Fairview Transit

Fairview Transit (FT) is a fictional municipal transport agency that serves the fictional city of Fairview, on the Roblox platform. It operates bus, and rapid transit routes within the fictional City of Fairview and its surrounding areas. The group is currently owned by NightlyBasis, and has roughly 2400 members as of November 2020. Its motto is "Moving you forward" and the current livery introduced in June 2020. Fairview Transit draws inspiration out of the Greater Toronto Area transport network and other agencies around the world, most notably North American systems.

Humble Beginnings
The agency was founded by Aerolitics (formerly yom3i, iDarknessGaming, livalds) and isaacbeyo in June 2017. Originally, the company operated at Division, operated by Isaac Transportation Commission (ITC), a subsidiary company that operated maps based on real life. The map was created by isaacbeyo. This map was a TTC map, which operated real routes from the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The 'Division' operated routes Line 1 Shuttle Bus, 42C, 52, 60, 7, and 97. This division used the Orion VII OG and NG, and Nova Bus LFS created by TrainsOnEdge. As time went on, more buses were added, the New Flyer D40LF, Orion V, and Orion VI created by isaacbeyo and NightlyBasis (formerly TheMCcreeper71), who was only a developer at the time. Other buses would later be created, the D40LFR, the XD40, and the Alexander Dennis 300. The latter was delivered in Fairview Transit Livery of light blue, white, and black, rather than a TTC livery. These buses used the original chassis from the OG's and NG's. These original buses would later on be called "GEN1" buses, after the unveiling of GEN4 in 2018. In late July 2017, Cedarbrook Division opened. This was the first division solely operated and owned by Fairview Transit. The Division closed, and Cedarbrook was the only division in service. The first Fairview Transit buses were Thomas SLFs bought from TransitTech to get the company up and running. These vehicles were 8 Thomas SLF 230s with white LED displays and were consolidated to Cedarbrook Division. They were retired only a few weeks later after the model was apparently stolen and leaked. Subsuqently, Cedarbrook closed and Division was re-opened to the public. This makes Cedarbrook Division the division with the shortest lifespan at Fairview, with a mere two months in operation. In late August, Fairview Transit opened Line 4 Westwood. This map was loosely based on Line 4 Sheppard of the Toronto Transit Commission. This line used GEN2 Bombardier T1s built by isaacbeyo and NightlyBasis. GEN2 vehicles were the first vehicles to be created in-house. The GEN2 T1s were click controlled and were one-car sets. This meant that operators had to reverse down the line when switching directions. This map too was short-lived, as the line was shut down after several raids led by Maxim88183 had forced the line to close down.

At the end of the month, Aerolitics retired, and group ownership was transferred to NightlyBasis. Aerolitics would however later return to the group in the future.

Starting Again
After Line 4 Westwood closed, the only map Fairview Transit was operating out of was "Division". With Line 4 Westwood closing and with a new owner, Fairview Transit changed its style and started to move away from copying TTC maps, and began to use its own map and system.

Line C opened in September 2017. It used the GEN2 Bombardier T1 (from Line 4 Westwood), and Hawker-Siddeley H4, H5, and H6s. While the subway fleet was based on TTC from the design to the fleet number, the map did have original station designs and inspiration from TTC in real life. Although the map was designed for three-car trainsets, the map operated with one-car trains due to the design and technology limitations of the developers at the time. This meant trains did not have cab switching, and operators had to reverse driving the opposite direction, much like Line 4. The fleet, however, did come equipped with working roll signs. Trains were constantly updated, as Line C was a prominent map at the time.

In October 2017, the Fairview Transit Training Campus was opened. All vehicles training were to be held at this map, as it contained its own vehicles and subway, RT, and bus courses.

In early November of 2017, Line H was opened. Line H was intended to be a loop line, to be opened in phases. During the initial opening, one a quarter of the line (Harrington North - 70th North) was completed. As these trains were GEN2, trains were single-car UTDC Mark I units with only one cab at the front. But because this line was intended to be a loop, certain trains would be assigned to run in one direction around a circular line (Odd number units clockwise, vice versa).

Line H served as the pilot map of the novel GEN2 buses. These buses, running on the Line H Subway Shuttle, acted as supplementary units in the event of a breakdown or delay. Only GEN2 Orion VII OGs (Diesel, HEV, CNG) were delivered to this map. The GEN2 buses were delivered in the blue Fairview livery. A two-car test train, consisting of cars 005 and 007 (as a trailer) was also added around late November, but could not handle the turns on the line, leading to 007 having its cab re-installed and uncoupled from 005 by the end of the month.

In late November, Rory Division was opened to the public. This map used GEN2 buses during its opening and has been the most heavily used since its opening. Vehicles feature sounds recorded from real vehicles that are somewhat synchronized with acceleration and deceleration. Rory also featured Fairview Transit's first fare payment system, BluCard. When Rory Division first opened, it used only Orion VII OGs from Line H. However as time went on, the fleet expanded to add Orion Vs, Orion VIs, Orion VII NGs, New Flyer D40LFs, and New Flyer D40LFRs. These GEN2 buses also operated at Fairview Transit's subsidiary group, Isaac Transit Commission's (ITC) YRT Division, which operated York Region Transit routes modelled on real-life York Region routes.

Much like Line C, Line H and Rory were also constantly updated to add new features. However, Line H's full loop was never completed, and Rory Division never got more routes than it had when it first opened.

Rory was also used as testing grounds for the DS-C (Destination Sign - Coded) System. This system featured coded displays for routes, fill-in custom displays for CS displays, and external announcements on buses. Only rebuilt/refurbished buses would receive the DS-C system. Rebuilt buses were part-reduced and featured a new navy blue livery with the new logo and new company colours. The rebuilt Orion VII OGs also served as test buses for meshed union parts, something never done to a Roblox transit system vehicle at the time. However, mesh parts weren't used on any other bus, as they did not display a significant improvement in performance.

Sometime during an unknown date while the GEN2 buses were being refurbished, the Training Campus was closed due to a decline in subway runs. It was also closed due to performance issues. Today, it is open to the public as a legacy place, with plans to later convert it into a museum.

Attempted Upgrades
In mid-2018, the company was planning to revamp its bus fleet to make it more realistic, as well as overhaul the entire system along with new models to the fleet. Their new in-house built dynamic steering chassis was first tested out on Isaac Transit Commission maps (YRT and Zum Divisions) with the GEN3 New Flyer D40LF. At the same time, Fairview Transit was in the process of making a GEN3 Orion VII OG, and debuting it at a new map named 'Routes 11/X1'. However as the release date was pushed more and more, it became apparent that the planned map and the OG would not be released in the foreseeable future. The GEN3 OG would only be completed later on, at the end of GEN3's lifespan in late 2019. Rory Division was quickly ageing and Filtering Enabled rendered GEN2 buses unusable. On top of that, the GEN2 rail fleet was quickly falling behind in terms of technology compared to other transit groups in the community. Fairview Transit urgently needed new technology to stay afloat.

In July 2018, Fairview Transit released its new smart card system, known as "Fairpass". This system would be implemented on its bus fleet, then moving to the subway system. It boasted unique features, such as left-click to tap, and time-based transfers. The company used the slogan "Tap your mouse or screen to tap your Fairpass!" to advertise the new change. In an attempt to update fleet, unrebuilt GEN2 buses would continue to be refurbished under the new logo and tri-colour scheme, complete with the DS-C and Fairpass systems.

With Rory Division closed by the end of summer 2018 due to the Filtering Enabled update, it was ultimately decided that ITC would be fully absorbed by Fairview Transit. All ITC staff would now work at FT, and maps YRT Division and Zum Division were handed over to Fairview Transit. During the Filtering Enabled crisis, Line H was the sole division for Fairview, as GEN2 trains were unaffected by the update. As a result, only GEN2 trains were used at that time. Line C had been subsuquently officially closed at this time, as that map had quickly deteriorated as Roblox updates started to break the game.

In Autumn of 2018, a test GEN2 Orion V was successfully converted to be compatible with Filtering Enabled, complete with the DS-C System and keyboard controls. It was decided that this technology would be moved over to GEN3 buses. As a result, YRT Division (formerly under the ownership of ITC) reopened with solely D40LFs. Outdated maps such as Lines C and H and Zum and Rory Divisions were also closed around this time.

Subway trains were also expected to be revamped, to be debuted under the same GEN3 name as the buses which debuted that same year. Line C was expected to be rebuilt with a new fleet. Despite the vehicles being complete, the GEN3 subway never came to fruition because the map for it was not ready, and no rail vehicles were released to the public under the GEN3 name.

Eventually, GEN3 buses re-entered service at Rory Division in February 2019, using the same exact map from when Rory Division first initially closed. At the reopening, the buses were painted in a white scheme, using the same model from YRT Division. However, as the division more popular, the buses received a new gray livery. The division eventually made YRT Division outright obsolete but not closed, as it overtook YRT in popularity. Rory Division ran a mix of New Flyer D40LFs, and C40LFs equipped with the revamped GEN3 technology. Line H was also reopened to buses, as GEN3 buses were also kept there.

GEN3 vehicles are remembered for being a huge part of Fairview Transit's History, and an era of many empty promises. Many planned vehicles for GEN3 remain unfinished (now cancelled), or unused to this day. Examples of many planned, but unfinished vehicles include the rail vehicles for GEN3, and many buses for it such as the New Flyer D60LF, and the El Dorado EZ-Rider.

By February 2019, Rory was the primary division used in FT. While YRT and Line H continued to see occasional use.

A New Start
In January of 2019, a new bus for GEN4, the Orion VII NG, was announced to be in development. At the same time, new Line H was announced to be in development. It would be a completely rebuilt map from the ground up. Line H would also feature new GEN4 trains, the UTDC Mark I.

But much like GEN3, the launch of GEN4 was plagued with delay. The NG which was initially to be released in April 2019, was pushed back to make way for Line H. Line H was delayed too, meant to be released to June of 2019.

On July 26, 2019, the rebuilt ICTS cars were returned to service on the all-new Line H. These are the first units in the fleet with GEN4 technology which includes animated doors and a new next stop system, which also made equipment more realistic. The Mark Is were also pretty powerful, with derailments only occurring if control incorrectly set a switch. Line H was a breakthrough and a big milestone for Fairview with all the new technology. From the new trains (with two and four-car sets) to the new control system, to the revamped Fairpass system, the new Line H brought lots of attention to the company and changed the image of the group.

In December of 2019, the unfinished GEN3 Orion VII OG was put into Line H alongside the GEN3 D40LF/C40LFs.

As of January 2020, Fairview Transit announced that it'll begin to retire the GEN3 as the GEN4 buses are prepared for service. As a result, Rory Division was finally closed. However, as the planned retirement occurred around the same time as the real-life Toronto Transit Commission's CLRV retirement, buses at Line H had special decals added to the side of them as they formed an integral part of Fairview Transit services; this started with the oldest 3rd generation buses being retired. The release of GEN4 buses was however pushed back to June 2020, and any buses that were still usable in February were kept at Line H until the full release of GEN4 buses. To further improve the buses, they received mirrors as part of minor upgrades.

In April 2020, Fairview Transit reached a milestone, it surpassed 1000 members. It had also announced that GEN3 buses would be phased out in the foreseeable feature, citing outdated technology, lack of support, and the release of GEN4 buses as factors to its retirement.

On May 30, 2020, the last GEN3 buses were put on Line H shuttle duty. They wore special ads, with stickers on both sides and one on the rear saying "GEN4, here we come!" The units were retired at the end of service.

In August 2020, Fairview Transit surpassed 2000 members.

Fairview Transit Today
Today, Fairview Transit operates Line H with exclusively its GEN4 rail and bus fleet. The only bus models in service as of this date are the GEN4 Orion VII NGs in the alpha phase, only being able to be driven by server boosters only.

In addition, Bomabardier ART 200s are expected to be rolled out onto Line H by the end of November.

GEN4 buses are expected to be fully released in Q4 2020, with the Orion VII NG/3G and Orion V to enter service.

Current fleet roster
(Work in progress)

Fleet on order
(Work in progress)

GEN2
(Work in progress)

Bus fleet
(Work in process)

Shown below is the complete fleet roster of Fairview Transit's second generation (GEN2) buses. They were in use from October 2017-August 2018.

Rail Fleet
Shown below is the complete fleet roster of Fairview Transit's second generation (GEN2) rail vehicles. They were in use from September 2017 - May 2019.

GEN3
(Work in progress)

Rapid transit network
(Work in progress)

Surface network
(Work in progress)