York Region Transit

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York Region Transit

Slogan	York, connected.
Founded	2001
Headquarters	50 High Tech Road, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4N7
Locale	York Region
Service area	Urbanized York Region. Rapid transit serves primarily Yonge Street and Highway 7 corridors.
Service type	bus service, bus rapid transit
Alliance	Toronto Transit Commission Brampton Transit
Routes	94, 15 TTC-contracted, 5 Viva
Stops	over 4000
Hubs	Bernard Terminal Canada's Wonderland Finch Bus Terminal Newmarket Bus Terminal Promenade Terminal Richmond Hill Centre Terminal Vaughan Mills Terminal York University
Fleet	Approx. 450 (2008)
Fuel type	Diesel, Hybrid-Electric Coming Late 2008
Operator	see Operations
Web site	http://www.yrt.ca

York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road.

[edit] Overview

YRT operates 65 full time, rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, 5 VIVA rapid transit routes and utilizes 14 Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) routes that run within York Region's boundaries. TTC passengers that cross Steeles Avenue (the Toronto-York boundary) must pay an additional fare (the YRT fare) to continue on that route (in practical sense, the TTC bus becomes a YRT bus when it crosses Steeles Avenue). There is also a joint service on Highway 7, Route 77, that is shared between YRT and Brampton Transit.

Some YRT routes operate within the City of Toronto; these buses are generally running to and from TTC subway stations. YRT northbound 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 usually not permitted to pick up passengers from these stops (Notable Exception: people who get on at Steeles and make a transfer at Yonge).

[edit] History

YRT was created by the regional government in 2001 to combine the five municipally-managed transit authorities in the region:

• Vaughan Transit, since 1973
• Markham Transit, since 1973
• Richmond Hill Transit, since 1960
• Aurora Transit, merged in 1999 with Newmarket Transit
• Newmarket Transit

In mid-2006, the York Region Transit (YRT) logo was modified to bear closer resemblance to the VIVA logo and, by 2010, the entire fleet of YRT buses and bus stop signs will have their looks changed to bear the new colours.

[edit] Operations

All transit services in York Region are provided by private operators under contract. ^[1]

[edit] Division 1

Area served: Markham and Stouffville

Operator: Miller Transit Limited

Facility: 8050 Woodbine Ave., Markham - outdoor yard home to 135 buses stored on Miller Avenue or Burncrest Road

Web site: Miller Transit

[edit] Division 2

Area served: Newmarket, Aurora, King Township, East Gwillimbury and Georgina

Operator: First Student Canada (formerly Laidlaw Transit Limited)

Facility: 534 Kent Drive., Newmarket - outdoor facility

[edit] Division 3

Area served: Richmond Hill

Operator: Miller (same information as Div. 1)

[edit] Division 4

Area served: Vaughan

Operator: Can-ar Coach Service (A Division of Tokmakjian Ltd.)

Facility: 221 Caldari Rd., Concord - outdoor storage area

Web site: Can-ar

[edit] Division 5

Services: Off-peak periods on Routes 40 & 27^[2]

Operator: Stock Transportation

[edit] Division 7

Services: Viva (bus rapid transit)

Operator: Veolia Transportation

Facility: 18106 Yonge St., Newmarket - outdoor yard and maintenace facility for VIVA Blue

Facility: 51 Caldari Rd., Vaughan - outdoor storage for VIVA Purple, Orange, Green and Pink

Web site: Veolia BRT

[edit] Bus rapid transit

In response to escalating congestion on the region's roads, York Region's transit plan included a provision for a bus rapid transit (BRT) system along the Yonge Street and Highway 7 arterial corridors. This service, known as Viva, was launched in September 2005.

Phase 2 is expected to begin in 2008, and includes the construction of bus only lanes on Yonge Street and eventually to Newmarket. Highway 7 bus lanes will be constructed later on.

[edit] Fares

As passed by the York Region council on October 23, 2008, York Region Transit and Viva Services experienced a fare raise effective January 1, 2009, making YRT bus fares the most expensive in all of Canada. ^[3]

Beginning January 1, 2009, YRT and VIVA's fares are as follows: ^[4]

Fare Category	Cash Fare		10 Tickets		Monthly Pass
	1 Zone	2 Zone	1 Zone	2 Zone	1 Zone	2 Zone
Adults	$ 3.25	$ 4.25	$ 26.00	$ 36.00	$ 105.00	$ 150.00
High School Students	$ 3.25	$ 4.25	$ 19.00	$ 29.00	$ 75.00	$ 120.00
Children / Senior 65+	$ 3.25	$ 4.25	$ 15.00	$ 25.00	$ 46.00	$ 78.00
Express (All age groups)	$ 3.50	-	$ 32.50	-	$ 125.00	-
	Weekly Pass
Greater Toronto Area	$ 47.00
	Fare Supplements
Ride to GO	$ 0.50
Zone Upgrade	$ 1.00
Express Upgrade	$ 0.50

• The Presto card is expected to be introduced to YRT in 2009

[edit] Zones

YRT is currently divided into three fare zones (Zone 1, 2, and 3) with the boundary being the Oak Ridges Moraine (between the King Road Vivastation and the Bloomington Road Vivastation) and Ravenshoe Road; the zone rule is that you need a one-zone fare if your trip starts or ends within the boundaries and you need a two-zone fare if your trip passes completely through the boundary. Because there is no route that exists that passes through all three zones, all trips are two-zone, unless a transfer is made. Also, there is only one route which passes and Zone 2-3 boundary, which is Route 69 - Sutton GO Bus.

[edit] Vehicles and fleet rosters

Please note that YRT has developed a new corporate design to match the new VIVA services. These include a new blue and white colour scheme on buses.

YRT has about 450 buses (as of March 2008); operated by private contractors as shown above in Operations

Make/Model	Description	Fleet #	Notes
General Motors T6H-4523N	35' Diesel bus	7526
Motor Coach Industries TC40102N	40' Diesel bus	2044-2047
Motor Coach Industries TC40102A	40' Diesel bus	2048-2052
New Flyer Industries D40HF	40' Diesel bus	8912, 8914, 8917-8919, 8921-8924	All pending retirement
New Flyer Industries D40LF	40' Diesel bus	311-335, 401-412, 571-585, 601-609, 610- 618, 701-730, 801-819	320,330,333,610-618,700s,800s in new YRT livery *buses 607-615 recently moved to Newmarket division 605-606 recently moved to Miller
Orion Bus Industries 01.502	30' Diesel bus	8602,8801,9002,9003
Orion Bus Industries 01.508	40' Diesel bus	2021,2034-2036,522-525
Orion Bus Industries 05.501	40' Diesel bus	001-014, 225-233, 301-310, 526-530*, 2053-2054*	224 retired as a result of an accident, 307 in new paint scheme
Orion Bus Industries 05.505	30' Diesel bus	9401	Pending retirement
Orion Bus Industries 06.501	40' Diesel bus	1045-1046, 2061-2067, 9701-9704, 9801-9802, 9931-9933	9701 and 9703 in recently refurbished and in new scheme
Thomas SLF230	30' Diesel bus	102,104-112,117,9901
Thomas SLF235	35' Diesel bus	201-223
ElDorado National EZ Rider II	30' Diesel bus	541-547, 548-556, 557-570, 619-621, 623	*622 retired due to fire, 619-621,623 moved recently to Can-ar division. All buses except 567-570 repainted to new scheme
ElDorado National EZ Rider II MAX	30' Diesel bus	850-868, 980-986, 991-996	*850-856, 980-982, 985-986 to Newmarket, 857-858 Can-Ar, 859-868, 983-984 Miller, 991-996 Can-Ar (Mobility Plus)
Overland Custom Coach Ford ELF	Wheelchair Accessible Bus	381-385, 481-483, 591-598
General Motors Astro	Utility Van
Chevrolet Impala	supervisor car
Ford Taurus station wagon	supervisor car

• not accessible

For Viva bus fleet, see Viva (bus rapid transit).

Denotes wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

[edit] Staff

YRT operating staff are employed by their respective contractors.

[edit] Uniforms

YRT staff uniform consists of a white shirt with blue pin strips with YRT crest on the left chest and dark navy pants.

[edit] Transit enforcement

Fare Inspectors and Special Constables patrol the entire transit system for the safety and security of passengers and to ensure compliance with the proof-of-payment system. They make random checks onboard buses to ensure the proper use of tickets, transfers and passes. Customers without valid fares are subject to a warning, an instant fine or a criminal charge.

[edit] CCTV Cameras

Starting in 2007, YRT began installing 150 cameras on YRT (including Mobility Plus) and Viva buses. By the end of 2008, there will be 210 more cameras added to the two systems.^[5] CCTV Cameras are also installed in some of the vivastations. Such example will be Bayview Vivastation in Richmond Hill.

[edit] Terminals

v • d • e Terminals of York Region Transit Bernard | Cornell | Finch | Newmarket | Promenade | Richmond Hill Centre | Vaughan Mills | Wonderland | York University

[edit] Routes

denotes routes with accessible buses.

[edit] Numbering conventions

• 001 to 99 -- Regular bus routes
• 200 series -- GO Transit Shuttle (excluding TTC routes)
• 300 series -- Express (extra fare required)
• 400 series -- School Bus
• 500 series -- Community Bus (local)

[edit] Current officers

As of November 2007, the executive of YRT consists of:

• Chair Bill Fisch (York Region Chair)
• Vice-Chair Regional Councillor David Barrow
• General Manager Donald Gordon
• Vice-President of Operations (YRT and Viva) Mary-Frances Turner

[edit] See also

• York Regional Police
• York Region EMS
• MoveOntario 2020

[edit] References

• Markham Transit 1990 Rider's Guide, Town of Markham
• Markham Transit Fall 1994 Rider's Guide, Town of Markham
• Markham Transit Fall 1999 Rider's Guide, Town of Markham
• Markham Transit 2000 Rider's Guide, Town of Markham
• Transit History...Vaughan
• Transit History...Markham
• Transit History...Richmond Hill
• "vivatalk - York Region's Rapid Transit Update", Economist & Sun/Sun-Tribune: Community, June 11, 2005, p 7.

[edit] External links

• York Region Transit
• Viva official site
• York Region Transit Fleet Roster
• YRT fleet roster on CPTDB Wiki
• The Toronto LRT Information Page (Page has a rendering of what a VIVA LRV could look like)
• Drawings and photos of York Region Transit buses

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