Sean Marshall

Tag: Brampton Transit

  • Caledon rethinks its transit as Brampton retrenches

    Caledon rethinks its transit as Brampton retrenches

    An Argo minibus lays over at Shoppers World Brampton

    In an interesting staff report presented to Caledon Town Council, that municipality is planning to enter into a 15-month On-Demand Micro-Transit Pilot Agreement with Argo Transit, a Brampton-based provider of electric minibus services. This new on-demand transit service would replace most of the contracted Brampton Transit services in the Town of Caledon, including Routes 41, which serves Bolton, and 81, which runs along Kennedy Road north of Mayfield Road. Extensions of Route 30 Airport Road and 18 Dixie would continue under Brampton Transit, as they are limited-service extensions directly serving specific employers.

    Argo already provides on-demand service in Bradford-West Gwillimbury, replacing a fixed-route service there last year It also operates a supplemental door-to-door on-demand service in central Brampton on top of the fixed route Brampton Transit service. In Brampton, and as expected in Caledon, the same fares at Brampton’s regular service are charged, paid through a Presto card or app.

    The benefits for Caledon include new service to and within Caledon East, which is currently without transit, as well as midday, early evening, and weekend service not currently provided through Caledon’s contract with Brampton Transit. The proposed service times will be Monday to Friday from 5:30 AM to 8:00 PM, and Saturday and Sunday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. If implemented, Argo service would begin October 1, 2026.

    The map, included as an appendix to the staff report, shows connections to Brampton Transit on Mayfield Road and to York Region Transit in Kleinburg.

    Map of proposed Argo service areas in Caledon, with connecting links.

    There are some questions that should be addressed before October. Currently, Route 41 provides service to employment areas in south Bolton and provides connections to several Brampton Transit and YRT routes at Highway 50 and Queen Street, with easy transfers to the TTC subway in Vaughan and Humber College in Etobicoke. Would Brampton maintain a shortened route to Mayfield Road and Highway 50 that could make this link? Would transfers be permitted to other Brampton Transit routes along Mayfield Road, including Routes 15, 18, and 30, or would stops outside the on-demand areas be restricted to those in the map?

    For Caledon, on-demand transit looks like an attractive option to replace Brampton Transit-contracted routes with low ridership and limited service hours. For it to succeed — and even build ridership for new fixed-route service in the future — connections to other transit will be necessary.

    Despite population growth, Brampton Transit ridership is in decline

    Meanwhile, Brampton Transit, after several years of dramatic ridership growth after the end of COVID-19 restrictions, is cutting back as ridership has taken a sudden dip in 2025-2026. Four minor routes — 33 Peter Robertson, 36 Gardenbrooke, 55 Elbern Markell and 56 Kingknoll — will be discontinued. These four neighbourbood routes provide local service in areas where other routes are within walking distance or operate in the opposite direction, so the effects are minor and the cuts justifiable if it keeps service going elsewhere.

    However, Route 5 Bovaird, a major local route between Westwood Mall and Mount Pleasant GO Station, will see significant cuts: in the weekday peak from 13 minutes to 20 minutes and evenings from 30 to 40 minutes, and weekend evenings from every 30 to 50 minutes. The 505 Zum route that parallels the 5 does not operate weekend evenings, resulting in very poor service along the Bovaird corridor during those times.

    This is a disappointing setback for transit in my hometown, which up to now has been a model for promoting ridership growth in a suburban edge city. For years, I have wrote about its success in growing demand by operating good service, especially to destinations well beyond its boundaries to places like York University (later the subway terminal in Vaughan), Mississauga City Centre, Humber College, and Pearson International Airport.

    It would be very unfortunate if transit were allowed to enter a “death spiral” of ridership decline, fare hikes, and service cuts in response to this dip, largely due to a decline in international student enrollment at colleges and universities. Brampton has shown before that good service, with incremental growth is a great way of boosting ridership. This means operating buses at least every 20-30 minutes at all times on major corridors like Bovaird.

  • A better Bramalea Station, finally

    A better Bramalea Station, finally

    I have written a lot about Bramalea GO Station on this website. In 2016, I wrote about the poor pedestrian, cycling, and transit access to the station; in 2020 I was stranded at the station because of poor train-bus connections, and in 2021, I compared the construction of a new parking garage at Bramalea to a new parking lot at nearby Brampton GO Station.

    But in January 2023, I returned to Bramalea GO Station and came away feeling satisfied. Metrolinx has finally built a Bramalea GO Station that works. Now it is time to use the rebuilt station to its full potential.

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  • How Brampton commuters are caught in the middle at Steeles

    How Brampton commuters are caught in the middle at Steeles

    The intersection of Steeles Avenue and Main and Hurontario Streets

    Last year, I wrote about a foreseeable problem coming to the corner of Steeles Avenue and Hurontario and Main Streets in Brampton: the planned Hurontario LRT terminus, to be located on the south side of Steeles Avenue, would require thousands of commuters to transfer to Brampton Transit buses on the north-west corner of the intersection.

    This transfer would require crossing ten or eleven lanes of traffic at one of Peel Region’s busiest intersections, with crowding at the street corners, with passengers awaiting a walk signal two separate times to make the necessary connection.

    Screenshots of my questions and Metrolinx’s answers from the June 2020 Hurontario LRT virtual open house

    After twice receiving unsatisfactory answers at a Metrolinx online town hall, and hearing no information about how the crossing at this intersection might be mitigated, on March 9, 2021, I took the step of making an Access to Information Request to Metrolinx under the province’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act asking for communications between Metrolinx, the Ministry of Transportation, Mobilinx (the consortium awarded the contract to build and operate the LRT), and the City of Brampton.

    I received a package with the requested materials from Metrolinx on July 29, 2021. The request cost me $360.00, plus a $5.00 application fee. Communications from Metrolinx’s privacy officer were professional, friendly, and very helpful.

    Through my request that covered the dates December 1, 2018 to March 11, 2021, I obtained several letters from Brampton officials, including City Councillor Gurpreet Singh Dhillon, Director of Transportation Special Projects Chris Duyvestyn, Chief Administrative Officer David Barrick, and Mayor Patrick Brown to Metrolinx and Ministry of Transportation Officials requesting restoration of the north side stop at Steeles Avenue/Brampton Gateway Terminal. I also obtained replies from senior Metrolinx staff, including President and CEO Phil Verster and the Deputy Minister and the Minster of Transportation.

    What is the communications reveal is that decisions made during the 2014-2018 term of Brampton Council significantly tied the hands of everyone involved — both at the City of Brampton (which reversed its previous decisions when a new council was elected in October 2018) — and at Metrolinx, which was quickly working towards finalizing the contracts to construct the transit project. Unfortunately, important details, such as the final configuration of the Steeles-Hurontario/Main intersection, remain unknown. Neither Metrolinx nor the Ministry of Transportation, which funds Metrolinx, appear to grasp the problems that will be caused when thousands of commuters have to cross two major streets at an especially busy intersection.

    Despite Brampton’s work since December 2018 to move the Brampton Gateway stop back north of Steeles Avenue, including formal requests to Metrolinx and the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO), and despite a similar request from RioCan, owner of the massive Shoppers World Mall property at Main Street and Steeles Avenue, Metrolinx and the province have held firm in their decision.

    Though Metrolinx’s mandate is to “improve the coordination and integration of all modes of transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area,” terminating the LRT on the south side of Steeles Avenue will only reduce the integration of transit modes at Brampton Gateway.

    While Metrolinx and the MTO cite the difficulties of reopening a project which was getting underway, and concerned about setting precedents for other changes to the Hurontario LRT or other transit projects, this would still be a minor change, costing just $15 to $20 million according to a 2020 letter from Metrolinx CEO and President Phil Verster to Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown.

    Sadly, transit riders in Brampton – who do not have affluence or political might — have been left in the middle of this political back-and-forth between municipal politicians, the province, and Metrolinx. They will be forced to endure a more difficult transfer between LRT and bus than anything proposed to them in public consultations.

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  • Terminal Gateway: how bad decisions will affect the safety thousands of daily transit riders

    Terminal Gateway: how bad decisions will affect the safety thousands of daily transit riders

    Brampton Gateway Terminal from the southeast corner of Hurontario Street and Steeles Avenue, Brampton

    Last month, Metrolinx held a virtual open house to present information on the progress of the Hurontario LRT project, planned work, and details on some of the stops along the line. For now, roadwork is limited to median removal and utility relocation, but by next year, heavy construction will commence along the 18-kilometre long corridor.

    I was hoping to get some information on the northern terminus, at Steeles Avenue in Brampton, but no details were provided. I took the opportunity to ask specific questions about the transfer between the LRT and local buses, but I was disappointed by the answer.

    If Metrolinx goes ahead with their plans for a minimal station on the south side of the intersection, anyone connecting between modes will be forced to cross two sides of a busy, hazardous intersection at grade, impacting both accessibility and safety. We can thank politicians on the 2014-2018 Brampton City Council for this situation, which provide just one of many examples of how systemic racism manifests in transit decision making.

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  • Sorry, bus full: riding transit during a pandemic

    Sorry, bus full: riding transit during a pandemic

    Brampton Transit bus on route 502 Zum with “bus full” displayed

    On Thursday, I took the subway for the first time since Ontario declared a state of emergency in March. I entered Queen Station at 9:45 that morning, and rode to Wilson Station. The subway ride north was noticeably quiet, and I had a good choice of seats, even though most were marked as restricted for physical distancing.

    Empty subway train northbound on Line 1, June 11, 2020

    On my return home, at 4:00 PM, the subway was busier, but still quiet enough to take a seat in the middle of the train, while just about everyone had a non-restricted seat through the downtown core. That never happened prior to March 13.

    As I am used to crowded subway trains — even on Sunday mornings — my first subway rides in months proved to be a surreal experience. Though as most passengers were wearing face coverings and keeping distance, it felt safer and more comfortable than many of my recent supermarket trips.

    Platform edge marker, Queen Station

    Though subways are mostly empty, and streetcars pass through downtown with only twenty percent of their normal ridership, things are very different on the buses. In Toronto, Brampton and Mississauga, vehicles regularly bypass crowds of waiting passengers while displaying a “sorry bus full” sign.

    Miway bus full on Hurontario Street, on the same corridor as the Zum bus pictured above

    Back in March, I mapped the TTC’s most crowded early morning routes. These ten routes were generally located in Toronto’s suburbs, serving employment lands and neighbourhoods with lower incomes and higher proportions of racialized persons. Brampton and Mississauga, which also have large food production and warehousing industries and significant immigrant and racialized populations, are experiencing similar problems with crowding.

    All buses only allow passengers to enter through the rear doors, with many seats marked restricted with paper signs similar to those on the subway. The area behind the driver is closed off as well. While the TTC expect riders to tap their Presto cards at the rear or pay by cash or ticket at a subway station, Brampton, Mississauga, and other systems are permitting free rides for now.

    A typical TTC bus contains only 33-36 passenger seats; an articulated (“bendy”) bus has 46. The TTC operators’ union instructed its members to allow only 10 customers aboard a standard bus (though the operator has discretion), and 15 aboard an articulated bus. Transporting that few people on each bus is unsustainable, and with tens of thousands of essential workers relying on the TTC to get to work — many of those jobs difficult and poorly-paying — it’s yet another inequity laid bare by this pandemic.

    Crowding on ten TTC bus routes in late March 2020

    With loosening restrictions, the demand for transit has already begun to increase. By early July, local transit agencies will require all passengers to wear masks or face coverings. At the same time, passengers will be directed to enter buses through the front doors, while reinstating mandatory fare payment.

    Meanwhile, Brampton Transit — which was operating on a modified weekend schedule since March — is restoring some of its weekday service on Monday June 15 to meet re-surging demand, while Mississauga increased service levels on June 1. Brampton, Mississauga and Toronto will require masks or face coverings on transit starting July 2.

    While Brampton plans to hand out 100,000 free non-medical masks to its transit users, the TTC plans to give out one million disposable masks, specifically targeting lower-income neighbourhoods where transit demand remains high.

    Poster in the TTC subway with instructions on how to make a no-sew fabric face covering.

    Front-door boarding and mandatory mask use will help with some of the capacity issues on buses. Offering free masks is a welcome acknowledgement that many who have taken transit may not have money or time to purchase or make their own face coverings. (The TTC has instructions on how to make rudimentary masks posted in subway stations.)

    Even then, bus capacity will continue to be limited to ensure physical distancing, and buses will likely still pass by crowds of waiting customers.

    While central Toronto benefits from walkable neighbourhoods, existing and new cycling infrastructure, and subways and streetcars with more capacity to spare, suburban residents will still have to rely on buses. Though I see mandatory mask use as a necessary step towards mitigating the risk of viral transmission, I fear it may not be enough for those who work at hospitals and clinics, food plants and warehouses, and grocery stores, restaurants, nursing homes, and daycares.

    Bus riders deserve better.

  • A sudden drop in transit usage across the Toronto Region

    A sudden drop in transit usage across the Toronto Region

    IMG_6299-001Last week, I wrote about how several TTC routes were facing overcrowding, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and a severe drop in system-wide ridership since early March. I shared this analysis on Spacing’s website, and Ben Spurr at the Toronto Star reported more about the story this week.

    Though detailed ridership data is not freely accessible, I wanted to see how ridership on the TTC, GO Transit, and other Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area transit agencies was faring. Helpfully, the team behind the Transit app, a trip-planning smartphone tool, made their usage data available to transit agencies, journalists, and data nerds to track transit demand during the pandemic. Although there are some limitations to using this data (more on that later), it’s an excellent metric for tracking transit ridership for dozens of major transit authorities across Canada and the United States, representing nearly every major metropolitan region.

    The numbers used to determine transit ridership demand is based on usage of the Transit app. (While Transit is one of several apps that can be used to plan trips, including Metrolinx’s own Triplinx app, Transit is my favourite). Normal usage is defined by Transit as app sessions observed on the same day of the week one year ago, averaged over three weeks and corrected for yearly growth in the corresponding transit agency. Hence, a rapidly-growing system, such as Brampton’s, can be represented accurately by the app.

    Data was available for every transit agency in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, apart from paratransit services (e.g. Wheel-Trans, Transhelp, DARTS, etc.) and Milton and Caledon Transit, the smallest fixed-route services. The graph below shows the how the usage of the Transit app fluctuated based upon the expected value, reflected as a percentage.

    GTHA Transit app usage from Feb 15 2020
    Transit app usage compared to expected for GTHA transit agencies, February 15 to April 6, 2020 (click for larger image)

    Note how the actual Transit app usage dropped by over 40% for every transit agency on Monday, February 17, which was Family Day, a provincial holiday in Ontario. Most transit services were operating on a weekend or holiday service, while students and many workers did not take transit. This was likely compared with normal Mondays, hence the one-day drop.

    It wasn’t until the second week of March that ridership began to decline as the number of COVID-19 cases began to surge in Canada and the United States, and governments began announcing new measures to reduce the rate of infection. On Thursday March 12, Ontario announced that public schools, scheduled to close for March Break, would stay closed for two additional weeks (the shutdown has since been extended). That day, the National Basketball League suspended the season, followed quickly by all other sports leagues. Employers began to implement contingency measures, such as work-from-home arrangements. By Monday the 16th, all restaurants were closed to sit-down clientele, and most entertainment venues closed.

    By the week of March 29, transit demand was down by 75 to 82 percent across the Greater Toronto Area. Although many workers were either laid off or were sent home to work, employees in the healthcare, personal care, logistics, essential retail service (i.e. grocery workers), and food manufacturing industries remained on the job. This is evident in the difference between the demand for the subway (-81%) and the surface network (buses and streetcars, -76%) as they serve very different employment centres. Transit’s numbers are comparable to the TTC’s own ridership estimates.

    GTA_Ridership_COVID
    Map depicting estimated drops in transit demand for GTHA transit agencies compared to expected use for week of March 29 to April 5, 2020. Data from Transit app.

    Brampton Transit had the lowest estimated reduction in demand, at -75%. This could be for the same reasons that several bus routes in Toronto saw crowding despite a system-wide drop in ridership. Brampton’s population is relatively lower-income than many other suburban municipalities in Halton, Peel, and York Regions. Brampton also has many large food processing employers, such as Maple Lodge Farms, and many warehouses and distribution centres, including two major Amazon Fulfillment Centres. Brampton Transit connects to other major manufacturing and logistics employment areas in Mississauga, Vaughan and Toronto, including Pearson Airport.

    Oakville Transit had the greatest drop, which can be explained by two factors. The first is that Oakville, is a relatively more affluent municipality, with fewer logistics and food industry employers. Secondly, its bus network is designed entirely to connect with GO Transit’s Lakeshore Line, which feeds Downtown Toronto. Therefore, the ridership dependent on Oakville Transit is more likely to be working from home than Brampton’s.

    It must be noted that Transit’s figures are not the same as detailed ridership numbers collected by each transit agency. For example, Metrolinx cited a 90% drop in ridership across the GO Transit train and bus network, compared to Transit’s 79% estimate drop. Nonetheless, Transit’s data is a valuable metric.

    With the sudden drop in ridership, there’s also a sudden drop in revenue. While many systems, including Brampton Transit and GO Transit have made service reductions, they have been careful to ensure enough capacity remains to safely meet demand. Every system has also increased vehicle and station cleaning, and most have stopped collecting fares to protect both passengers and operators. Just like laid-off employees, students, and freelance workers, transit too will need a bailout of some kind to rebuild lost ridership and maintain safe and healthy services.

    Transit projects such as the Eglinton-Crosstown LRT, the new relief transit service for central Toronto (be it the Relief Line or Ontario Line), and GO Transit expansion must go on, as does the progress made in building ridership at suburban systems such as Brampton and Durham Region.

  • Mapping TTC crowding during a pandemic

    Mapping TTC crowding during a pandemic

    IMG_6314Rear door boarding on TTC buses is just one measure the TTC has taken to address the COVID-19 crisis

    Note to readers: I have since written an updated version article (with a revised map) on Spacing’s website.

    While most people are urged to stay home as much as possible during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, there are those who must carry on. These include health care workers, staff at grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential businesses, and others who can not work from home. There are also those who continue to require transit to undertake essential errands, such as medical appointments.

    Thankfully, most transit systems have carried on. Through GO Transit has experienced an 80% drop in ridership since the beginning of March, it continues to operate all rail lines and most bus routes, providing fewer trips, but maintaining the same span of service hours. The TTC discontinued most express routes, but it maintains a grid of frequent bus and streetcar services.

    However, the TTC and Brampton Transit continue to struggle with crowding on certain routes. Brampton Transit — which has resorted to an “enhanced Saturday service” level –will only carry half a bus’s seated capacity to enforce social distancing, which has resulted in “closed-door” situations where buses won’t stop for waiting passengers. As a result, several routes are now discontinued during peak periods so that buses are sent to address crowding elsewhere. Brampton Transit serves many shipping warehouses, including two Amazon fulfillment centres, which remain busy during this time.

    Meanwhile, the TTC is struggling with morning rush hour crowding on ten bus routes:

    • 29 Dufferin
    • 35 Jane
    • 41 Keele
    • 44 Kipling South
    • 96 Wilson
    • 102 Markham Road
    • 117 Alness-Chesswood
    • 119 Torbarrie
    • 123 Sherway
    • 165 Weston Rd North

    These routes, mostly clustered in the city’s northwest, are illustrated below.

    TTC_COVID_CROWDSMap of overcrowded early morning TTC routes during the COVID-19 pandemic
    (click for larger version)

    Routes 117 and 119 are industrial services, connecting warehouses and food service plants. These industries — like the infamous Fiera Foods plants served by Route 119 — rely on low-paid, often temporary workers, with early morning starts. Certain warehouses and many food-service plants also have very early starts to the day. It would be tough for workers to accommodate the TTC’s request to travel at later times. Routes 96, 102, and 165 also extend into major industrial areas. Route 123 serves the Metro supermarket chain’s distribution centres on Dundas Street and The West Mall.

    Many of these routes run through Toronto’s neighbourhood improvement areas, which are identified by the city as those requiring additional investment due to issues such as poor access to services and higher concentrations of low-income families. In addition, routes 41, 96, 119, and 165 serve the Humber River Regional Hospital, one of Toronto’s largest health care facilities, while the 96 Wilson also directly serves Etobicoke General Hospital.

    Though it would be best for private essential employers to stagger shifts during this unprecedented time, there may be a need for the TTC to redirect some resources towards these parts of the city.

  • Going for a ride on the Bolton Bus

    IMG_6666-001.JPG

    Caledon, a town of 66,000 located northwest of Toronto, is known for charming villages, fall colours, and horse farms. Its most popular landmarks include the waterfall at Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, the unique Cheltenham Badlands, and the vast Albion Hills Conservation Area. Much of the municipality lies within Niagara Escarpment and Greenbelt protected areas, with lands set aside for farms, estates, parks, and golf. That’s how many Caledonians like it.

    Despite its green reputation, Caledon is urbanizing its southeastern quadrant, filling it up with warehouses, truck terminals, and low-density residential subdivisions, all adjacent to the built-up areas of Brampton and Vaughan. Bolton, once a small village, now has a population of 20,000. New subdivisions north of Mayfield Road are indistinguishable from Brampton’s residential development.

    Though two GO Transit bus routes ran through Caledon, it had no transit system of its own. This was becoming more of a problem as new warehouses employing thousands of workers opened. GO Transit’s buses were scheduled to connect with trains to and from Downtown Toronto, not to serve reverse commuters. Though Brampton Transit operated several routes close to Caledon’s borders, it could not extend north of Mayfield Road without an agreement with the town.

    Despite Caledon’s historical resistance to public transit, its attitude slowly changed for the better.

    In May 2010, Brampton Transit’s 30 Airport Road bus was extended to the AMB (now Prologis) warehouse complex just north of Mayfield Road. This was done at the request of AMB, though the Town of Caledon had to agree to the request for service.

    In 2015, Caledon began to study the need for a local transit system, retaining consultants from Steer Group to evaluate and develop options for new transit services, including routes, operators, and service hours. In April 2019, the report to council recommended starting with a route on Kennedy Road in Mayfield West (contracted by Brampton Transit) and a route connecting employment areas in Bolton with Brampton Transit and YRT at Highways 7 and 50 (contracted to a third party), with a demand-response service within Bolton and an extension of a future Brampton Transit route along Mayfield Road provided within a second phase.

    Meanwhile, GO Transit announced the abandonment of Route 38 in June, citing the planned new local transit service as justification for the cut, even though it wasn’t yet setup. Though GO partially restored the service (two daily round trips to Malton GO continue, for now), it remains a short-term solution.

    The Mayfield West service — Brampton Transit Route 81 — began in September, connecting with the 502 Züm at Sandalwood Parkway. On Monday, November 11, 2019, the Bolton Route began service, contracted to Voyago. Both routes operate on 30 minute frequencies, weekday peak hours only.

    IMG_4900-001.JPGNew Brampton Transit stop on Kennedy Road in Caledon

    The two separate agreements don’t work that well for creating a unified transit service.

    Though Route 81 and the Bolton Route both have a $4.00 cash fare, the Brampton Transit-contracted service operates on that agency’s fare structure. There’s a discount for Presto card users and a two-hour transfer valid on any other Brampton Transit route. The 80 cent co-fare to and from GO Transit also applies (Route 81 connects with the frequent 502 bus to Downtown Brampton). It’s a good deal for residents in west Caledon.

    However, the Voyago-contracted buses serving Bolton are only equipped with a fare box, and only accept $4.00 cash fares. There are no free transfers to or from connecting buses at Highways 7 and 50. (Brampton Transit routes 501 Züm, 1, 23, and 36 connect there, as does YRT route 77. It’s a few minutes’ walk to BT routes 31 and 50.)

    Last week, I took the new Bolton bus to get a feel for the new service. The Bolton line operates with two minibuses with twenty seats each and a spot for mobility devices at the rear. Within Bolton, the bus makes a long loop, primarily serving the industrial area in the southwestern quadrant.

    I boarded an afternoon bus from Highway 7 at 3:26 PM and rode to Downtown Bolton. I returned on the bus leaving Bolton at 4:30 PM. I was the only passenger each way; I was told by one driver that was typical. By riding the bus, I was able to learn about some of Caledon’s challenges.

    Transit options from Caledon council reportCaledon Transit high-priority route options from the April 2019 council report

    If the Bolton Line were integrated with York Region Transit and Brampton Transit and made more stops within Brampton, it’d be a useful service, attracting many more passengers. There are several major employers on the Vaughan side of Highway 50, including XPO Logistics, Home Depot, and the Canadian Pacific Intermodal Yard. Additional stops at Major Mackenzie/Coleraine, Rutherford/Castlemore, Trade Valley/Bellechase, and Zenway/Cortrelle would make the bus more accessible and useful to residents and employers. Another stop at Queen Street (Highway 7) and Gore Road would improve connections to Route 50, which serves Humber College.

    Those additional stops would likely require a third bus, but the current route struggles to maintain a 60-minute round trip even with the limited stops currently in place. But with fare integration and local service, it could then attract more passengers, defraying the cost of the additional vehicle and operator.

    In the long term, it would be good to see more cooperation with Brampton Transit, especially as Brampton continues to develop new subdivisions and industrial lands in the northeast, in the areas bordering Caledon and Vaughan. If GO Transit goes ahead and abandons the remnant of Route 38 an express route between Bolton and Malton GO will still be necessary; ideally, that would would be a partnership between Brampton and Caledon.

    Hopefully, Caledon will continue its commitment to building a transit service within its urbanized area. Despite very low ridership at present, the potential is there as population and employment continue to grow. It will take time to tweak the service, improve connections, and build ridership that can count on affordable, reliable transit.

    It’s also time for Halton Hills — now the last GTHA municipality without local transit — to step up and follow Caledon’s lead.

  • Why transit users shouldn’t beg to cross the street

    IMG_8372.jpg

    With consistently high ridership growth over the last few years, Brampton Transit has proven to be one of the Canada’s greatest transportation success stories. The Flower City has proven that transit can be successful and popular in North American suburbs.

    Despite the success at improving transit and building ridership, Brampton has also prioritized motor traffic at intersection, making it unnecessarily difficult to cross the street at major bus stops. The intersection of Vodden and Main Streets, just north of Downtown Brampton, illustrates this problem.

    If the beg button is pushed in time, the walk signal to cross Main Street will appear for just seven seconds before the countdown begins, giving just 11 seconds to cross five lanes. Anyone who misses that light will have to wait over two minutes to legally cross.

    What Brampton — and cities like it — should do is remove the beg buttons at transit stops with the assumption that pedestrians will want to cross. It’s just one step towards building a transit culture and attracting new riders.

    I write more about this problem in Bramptonist.

     

  • How YRT service cuts at York University demonstrate a failure of regional transit

    IMG_4738-002.JPG
    York University Subway Station, opening day

    On Sunday, December 17, 2017, the TTC opened the long-awaited $3.2 billion Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension to York University and the City of Vaughan. The extension of Line 1, which included six new stations, opened over two years behind schedule largely due to construction-related delays. It was the first subway to extend beyond Toronto’s boundaries; York Region is now pushing for another subway extension up Yonge Street to Richmond Hill.

    Unfortunately, fare integration between the TTC and suburban transit agencies was never completely worked out, despite many years’ notice that this would be an issue once the subway extension was opened. A new GO Transit terminal was built at Highway 407 Station, meant to handle GO Transit’s many buses currently serving York University. York University and York Region Transit (YRT) signed an agreement that YRT would remove its buses from campus after the subway opened. There was an assumption that transit riders destined for York University would simply transfer to the subway, but measures to prevent those riders from paying a second fare were never worked out.

    And now York Region is withdrawing its buses from the campus as of September 2, 2018. While Brampton Transit won’t be withdrawing completely from York University, it will reduce some of its service. For now, GO Transit will not be making any changes to its bus routes serving the campus, and will continue to serve the York University Commons.

    Many YRT passengers will have to pay the whole $3.00 each way, or be required to make a new transfer and/or walk a farther distance from the north terminal at Pioneer Village Station.

    The fact that there’s no fare agreement to allow YRT passengers to ride the subway from Vaughan Centre to York University without paying a full TTC fare is indicative of the failure to fully coordinate regional transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. And York Region’s complete abandonment of what used to be one of its most important hubs is indicative of that region’s lack of commitment to funding transit operations adequately, despite its ambitious capital spending and lobbying for subway extensions.

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