10TC 1600-1611

10 Transit Commission 1600-1611 are 2016 New Flyer XN40s ordered in November 2018, with the first 6 units entering service in December 2018 at the revamped UWIS Division. These buses are part of the company's effort to use alternative fuels.

Overview
1600-1611 replace the 6000-series XN40s that were built on the Avanta chassis. They are also the first order of buses on the current version of the A-Chassis, featuring keyboard-controlled turn signals and button-operated features. These buses were also the first to receive side and rear advertising for various companies in the city in early 2019. Prior to mesh conversion, they wore the gradual three-tone livery that was introduced in 2016. However, a few buses were wrapped, making them part of the first series to have multiple buses within one order carrying full advertising wraps- 1606 was re-wrapped in December 2018.

Units 1600-1607 were originally assigned to UWIS Division when delivered and originally had less powerful engines. Units 1608-1611 were assigned to Royal Street Division and have more powerful engines. The former had their engines upgraded in early 2019 to match the latter units. 1600-1606 were also upgraded to deal with weld issues early on in their career. In early 2019, all 12 buses were consolidated to the rebuilt Royal Street Division, in a bid to make the yard fully CNG, receiving division stickers following reassignment. In addition, some units received front, side and rear advertising, making use of the advertising boxes on the sides. In March 2019, these units were upgraded once again, with some receiving bike racks, Hanover Multicolour displays to replace the Luminator displays along with a next stop system and external announcements.

In July 2019, a few of the buses were sent for conversion to meshed bodies rather than the original brick bodies they had been purchased with. With the conversion, they were repainted from the four-tone livery to a new white/green livery, along with a completely redone interior. Other changes included more realistic headlights, new bike racks (on units without front advertising and ad wraps) and the new logo. As of July 30, 2019, only 1606 and 1608 have been converted.

After AlexDelta resigned from the group in summer 2019, the mesh program was cancelled and the state of the Xcelsiors were left in limbo. Any units not converted to mesh are likely still in service, while buses converted to mesh are likely retired.

As of April 2020, units 1600-1607 are to be kept active and fully converted to mesh, while 1608-1611 will be kept in storage.

Did you know?

 * 1611 was painted in a reverse scheme of the livery by mistake. This was corrected in early 2019.
 * 1606 was re-wrapped into a holiday version of the Calder Casino ad wrap in December 2018, even though it was still wearing it as of March 2019. The wrap was finally replaced after it returned from mesh conversion in July 2019.
 * Visit London's advertisement on bus 1603, using the iconic red paint scheme used by Transport for London also included reupholstering the seats, making it the first bus to have its seats reupholstered for an advertisement. This advertising promo was likely removed after the unit was converted to mesh.
 * Buses in this series carrying full advertising wraps do not carry bicycle racks, nor do buses with front advertising.