Royal Island Transit Authority 97-9150 - 97-9299

Royal Island Transit Authority 97-9150 - 97-9299 are Orion V (05.501) buses built in 1997. All of them have four leaf push bar operated exit doors

These buses were ordered in 1996, and built and delivered in 1997. The original order consisted of 80 buses, 97-9150 – 97-9229. In November 1996, the RITA specified that the last 10 buses of the order would be CNG powered. In January 1997, an extra 70 units were added to the order. These would, again, be diesel powered.

97-9220 – 97-9229 were converted to diesel operation in 2002-2003. 97-9228 was the first unit outshopped in May 2002. It retained its redundant CNG tank until its midlife rebuild in 2007, while the rest of the units lost their tanks during the conversion.

The entire series was equipped with wheelchair lifts, the RITA's first attempt to establish wheelchair-accessible service on its bus network. They were the final high floor buses purchased by the RITA. Initially, the first 80 buses were allocated to Warden Grove garage, while the last 70 were sent to Logan. Following the conversion to diesel, 97-9225 – 97-9229 were sent to Logan. Aside from a brief spell between August 2012 and March 2013, in which 97-9225 – 97-9229 were sent to Warden Grove once more, the assignments have remained the same.

These buses are considered to be the most heavily used in the entire fleet. The delivery of 150 D60LFs in 2000-2001 took some strain off of the fleet, but they continued to be used heavily on the busiest routes and it wasn't until the arrival of the Orion VIIs in 2005-2007 that they were finally relieved.

These buses were cycled through the midlife rebuild program between 2007 and 2010. At this point, they were equipped with bikeracks, and are the only high floor buses in the RITA's fleet with them.

These buses can be found on any route, but are most commonly seen on 8 Humberline, 72 Peckham, 74 Castle Frank, 88 Parkdale, 97 Jarvis, 100 Feher Road and 107 Driftwood.  