Western were delivered to Brewster. 1941
1941
Western Auto and Truck Body Works introduced the 28-passenger Western Flyer, - the first front-engine, intercity bus. These buses had the engine inside the coach body in the front. A variety of engines were offered primarily the International Red Diamond 450 gasoline engine. One Western Flyer bus for International Transit Ltd. had a British Leyland chassis and diesel engine. 1943
1943
Developed the first Brucks, combination passenger and freight vehicles. Canadian Coachways, Ltd. operated a number of Brucks in Canada's far north for a number of years. 1945
1945
Renamed Western Flyer Coach Ltd. 1946
1946
Delivered two sightseeing buses to Salt Lake Transportation Co., believed to be the first time a Canadian firm had sold to the US. 1949
1949
Built more than 350 buses for troop transportation for the Canadian Department of National Defense and for the US Air Force over a 20-year period. Built C-40 and T-40 both for the armed forces and for inter-city and transit bus companies. The International Red Diamond 450 gasoline engines were most commonly used. Buda, Dodge and Ford engines were specified by some Western Flyer customers. 1950
1950
Built three buses for the Department of National Defense. Additional air-intake louvres replaced the destination sign and the bus had one two-leaf folding door. The design was adapted to build one C-33 city bus, the first Western Flyer city bus. It had two bi-fold passenger doors and was in service by Northern Bus Lines, Ltd. in Flin Flon, a rugged northern Manitoba mining center. 1953
1953
Western Flyer introduced the Canuck, an entirely new design that accommodated 33 passengers and had a choice of the International Red Diamond engine or a Cummins diesel engine. It was the first rear-engine bus built by Western. 1955
1955
Manufactured four "deck-and-a-half" Model T36-40 2L buses for three Manitoba intercity bus companies.
1958
1958
Introduced P-41 Canuck, which was larger than the 1953 Canuck, carrying up to 41 passengers and had a Cummins JT6B diesel engine. 1964
1964
Expanded into the new Fort Garry Winnipeg plant due to exceptional growth and in preparation for expansion into transit bus manufacturing.
1967
1967
Introduced the Canuck 600 for the intercity market.
1968
1968
Developed the first 700E electric trolley coach. First order of the restyled coach was by Toronto Transit Commission (part of a 150-bus and trolley bus order). 1971
1971
Renamed Flyer Industries Ltd. 19673
1973
Developed the successful Series 800 buses. Over the next six years, Flyer would build 580 diesel buses and 558 trolley coaches. 1977
1977
Delivered 343 E800 trolley coaches to San Francisco Municipal Railway. 1978
1978
Developed D901 with a curved front body and curved glass windshield sections to maximize visibility 1986
1986
Flyer Industries acquired by Jan den Oudsten Renamed and New Flyer Industries. 1988
1988
![]() Developed and tested first low-floor bus in North America. Today, 85% of all buses in North America use this technology. This design increased accessibility for physically disabled persons to allow greater independence. 1992
1992
Delivered first low-floor bus to Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. 1993
1993
First manufacturer to implement programmable logic controlled (PLC) multiplexing on all bus models. 1994
1994
Delivered the first compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in North America and worked with Ballard Power Systems to develop the world's first hydrogen fuel cell powered bus. 1996
1996
Introduced first articulated low-floor bus. 1998
1998
Delivered first diesel-electric hybrid bus.
1999
1999
Introduced first premium low-floor bus, the Invero 2002
2002
Introduced in Seattle, Washington first 60' articulated diesel-electric hybrid bus. This led to the largest single order for diesel-electric buses in North American transit bus history (Seattle, Washington) in 2003.
2004
2004
Acquired by Harvest Partners and Lightyear Capital.
2005
2005
Delivered first restyled trolley buses to Vancouver Transit: Vancouver as the debut of New Flyer's new style exterior.
2006
2006
Named to Canada’s Top 100 Employers List for second consecutive year.
2007
2007
Named to Canada’s Top 100 Employers List for third consecutive year.
2008
2008
Signed Exclusive Agreement with Ballard for use of Fuel Cell Modules in Shuttle Buses.
2009
2009
Hosts United States Vice President Joe Biden and the Middle Class Task Force Town Hall Meeting.
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