Torrance Transit inaugurated service on January 15, 1940 using three leased 1931 Mack-33 buses. The new agency provided primarily municipal transit and maintained a bus terminal in downtown Los Angeles until 1959, when the City Council voted to discontinue bus service entirely. Mayor Albert Isen vetoed the council's action, arguing that "every first-class city has its own bus system."
Fleet
In the early 21st century, Torrance Transit's fleet was made up of Gillig Phantom and GilligAdvantage buses. Each bus is numbered 4--. The fleet is maintained at the facilities department on Madrona Avenue, constructed in 1986. In 2010 Torrance Transit began replacing its bus fleet with a purchase of 10 gasoline-electric hybridNew Flyer GE40LFRs; 20 compressed natural gas -powered NFI C40LFRs were delivered in 2011, joined by 9 more CNG NFI XN40s in 2012. The new buses were delivered with a new paint scheme which marked the start of a rebranding effort by the agency.
ZEST
In 1993, Torrance Transit rolled out the Zero Emissions Surface Transit bus, a 25-seat, 29-foot coach which was the largest battery-powered transit vehicle in the United States at the time. ZEST was built by Specialty Vehicle Manufacturing Corporation using a Hughes Aircraft Company-developed powertrain, at a cost of. SVMC in turn had subcontracted the assembly of ZEST to the ACL Technologies division of AAI Corporation, a defense contractor. ZEST had a claimed range of or 10 hours of operation, and the battery pack was designed to be easily replaceable to minimize the time spent out of service while charging. After several years in operation, service was trimmed back from the morning and afternoon peak commutes to just a lunchtime shuttle from employers to restaurants in order to extend its life. In an interview, John Hall with Torrance Transit stated " is a long way from where it needs to be. Its useful hours are not enough. We have learned a lot making this a worthwhile investment. It has a ways to go before it gets to an everyday transit application."
Hybrids
In 2000, Torrance Transit took delivery of two Orion VI hybrid buses equipped with Lockheed-developed HybriDrive series hybrid powertrains. One of the buses, fleet no. 401, was damaged beyond repair in a fire that occurred on September 25, 2002; nearly four years later in June 2016, Orion Bus Industries agreed to buy back the burned hulk from Torrance for $80,000. The remaining Orion VI continued to serve through at least 2010, but was dropped from the fleet by 2014. The ten gasoline-electric hybrid New Flyer GE40LFR buses delivered in 2010 were procured as part of a joint purchase with other California transit agencies, with Montebello Bus Lines serving as the lead agency. Under the terms of the pilot program, the federal government subsidy was increased from 80% to 90% of the cost of each hybrid bus.
