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miWay Transit

Starting next month, City Centre Transit Terminal will undergo an interior renovation. The information booth and ticket booth will swap locations. Completion is expected for fall 2021.
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In December I received MiWay's data from the Automated Passenger Counters (APCs) installed on the buses, covering 2018 and 2019. This allowed me a much deeper insight into MiWay's ridership.

I'm currently putting together some of the data and given the questions surrounding the transitway decided to put together a series of graphs showing a deeper insight into ridership. MiWay stated that transitway ridership in 2019 was 5.1 million boardings. This figure includes ridership of 3 routes - 100 Airport Express, 107 Malton Express and 109 Meadowvale Express. It is these 3 routes that will be the focus of the graphs as hey are the main routes using the transitway as well as the routes used to calculate MiWay's transitway ridership. Route 110 and GO ridership are not included.

Given the MiWay route network design, the vast majority of those boardings benefited from the transitway infrastructure

The APCs on MiWay buses collect ridership data for each trip operated and will have data for total boardings during that trip. The APCs are calibrated for accuracy and data collected from each trip must meet narrow criteria for accuracy otherwise the dataset is discarded.

To create the weekday graphs, I used data for all trips operated on weekdays between October 28-November 6, 2019. For a few trips, it was necessary to go outside that range to get a representative data sample. The boarding counts for each trip during that range were averaged to create a 'average daily boardings' figure for each trip which is the basis of the graph. The intent was to show transitway ridership on a average weekday. Each trip on the weekday graph is colour coded based on the service period it operates in as listed on the graph.

The Saturday and Sunday graphs were created using the same method except data for weekend ridership was calculated using all Saturday and Sunday trips operated in September and October 2019.

With that said, onto the ridership graphs for the 100, 107 and 109

109 MEADOWVALE EXPRESS - 10,619 Weekday Boardings
The 109 has 8 minute service during rush hour and 12 minute service during the midday. Evening service is approximately every 15 minutes.

It is the busiest of the 3 main routes serving the transitway with very strong ridership in the peak periods with several trips consistently recording over 100 boardings.

109 Northbound boardings per trip Weekday.jpg109 Southbound boardings per trip Weekday.jpg

107 MALTON EXPRESS - 8,598 Weekday Boardings
Like the 109, the 107 has 8 minute service during rush hour and 12 minute service during the midday. Evening service is approximately every 15-20 minutes.

While ridership is not as high as on the 109, there is a much more even distribution of boardings, likely due to the spread out nature of student ridership to/from Humber.

107 Northbound boardings per trip Weekday.jpg107 Southbound boardings per trip Weekday.jpg

100 AIRPORT EXPRESS - 2,223 Weekday Boardings
The 100 operates every 15 minutes all day on weekdays and is the newest of the 3 routes, introduced in October 2018.

While it does not have the ridership levels of the 107 and 109, it does provide much needed additional capacity on the transitway especially during rush hour when overcrowding is a chronic issue.

100 Eastbound boardings per trip Weekday.jpg100 Westbound boardings per trip Weekday.jpg

109 MEADOWVALE EXPRESS - Weekend Boardings
109 Saturday Boardings - 4,005
109 Sunday Boardings - 2,942

Route 109's weekend frequency during September and October 2019 was 23 minutes all day. Effective the October 29 service changes route 109's Saturday midday frequency was improved to 15 minutes, and Sunday midday frequency was improved to 17 minutes.

109 Southbound boardings per trip Saturday.jpg109 Northbound boardings per trip Saturday.jpg 109 Southbound boardings per trip Sunday.jpg109 Northbound boardings per trip Sunday.jpg

107 MALTON EXPRESS - Weekend Boardings
107 Saturday Boardings - 2,407
107 Sunday Boardings - 1,836

107 Northbound boardings per trip Saturday.jpg107 Southbound boardings per trip Saturday.jpg 107 Northbound boardings per trip Sunday.jpg107 Southbound boardings per trip Sunday.jpg

Some additional things to point out with the data. It is once again important to emphasize when talking about the transitway as a corridor, we are referring to routes 100, 107, and 109 as this is what MiWay bases their transitway ridership figure on. It does not include route 110 or GO Transit services. If those ridership figures were also included, the transitway ridership figure would be even higher.
  1. Based on the APC data compiled, the transitway as a corridor (100/107/109) had over 20,000 boardings on a average weekday (21,440 boardings). This figure would put the transitway in the top 3 of transit corridors in Mississauga behind Hurontario (19/103/502) and Dundas (1/101).
  2. Considered as standalone routes, the 107's and 109's weekday boarding counts would place them easily in the top 5 of weekday routes in terms of boardings.
  3. Using the APC data to calculate total annual ridership using the total service days and factoring in month to month variance based on MiWay's annual ridership figures, the transitway as a corridor (100/107/109) had ridership between 5.3 and 5.5 million boardings in 2019. Given the MiWay route network design, the vast majority of those boardings benefited from the transitway infrastructure.
  4. MiWay stated that annual transitway ridership in 2019 was 5.1 million. I have no doubt that transitway ridership is actually higher than what the city has been stating and this is borne out in the APC data as well as my own personal observations. It appears MiWay up until now used the ridership data based on manual on board counts on buses, which can be hard to obtain accurately especially on crushloaded buses.
  5. The transitway is a corridor where ridership can be expected to continue growing in the future. Ridership growth has been consistently high year over year - off peak and weekend ridership continues to show strong growth as well.
  6. Integration of the MiWay route network with the transitway has been a very slow proccess, as more routes get realigned or added to serve the transitway stations directly this will provide another opportunity for ridership increases. Better frequency on come N/S corridors connecting to the transitway will also help.
  7. Anyone who rides the transitway, especially during rush hours is well aware of the overcrowding even with the very high frequencies. Thankfully, MiWay has finally ordered more articulated buses for use on the transitway with 11 60' articulated buses to be placed into service this fall. This will help provide much needed additional capacity, although it would have been useful 2 years ago!
That sums up my post. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions about the data I've laid out.
 
There was recently a update to the MiWay Five page on the website including a new proposed map and timeline for 2020 changes.

2020 Timeline - Proposed Map (February 2020)

Some things to note:


  • The proposal to terminate the 20 at Mill Road has been dropped and the route will continue to connect to Islington (and later Kipling) Station.
  • Originally scheduled to be cancelled in October, route 90 will remain in service. Originally, the plan called for the Copenhagen section of route 90 to be abandoned and the new route 50 cover service on the Terregar portion.
  • Route 50 will still be introduced to replace route 9 on Churchill Meadows Blvd and route 39 on Lisgar. However, it won't serve Terregar and Rosehurst like originally proposed and instead use Derry. Unfortunately, this means the 50 and 90 will just duplicate each other on Derry west of Winston Churchill and the 90 being retained is probably at the expense of a more frequent 50.
  • Route 8 will remain on it's current route serving Mineola, Cawthra, and Mississauga Valley. The proposal to have the 8 serve Lakeshore to Cawthra and then up Cawthra to the transitway station has been dropped. The trade off is that there is still no service on Cawthra north of Bloor, and Cawthra Station will still not have connecting bus service. Also, the map shows the 8 and 14 (see below) duplicating each other on Mineola and Atwater, a very low ridership part of the system.
  • Route 14 is still shown as extending east of Port Credit, along Mineola and Atwater, up Ogden (replacing route 5 service) and then using South Service, Dixie, and Queensway to Sherway. However, no date is listed for implementation.
  • Route 5 is still shown as using Dixie between Lakeshore and Dixie Mall, rather than Ogden, however no date is listed for implementation.
  • Route 51 is still shown as extending to Dixie GO, however no date is listed for implementation.
  • Both branches of the route 1 are shown deviating to UTM and South Common before one of the two continues on to Ridgeway. No date is listed for implementation and hopefully it never happens.
When the MiWay Five plan first launched 5 years ago, one of the key selling points is that it would reduce duplication and allow for more frequent service across the board by simplifying routes. The MiWay network was referred to as looking like "a plate of sphagetti" and unfortunately that's still true today because they've turned back on so many of the original proposals that the system map doesn't look all that different than what it did in 2016.

The city has already started marketing "MiWay Five 2.0" the next 5 year plan from 2021-2025. Hopefully it brings about better change than the first plan has but I'm not optimistic. At least they appear to be going through with the long overdue changes to the Eglinton corridor come April 27...
 
Quick question for Miway experts:

By how much time has the Transitway decreased the time between getting from Islington Station to Square One?
 
Quick question for Miway experts:

By how much time has the Transitway decreased the time between getting from Islington Station to Square One?
The Transitway's first phase opened in November 2014, so my comparisons are based on the September 2014 weekday schedules to today between Islington and Square One:

AM Peak: 36 minutes to 31 minutes (-5 minutes)
Midday: 35 minutes to 30 minutes (-5 minutes)
PM Peak: 41 minutes to 32 minutes (-9 minutes)
Evening: 35 minutes to 29 minutes (-6 minutes)

The biggest time savings were in the PM peak, along with the benefit of more reliable and frequent service. Schedules between Islington and Renforth Station (Skymark Hub) have not changed much so the majority of the time savings is from Renforth to Square One. The 109 also has the benefit of being the most frequent route by far of the 4 routes (3, 20, 26, 76) serving the Square One area, especially on weekdays. At 8 minutes peak, 12 minute midday and 14 minutes evening service you don't really need to plan around the schedule. The one weakness is frequency going from ~15 to 20 minutes for the last hour of service between 10-11pm on weekdays, and service should probably run a hour or two later than the current last trip of 11:04pm from Islington.
 
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News release

MiWay reduces transit service in response to COVID-19
MiWay remains committed to providing city-wide transit service and supporting the social distancing efforts recommended by Peel Public Health and the provincial and federal governments. A summary of service reductions will be implemented effective Monday, March 23.

COVID-19 | March 19, 2020

Effective Monday, March 23, MiWay will implement service reductions on several routes due to reduced customer demand in response to COVID-19.

These reductions are in addition to daily service adjustments that will continue based on transit operator availability and ongoing customer demand.

In addition, starting Saturday, March 21 the following changes will take effect:

  • No fare payment will be required until further notice.
  • Monthly PRESTO pass holders will be notified of the status of their March and April pass in the coming weeks.
  • Customers will board from the rear doors only until further notice.
  • Customers with accessibility needs requiring the use of the ramp may continue to use the front doors.
The following planned service adjustments are approximate and remain in effect until further notice. All schedules are subject to change without notice.

RouteService
GO ShuttlesService reduction due to GO Train changes.
22 FinchService reduction due to Humber College closure:Morning rush hour service: every 20 minutes.
Mid-day service: every 40 minutes.
Afternoon rush hour service: every 40 minutes.
Evening service: every 35 minutes.
44 Mississauga RoadService reduction due to UTM closure:
Morning rush hour service: every 17 minutes, some 30 minute gaps.
Mid-day service: every 17 minutes, some 30 minute gaps.
Afternoon rush hour service: every 17 minutes, some 30 minute gaps.
Evening service: every 28 minutes.
61 MavisService reduction due to Sheridan College Davis Campus closure:
Morning rush hour service: every 14 minutes, some 30 minute gaps.
Mid-day service: every 18 minutes, some 30 minute gaps.
Afternoon rush hour and evening service: every 15 minutes, some 30 minute gaps.
66 McLaughlinService reduction due to Sheridan College Davis Campus closure:
Morning rush hour service: every 10 minutes, some 20 minute gaps.
Mid-day service: every 30 minutes.
Afternoon rush hour service: every 11 minutes, some 20 minute gaps.
Evening service: every 15 minutes, some 30 minute gaps.
109 Meadowvale ExpressService reduction due to reduced customer demand:
Morning rush hour service: every 12 minutes, some 25-30 minute gaps.
Mid-day service: every 11 minutes, some 20 minute gaps.
Afternoon rush hour service: every 10 minutes, some 18 minute gaps.
Evening service: every 10 minutes, some 18 minute gaps.
110 University ExpressService reduction due to UTM closure:
Morning rush hour service: every 10 minutes, some 20 minute service.
Mid-day service: every 30 minutes.
Afternoon rush hour service: every 10 minutes, some 20 minute service.
Evening service: every 20 minutes, some 40 minute service.
The following express services will be cancelled until further notice. Local service will remain in place to provide coverage.

RouteService
100 Airport ExpressFull cancellation due to drop in airport demand.
101/101A Dundas ExpressFull cancellation – customers to use Route 1/1C Dundas.
103 Hurontario ExpressFull cancellation – customer to use Route 19 Hurontario.
104 Derry ExpressFull cancellation – customer to use Route 42 Derry.
107 Malton ExpressFull cancellation – customer to use Route 7 Airport or Route 24 Northwest.
Weekend Express ServiceFull cancellation of all routes.
In addition, the following changes are in effect:

  • MiWay transit operators are permitted to wear personally-supplied face masks while on duty. This is a personal choice by the individual and does not assume the operator wearing the mask is sick.
  • City Centre Transit Terminal (CCTT) remains open to the public. Construction at the terminal will continue at the discretion of the contractors.
MiWay remains committed to providing city-wide transit service and supporting the social distancing efforts recommended by Peel Public Health and the provincial and federal governments.

Visit miway.ca for the latest updates on how the City is managing transit service, and miway.ca/planatrip for real-time trip schedules.
 
The Transitway's first phase opened in November 2014, so my comparisons are based on the September 2014 weekday schedules to today between Islington and Square One:

AM Peak: 36 minutes to 31 minutes (-5 minutes)
Midday: 35 minutes to 30 minutes (-5 minutes)
PM Peak: 41 minutes to 32 minutes (-9 minutes)
Evening: 35 minutes to 29 minutes (-6 minutes)

The biggest time savings were in the PM peak, along with the benefit of more reliable and frequent service. Schedules between Islington and Renforth Station (Skymark Hub) have not changed much so the majority of the time savings is from Renforth to Square One. The 109 also has the benefit of being the most frequent route by far of the 4 routes (3, 20, 26, 76) serving the Square One area, especially on weekdays. At 8 minutes peak, 12 minute midday and 14 minutes evening service you don't really need to plan around the schedule. The one weakness is frequency going from ~15 to 20 minutes for the last hour of service between 10-11pm on weekdays, and service should probably run a hour or two later than the current last trip of 11:04pm from Islington.
Moving to Kipling should hopefully make things a bit faster still soon too.

Also recall that the Six Points construction has probably mitigated a lot of those time gains. Once buses move to Kipling, even when combined with the extra subway travel time, there should be another 2-3 minutes of shorter travel times.
 
Moving to Kipling should hopefully make things a bit faster still soon too.

Also recall that the Six Points construction has probably mitigated a lot of those time gains. Once buses move to Kipling, even when combined with the extra subway travel time, there should be another 2-3 minutes of shorter travel times.
What you gain in time saving moving from Islington to Kipling is lost by a longer walking distance from the terminal to the subway or TTC bus bay. Got a few more stairs to climb at Kipling compare to Islington. Then you got to deal with the traffic lights time getting onto Dundas. You gain time if you are going to Kipling in the first place and more so if you have been getting off at Islington.

You have a better chance of getting a seat at Kipling compare to Islington, depending on the time of the day and the day of the week.

Should know come late July or early Aug which route will continue onto Islington from Kipling, since there is a few 100's of riders that work in the area. That will add a few extra minutes of travel time in both direction for those riders.
 
MiWay's April 27 service changes will see the 19 and it's branches cancelled completely and replaced by 2 new routes, route 2 south of City Centre and route 17 north of City Centre.

The Hurontario corridor changes are in response to the LRT construction. Frequencies for routes 2 and 17 are not far off from what is currently offered on the 19 outside of peak periods, however the Saturday service is going to be a issue going from 8 minutes currently to 15-17 minutes on the 2 and 17.

Eliminating the branches of route 19 will allow for better vehicle loading as currently the 19 does get busier than the 19A/19B/19C, as it serves some busy stops south of the Queensway.

Route 2 frequency
Weekday 18-20 minutes early AM; 9-10 minutes AM peak, Midday, PM peak; 15 minutes evening; 20 minutes overnight.
Saturday 20 minutes early AM; 15-17 minutes midday; 15 minutes evening; 30 minutes late evening.
Sunday 20 minutes early AM; 15 minutes midday; 16-18 minutes evening; 30 minutes late evening.

Route 17 Frequency
Weekday 18-20 minutes early AM; 10 minutes AM peak, Midday, PM peak; 15 minutes evening; 18 minutes overnight.
Saturday 20 minutes early AM; 15-17 minutes midday; 28-30 minutes late evening.
Sunday 18-20 minutes early AM, 15-17 minutes midday; 28-30 minutes late evening.

Other changes
Route 25
will be expanded to cover the industrial area currently served by route 19B. It will have a revised routing with 2 buses and run every 13 minutes during peak periods. Connections to route 103 will be made at Hurontario and Milverton.
Route 103 will have another stop at Hurontario and Milverton in both directions to connect with route 25.
Route 104 (Derry Express) will have weekday midday service added with 20 minute service using 5 buses.
Route 107 will now serve Humber all year round instead of getting cut back to Westwood during the spring/summer months.
 
Should know come late July or early Aug which route will continue onto Islington from Kipling, since there is a few 100's of riders that work in the area. That will add a few extra minutes of travel time in both direction for those riders.

Why can MiWay provide "free" service between Kipling and Islington to residents coming from Mississauga? I understand there are people who work there coming from Peel region, but that is true for a lot of areas in Toronto, and they don't get the second fare free.
 
Why can MiWay provide "free" service between Kipling and Islington to residents coming from Mississauga? I understand there are people who work there coming from Peel region, but that is true for a lot of areas in Toronto, and they don't get the second fare free.
because miway isn't the TTC and doesn't double charge when crossing municipal borders.
 
because miway isn't the TTC and doesn't double charge when crossing municipal borders.
I meant, why is MiWay going to continue bringing their residents to Islington station? Why not just bring them all the way to Union free of charge? Kind of arbitrary if there's no longer going to be a MiWay terminal there once the new Kipling station is done. It doesn't make environmental sense to duplicate the line.

Also, my understanding is that the TTC operates routes into Mississauga Malton for MiWay (the reverse isn't true, MiWay isn't operating for the TTC in Etobicoke). The fare the TTC collects crossing Highway 427 goes to MiWay, not TTC.
 
I don't see the problem, really. How many commuters on MiWay are headed to the office buildings at Islington and Bloor?

Compare that to the number of YRT commuters forced to pay a double fare to go to York University, or walk a longer distance.
 
MiWay's April 27 service changes will see the 19 and it's branches cancelled completely and replaced by 2 new routes, route 2 south of City Centre and route 17 north of City Centre.

The Hurontario corridor changes are in response to the LRT construction. Frequencies for routes 2 and 17 are not far off from what is currently offered on the 19 outside of peak periods, however the Saturday service is going to be a issue going from 8 minutes currently to 15-17 minutes on the 2 and 17.

Eliminating the branches of route 19 will allow for better vehicle loading as currently the 19 does get busier than the 19A/19B/19C, as it serves some busy stops south of the Queensway.

Route 2 frequency
Weekday 18-20 minutes early AM; 9-10 minutes AM peak, Midday, PM peak; 15 minutes evening; 20 minutes overnight.
Saturday 20 minutes early AM; 15-17 minutes midday; 15 minutes evening; 30 minutes late evening.
Sunday 20 minutes early AM; 15 minutes midday; 16-18 minutes evening; 30 minutes late evening.

Route 17 Frequency
Weekday 18-20 minutes early AM; 10 minutes AM peak, Midday, PM peak; 15 minutes evening; 18 minutes overnight.
Saturday 20 minutes early AM; 15-17 minutes midday; 28-30 minutes late evening.
Sunday 18-20 minutes early AM, 15-17 minutes midday; 28-30 minutes late evening.

Other changes
Route 25
will be expanded to cover the industrial area currently served by route 19B. It will have a revised routing with 2 buses and run every 13 minutes during peak periods. Connections to route 103 will be made at Hurontario and Milverton.
Route 103 will have another stop at Hurontario and Milverton in both directions to connect with route 25.
Route 104 (Derry Express) will have weekday midday service added with 20 minute service using 5 buses.
Route 107 will now serve Humber all year round instead of getting cut back to Westwood during the spring/summer months.

What about consolidating the Eglinton buses routes?
 

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