York Region Transit (YRT) is the transit authority for York Region, Ontario, Canada and consists of a network of buses serving the communities of Vaughan, Markham, Stouffville, Richmond Hill, King Township, Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury, and Georgina. It was created by the regional government in 2001 to combine five of the municipally-managed transit authorities in the region: Vaughan Transit, Markham Transit, Richmond Hill Transit, Aurora Transit, and Newmarket Transit.

While these municipal transit services were managed by their respective municipalities, they were, in fact, contracted out to private operators. Vaughan Transit had been operated by Can-Ar Coach (Tokmakjian Group) since 1985; Markham Transit had been operated by Miller Transit Limited since 1984; Richmond Hill Transit had been operated by Pacific Western and later Miller Transit Limited; and Newmarket Transit had been operated by Laidlaw Transportation.

Much of the system is still contracted out to private operators, but the system itself is managed by the region.

Contents

1 Markham Transit Details 2 Vaughan Transit Details 3 Richmond Hill Transit Details 4 Overview 5 Viva 5.1 Route Information 6 Fares 7 Terminals 8 Facilities 9 Roster 10 Mobility Bus 11 Connections 12 External links 13 Loops 14 References

Markham Transit Details

Markham Transit was created in 1973 and operated by Travelways and Miller Transit Limited on behalf of the Town of Markham.

In addition to bus service, other services offerred include:

Park N'Ride

Allows patrons to park cars at select locations and board buses without paying for parking.

Locations included:

-Markham Village CC -Knob Hill Famrs - Woodbine and 7 -Fortinos - Denison and Kennedy -Denison Sq - Hwy 48 and Denison -Thornhill CC

Mobility Bus Service

Transit for the disabled was similar to the TTC's Wheeltrans. It also included Taxi Scrip, service for unplanned trips.

Request Stop Program

Similar services offerred by the TTC for female patrons at night.

Faster to Finch Offerred connection between Markham Transit and GO Transit and 407 ETR to Finch Station.

Transcab Introduced in 1990s when Markham Transit did not operate night services. The hours of operations was after 7pm Monday to Saturday. By the late 1990s, Markham Transit offerred evening and weekend services; this has been continued under YRT.

Fleet

• Total: 58
• OBI Orion I
• GM T6H 530X
• GM TDH 530X
• Champion Solo
• Orion II
• MCI Classic

Vaughan Transit Details

Like Markham, Vaughan Transit began in 1973 to provide service in southwest York Region.

Fleet

• Total buses: 23
• NFI D901
• Gumman Flxible 870
• OBI Orion I (01.501, 01.502 and 01.508)
• OBI Orion V 05.501 and Suburban
• Orion VI 06.501
• Wayne school bus
• GM T6H 5305
• GM T6H-4523N
• GM TDH 5301
• GMC RTS
• GM TC40-102N Classic
• MCI MC9
• Champion Solo
• Orion II
• MCI Classic
• Thomas Built SLF230
• Thomas Built SLF235
• Prevost H3-41
• Prevost H3-45

Richmond Hill Transit Details

Began in 1960, Richmond Hill Transit was opearted by Trailways of Canada Limited, Travelways in 1976 and Laidlaw in the 1980s.

Fleet

• Total buses: 26

Overview

YRT operates 45 regular routes and 8 Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) routes that run within the region's boundaries. TTC passengers that cross Steeles Avenue (the Toronto-York boundary) on a TTC route must pay an additional fare to continue on that route.

Some YRT routes operate within TTC territory; these buses are generally running to and from TTC subway stations. YRT buses are allowed to pick up passengers south of Steeles Avenue if they are heading into York Region (but passengers must flag the bus from a designated TTC or YRT stop). YRT buses heading to a TTC subway station can similarly drop off passengers at designated stops south of Steeles Avenue, but are not permitted to pick up passengers from these stops.

YRT does service designated stops along Steeles Avenue in both directions, but passengers must flag these buses in order to board.

Viva

In response to escalating congestion on the region's roads, YRT's regional transit plan included a provision for a bus rapid transit (BRT) system along the Yonge Street and Highway 7 arterial corridors. This service, to be known as Viva, will be launched in September of 2005. During the first phase of the project, the service will feature special rapid transit vehicles (RTVs), which will make use of existing or specially-lengthened right-turn lanes to move through an intersection ahead of traffic. RTVs will feature signal priority and 19-hour-per-day service (with RTVs arriving every five to ten minutes during peak periods). During Viva's second phase, the service will incorporate dedicated "transitways," separated from regular traffic. The third phase may incorporate some form of light rail or an extension of the TTC's subway service, but the plan will need to be re-evaluated at this point to determine whether such service is indeed warranted.

"Vivastations," or stops along the routes, will incorporate a ticket vending machine and a ticket validator (to speed up boarding times), as well as a real-time "smart" display that will notify passengers of when the next vehicle is expected to arrive. Construction of the Vivastations is currently underway.

A number of routes connect to Toronto Transit Commission subway and surface routes, including the Yonge-University-Spadina Line and the Sheppard Line. Viva will be integrated with YRT's existing bus network, and passengers will be able to pay one fare to use both Viva and the regular bus system.

Route Information

• Blue Line: Finch Station - Richmond Hill Centre - Newmarket GO Station
• Purple Line: York University - Richmond Hill Centre - Cornell
• Orange Line: Downsview Station - York University - Martin Grove/Highway 7
• Green Line: Don Mills Station - Enterprise (with peak service to Unionville GO Station and Cornell)
• Pink Line: Finch Station - Richmond Hill Centre - Unionville GO Station (peak only)

Fares

As of 2005, YRT fares are as follows:

• Regular Fare (Cash): $2.25
• Express Fares: $2.50
• 10 Tickets:
  • Adult: $21.00
  • Student (High School): $15.00
  • Senior: $12.00
  • Child: $12.00
  • Express: $23.00
• Monthly Passes:
  • Adult: $78.00
  • Student: $52.00
  • Seniors: $35.00
• GTA Weekly Pass: $41.25
• Connection with GO Transit: additional $0.25

Terminals

YRT operates bus terminals out of the following locations:

• GO Finch Bus Terminal (Finch Subway)
• Newmarket Terminal (Upper Canada Mall)
• Promenade Mall
• Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre (New 2004)
• Yonge Street at Bernard
• York University Common
• Don Mills Subway Station

Facilities

Buses of YRT are maintained by private contractors:

• Pacific Western - Division 1 (Richmond Hill based buses) - since replaced by Miller Transit
• Miller Transit Garage - Division 3(Markham based buses)
• Can-ar Maintenance Facility - Dvision 4 (Vaughan based buses)
• Laidlaw Transit Limited - Division 2 (Newmarket, Aurora, East Gwillimbury and Georgina based buses)

Roster

YRT has 210 buses; 135 buses are operated by Miller Transit and 75 buses operated by Can-Ar Coach.

• Van Hools Articulated AG300 (to be used on Viva)
• GMC T6H 4523N
• GM TDH 5301
• GM T6H-4523N New Look
• GM T6H 5305
• GM RTS
• Grumman-Flxible 870
• MCI MC9 suburban coach
• Flyer Industries D900
• New Flyer D40
• New Flyer D40 Suburban
• New Flyer D40LF
• OBI Orion 01.508
• New Flyer Industries D40LF
• Orion Bus Industries 05.501 and 05.501 Suburban
• 1982 GM T6H-5307N
• International 375 (Wayne Lifeguard)
• MCI TC40102N and TC40102A
• Dennis/Thomas/Orion Built SLF230 and 235
• OBI Orion II 2.502
• OBI Orion I 1.501
• Overland ELF

Mobility Bus

YRT offers transit services, known as Mobility Bus, to the disabled using specially equipped buses.

Roster:

• OBI Orion II
• Overland ELF
• Ford Ecoline based buses

Connections

YRT connects to multiple services, including the Langstaff GO Shuttle; Business Express; 407 ETR Express; Unionville, Centennial and Markham GO Shuttle; Unionville, Markham and Cornell Express; Aurora GO Shuttle; Newmarket Aurora Seneca College Shuttle; and Richmond Hill Community Buses.

External links

• York Region Transit
• York In Motion
• VivaYork
• Miller Transit Ltd.
• Can-car Coach Services - Tokmakjian Inc Group

Loops

• Middlefield Road and Denison Street
• McCowan Road and Steeles Avenue (at Calvary Manor and shared with the TTC)
• Thornhill Town Centre
• Martin Grove Road and Steeles Avenue (shared with TTC)
• Kipling Avenue and Steeles Avenue (shared with TTC)
• Islington Avenue and Steeles Avenue (shared with TTC)

References

• Markham Transit 1990 Rider's Guide
• Markham Transit Fall 1994 Rider's Guide
• Markham Transit Fall 1999 Rider's Guide
• Markham Transit 2000 Rider's Guide
• Transit History...Vaughan
• Transit History...Markham
• Transit History...Richmond Hill