The Flexity Outlook is the latest model of streetcar in the rolling stock of the Toronto streetcar system owned by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Based on the Bombardier Flexity, they were first ordered in 2009 and were built by Bombardier Transportation in Thunder Bay and Kingston, Ontario, with specific modifications for Toronto, such as unidirectional operation and the ability to operate on the unique broad Toronto gauge ().
Excluding the TTC's heritage collection of a few older streetcars, the entire active streetcar fleet consists of Flexity Outlook vehicles. They replaced the Canadian Light Rail Vehicle (CLRV) and its articulated counterpart, the Articulated Light Rail Vehicle (ALRV), which were all retired in December 2019.
The Flexity Outlook is the first modern low-floor and accessible streetcar used in the city, improving access for people with disabilities, the elderly and people travelling with small children. With a length of over , they are the largest single-unit streetcars ever used by the TTC. They have four sliding doors, air conditioning, seating for up to 70 passengers, and an interior bicycle rack. The vehicles are equipped with two on-board fare vending machines (FVM) along with Presto card readers. The introduction of the vehicle led to the use of a proof-of-payment (POP) system with all-door boarding and alighting.
Line 5 Eglinton uses a similar Flexity Freedom light rail vehicle, which—like the Flexity Outlook—is also a low-floor accessible vehicle. The two models are not compatible for several reasons, including track gauge.
Features The vehicle is based on Bombardier's standardized Flexity Outlook product, which is also used in cities like Brussels, Marseille, and Geneva, but tailored to Toronto's needs. Specific design requirements included use of TTC's unique broad track gauge rather than standard gauge, the ability to handle a tight turning radius of , single-point switches, the ability to climb the city's steep hills and valleys, clearance, and ability to upgrade from trolley poles to a more modern pantograph current collection system. At in length, the Flexity Outlook is almost twice as long as the TTC's older streetcars, with five articulated sections. Unlike previous streetcars used in Toronto, the vehicle is low-floor and accessible with major mechanical and electrical components mounted on the roof.
Accessibility
The Flexity Outlook streetcars are the TTC's first low-floor streetcars, and they are accessible for passengers using wheelchairs or mobility devices. Only one step is needed to board at any door, making accessing the streetcar easier for older people, pregnant women, people travelling with small children, or those travelling with heavy luggage.
An extendable loading ramp for riders using wheelchairs, strollers or other mobility devices is located at the second set of doors of the vehicle. A passenger can signal the operator to deploy the ramp by pressing the blue accessibility button by the inside or outside of this door. The ramp has two modes: if the streetcar stop is alongside a curb or raised platform, only a short portion is extended (the operator can open the ramp either from inside the driver booth or from the outside of the vehicle); if only street level is available, the operator will exit the vehicle and a further length of the ramp would extend to allow access at that level. According to Greg Ernst, the TTC's chief streetcar engineer, each Flexity streetcar deploys its ramp four times a day on average.
Inside the vehicle, there is one wheelchair-accessible area at the second door, with the capacity for two mobility aids, as well as three priority seating areas for people with disabilities, older adults, and pregnant women, located at the first, second and third door.
Fare collection
In the Flexity Outlook streetcars, a proof-of-payment (POP) system is used at all times. This is because the operator is not responsible for fare collection since the operator sits inside a closed cab. Under the POP system, passengers are required to carry proof that they have paid their fares, such as a paper transfer receipt or a tapped-in Presto card or contactless credit and debit card.
The Flexity streetcars have six Presto fare readers on them (with one reader at front and rear single doors and two readers at the middle double doors), where customers can tap their Presto card or contactless credit and debit card upon boarding to pay their fares or validate transfers. The ability to pay with a contactless credit or debit card was introduced in August 2023 as part of a system-wide TTC rollout.
Passengers paying with exact cash in coins can use one of the two onboard fare vending machines (FVM) located at the middle double doors and obtain a single-ride paper ticket, which acts as POP and to use as a transfer on other connecting TTC routes. From December 2015 until December 2018, FVMs also accepted single-fare payments by contactless credit and debit cards. At the time, the Flexity streetcars were the only surface vehicles in the TTC network where this form of payment was accepted; however, this feature was removed because it caused FVMs to malfunction.
Audible warning signals The Flexity streetcars have both a gong and a horn. Instead of the mechanical gongs used on older vehicles, the Flexity Outlook vehicles use an amplified digital recording of a gong. They are also the first vehicles to have built-in electronic horns fleet-wide upon delivery, while most of the CLRV and ALRV streetcars had their horns installed in the late 1990s. Despite the Flexity Outlook vehicles being heavy-duty streetcars, their horns are similar to those used on TTC buses or regular automobiles. The gong and the horn can be heard from both ends of the vehicle.
Destination sign The Flexity Outlook streetcars are the TTC's first streetcars to be outfitted with amber digital LED destination and run number signs rather than manually operated roller blinds used on older vehicles. The destination signs are posted at the front, rear, and sides of the vehicle, which identify the route number, name, and destination. Older vehicles only displayed the route number and destination for brevity. The Flexity streetcars also display two blue bullseye lights on the front to indicate that they are accessible vehicles.
Automated voice announcement system As with all TTC vehicles, the Flexity Outlook streetcars have on-board automated audible and visual next stop announcements, which are broadcast over the vehicle's interior public address (PA) system and on overhead signs. They were also the first vehicleswhen they were introduced in 2014to be outfitted with external PA systems that announce the vehicle's route and destination, andunlike other TTC vehiclesit can be used for live operator-based public service announcements.
Bicycle rack The Flexity Outlook streetcars have a bicycle rack, which is located inside the vehicle, by the third set of doors from the front and can store two standard-sized bicycles arranged parallel to the streetcar itself. The rack also has a retractable pull-out strap to help hold one of the bicycles in place.
Wheel squeal The Flexity Outlook streetcars are equipped with an on-board wheel lubrication system to reduce squeal when the streetcars go around sharp curves. The TTC is also developing a wheel-mounted noise damping ring to further reduce high-pitch squeal, and hopes to begin prototype testing in the fourth quarter of 2017. The TTC is working to install improved lubrication system units at streetcar loops that are activated by the passage of a Flexity Outlook vehicle. These provide partial solutions to the problem. Other factors affecting wheel squeal on Flexity Outlook streetcars are: The sharper the radius, the greater the chance of squealing. Weather conditions such as rain, snow, humidity and temperature fluctuation can affect streetcar noise levels. Rainfall and other forms of precipitation washes lubricant away.
Selection process
With the TTC's former streetcar fleet nearing the end of its service life, the Commission began looking for a manufacturer to build new streetcars. In June 2007, the TTC launched a public consultation on the design of its new streetcars, including an online survey, and displays at Finch and Scarborough Centre stations, the Albion Centre, and Yonge–Dundas Square (now Sankofa Square). Mockups of the Flexity Swift (as used in Minneapolis) and Siemens Combino Plus (predecessor to the Siemens Avenio) were on display at the 2007 Canadian National Exhibition in front of the Enercare Centre, then known as the Direct Energy Centre.
On September 19, 2007, the TTC published their specifications for the "LF LRV", as they called the proposed new streetcars. The specifications required that the vehicle would be compatible with the TTC's existing tracks, with tight turning radii of , good hill-climbing ability given the city's topography with steep ravines, and compatibility with single-leaf switches. The tender requested a streetcar of , with multiple points of articulation, and three powered bogies.
Though the document stated that the TTC would accept a well-designed 70 percent low-floor streetcar, it decided to seek a 100-percent low-floor design, with folding ramps that could be fitted at the doors to allow stepless boarding where platforms were not available. The fleet replacing the CLRVs and ALRVs was to remain single-ended with doors on the right only, and to retain current collection by trolley pole, but the TTC also requested that provision be made for future conversion to pantograph, and that the option of buying a bi-directional version of the streetcar for new lines be available. Provision was to be made for ticket-vending machines on board, rather than have the driver take fares.
Bidding process Bombardier, Siemens, AnsaldoBreda, Mytram, Vossloh Kiepe, and Kinki Sharyo all expressed interest in competing to supply the new streetcars, but most dropped out of the bidding at various stages. While the TTC expressed interest in the vehicles built by Škoda for the Portland Streetcar, that company did not submit a bid. Siemens gained a great deal of attention for its Combino Plus in 2007, with newspaper advertisements and a website, but eventually decided that "it was in [their] better interest not to bid". Only Bombardier and a small British firm, Tram Power, submitted bids.
Bombardier had displayed a mock-up of the Flexity Swift built for the Minneapolis project but later offered a variant of the Flexity Outlook to meet the 100-percent low-floor requirement, promoting it with a website called "The Streetcar Redefined". Tram Power's product was the Citytram, a prototype of which was being tested on the Blackpool Tramway until it caught fire on January 24, 2007.
On July 18, 2008, the TTC announced that both bids had been rejected – according to TTC chair Adam Giambrone, Bombardier's entry "would have derailed on Toronto streets", while TRAM Power's was not "commercially compliant" – and reopened the contract. Bombardier actively disputed this claim, adding that it could either supply a compliant vehicle or pay for of construction to make the TTC's track network compliant. The TTC entered into direct negotiations with three companies (Alstom, Siemens, and Bombardier) following its August 27, 2008, commission meeting.
On April 24, 2009, the TTC announced that it had chosen a customized version of the Flexity Outlook to replace the CLRV and ALRV fleet.
Contract award