(October 6, 1947 - January 14, 1992, with reprieve in 1993)

See Also:

• A Chronological History of the 4 ANNETTE bus

Annette began operations on October 6, 1947 as a new route operating from Jane Loop at the end of the Bloor streetcar line, up Jane and along Annette and Dupont to Christie Loop at the end of the Dupont streetcar line. It was a trolley bus operation from the start, enhancing transit service in West Toronto. When it opened, it replaced a Jane bus (operating from Jane Loop via Jane, Annette, Runnymede and St. Clair to Keele Loop), portions of the Runnymede bus (operating from Bloor and Runnymede via Runnymede and Annette to loop at Dundas and Keele -- the Runnymede bus was realigned to run straight up Runnymede and St. Clair to Keele Loop) and the Lappin and Hallam Avenue portions of the Harbord Streetcar. As a result, it created a frequent cross-town route between the St. Clair and Bloor streetcar lines. operating through an area that needed transit service, but couldn't generate the traffic necessary to extend the Dupont streetcar west.

The service was originally conceived as a streetcar service. During the late 1920s, the TTC planned to extend the existing Dupont and Church streetcars west from Christie and Dupont, via Dupont, Dovercourt, Hallam and Lappin to Lansdowne Avenue. There, the route was to follow an extended Lappin to Dundas, and from there along Humberside, Keele, Annette and Jane. The onset of the Great Depression killed this proposal, along with a number of streetcar extension proposals. The Annette trolley bus was a resurrection of this proposal in trolley bus form.

The route was very stable. The biggest change occurred on February 28, 1963, when the University subway opened, and the Dupont streetcar was abandoned. At that time, the Annette route was extended eastward from Christie Loop (now abandoned and redeveloped), along Dupont, Davenport and Bedford to St. George station. At the other end, the 4 Annette was routed into Jane station when the Bloor-Danforth subway was extended in 1968. When the Spadina subway opened in 1978, transfers became available at Dupont station, but no off-street facility was provided.

The Annette trolley bus had few branches. 4A and 4B were signed (between St. George station and Royce Loop and Jane and Royce Loop respectively) but were not used in regular service. Instead, Royce Loop was the destination when the cars left service and headed for Lansdowne Garage. Short turn loops were also available at Runnymede, Keele and Ossington, but weren't used as scheduled short-turns.

Annette was never a major route, requiring 7 buses to provide 10 minute headways when the end came on January 14, 1992. It received a reprieve in 1993 when the decision was made to use the borrowed Edmonton trolley buses for the remainder of their lease, on the 6 BAY route. As the buses were stored at Lansdowne Garage, the Dupont wires had to be used anyway, so the remaining trolley buses plied the 4 Annette route to keep the trolley wires in operational condition. Since conversion to diesel buses, Annette has seen few changes, other than being redesignated 26 Dupont in 2001 to free up the route number 4 for the Sheppard subway.

Annette Images

	A pre-rebuild coach waits at Jane Loop at the end of the Annette line. The Bloor Danforth subway has not been extended to Islington, yet, so Jane Loop remains as a major interchange between the Bloor Streetcar, Jane buses and other routes serving the western suburbs. This picture is courtesy of Dave's Train Pictures and reprinted with permission.
	Rebuilt trolley bus 9200 pauses in one of the bus bays at St. George station. The Annette bus was extended here from Christie Loop when the University subway opened in 1963. This photo was taken by Alan Gryfe and is used with permission.
	Rebuilt trolley bus 9257 on Annette eastbound, crossing Keele Street on July 11, 1984. John J. Guion photograph.
	Annette buses pass each other in this photo by R. Hill, donated from the Rob Hutch collection.

References

• Bromley, John F., and Jack May Fifty Years of Progressive Transit, Electric Railroaders' Association, New York (New York), 1978.
• Corley, Ray F., Trolley Coach CC&F and Flyer Coaches, The Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto (Ontario), January 1987.
• Filey, Mike, The TTC Story: The First Seventy-Five Years, Dundurn Press, Toronto (Ontario) 1996.