VIVA + York Region Transit

[Sandpit]

People continue to remain shocked that frequent service is rewarded by solid ridership. If York Region actually went big on bus service, by a similar percent as BT and MiWay have done this year, then YRT would likely experience significant ridership increase.

Maybe try reducing fares to below $4 too. It’s a pretty big psychological barrier.

 

[Undead]

It's not that people don't know that. It's York Region politics. They care about the subway extensions and better GO service. Local buses don't exist in their worldview.

People continue to remain shocked that frequent service is rewarded by solid ridership. If York Region actually went big on bus service, by a similar percent as BT and MiWay have done this year, then YRT would likely experience significant ridership increase.

 

[cplchanb]

It's not that people don't know that. It's York Region politics. They care about the subway extensions and better GO service. Local buses don't exist in their worldview.

People tend to forget the geographical area of york region is 3x the size of toronto and 8x the size of Brampton, yet population density is a fraction of them. Yrt has a mandate to serve all communities within their region so imagine how much it would be per capita compared to Brampton. The fact that population is stretched so thin supports the bias towards driving so unless they increase density on corridors to the point local transit becomes more economical and convenient than driving you can decrease fares or increase service all you want. People won't take transit

 

[Bordercollie]

York region has a population of 1.1M vs Brampton at ~600,000;

York Region is promising funding to YRT that has no increases for inflation/population:

View attachment 588236

Brampton Transit has gross expenditures of 91M in 2024 more than 2.5x what York Region will spend, spread over less than 60% of the population.

***

Where exactly did you get the idea that YRT was getting a budget similar to BT? Its not even close.


Brampton Transit Budget: $151 per person

YRT Budget: $32 per person

Ummm but take into consideration that probably 3x as many people live in Brampton than what is actually recorded. So....it's about 30% more than yrt. Also during the rush Brampton has Multiple buses that are full to the brim where YRT..not so much...

 

[Bordercollie]

The thing is its not just rush hours. Even at like 12pm, the Newmarket Busses are typically packed when compared to the Bernard busses.

Bring back the express bus from Newmarket to Bernard.

 

[cplchanb]

Bring back the express bus from Newmarket to Bernard.

whats the point when viva can do 80% of that and barely anyone would use it anyways.

 

[Bordercollie]

whats the point when viva can do 80% of that and barely anyone would use it anyways.

You mean the bus that is slower than the non BRT route?

2 hours to get from Newmarket to Finch is too long.

Having an express service would be beneficial as it would reduce the number of people who drive to Finch station in the rush.

 

[canarob]

The purple/purple A "combined" times are still a cop-out since more folks will now be going to new York U campus and Unionville GO, especially as GO service improves on the rail corridor and the 407 bus network continues to grow. Similarly, why not add buses to be a useful local feeder to the newish and still empty-ish Cornell bus terminal, especially if GO adds more 407 service to the terminal.

 

[Wm Perkins Bull]

People tend to forget the geographical area of york region is 3x the size of toronto and 8x the size of Brampton, yet population density is a fraction of them. Yrt has a mandate to serve all communities within their region so imagine how much it would be per capita compared to Brampton. The fact that population is stretched so thin supports the bias towards driving so unless they increase density on corridors to the point local transit becomes more economical and convenient than driving you can decrease fares or increase service all you want. People won't take transit

It is worth noting that the vast majority of York Region is empty, and that the urban parts of Vaughan, Richmond Hill, and Markham are still relatively populous. If they focused growth service there, and along Yonge up to Newmarket, they could significantly increase their farebox recovery ratio. Right now their farebox recovery ratio is abysmal due to a large amount of service being dial a ride style service instead of fixed route service.

Ummm but take into consideration that probably 3x as many people live in Brampton than what is actually recorded. So....it's about 30% more than yrt. Also during the rush Brampton has Multiple buses that are full to the brim where YRT..not so much...

Brampton's population is not 3x what the census says, it is perhaps 100-200k extra which is up to a third more people.

 

[ARG1]

You mean the bus that is slower than the non BRT route?

2 hours to get from Newmarket to Finch is too long.

Having an express service would be beneficial as it would reduce the number of people who drive to Finch station in the rush.

Ok I'm sorry, but in what universe is Viva Blue 2 hours to go from Newmarket to Finch? Even during rush hour its only 1h15, 20m faster than taking the local busses.

 

[6ixGod]

Classic YRT from 18 years ago February 2006
*this account still uploads transit videos, but apparently they’ve moved to Japan now.

Orion V

Classic YRT 2 Milliken approaching Kennedy/Denison

D40LF leaving Richmond Hill Centre

GM New Looks at Markham Stouffville Hospital

YRT 8 Kennedy in the old Markham Transit livery

 

[chrisw]

Budget Book 2025

Both overall YRT ridership and ridership per capita have been on the rise since 2021, with total ridership in 2024 about 3% higher than budgeted. Transit use is now greater than in 2019, before the pandemic, and trips per capita are trending towards the 2019 level.

The budget for 2025 and 2026 is based on the following assumptions:

• Ridership will grow by 2% in 2025 and will continue to rise in 2026
• Fares will increase by 3% on July 1 of 2025 and 2026, consistent with the outlook endorsed as part of the 2024 budget approval.

For 2025, the total gross budget will increase to $327.4 million, a rise of 7.6%, [Original plan was 5.6%] in line with higher ridership. The smaller increase in the net tax levy budget, at 4.7%, reflects recovering fare revenues.

The outlook for 2026 is for a 4.6% increase in each of both the gross and net tax levy budget.

Service plans will continue to support ridership recovery. Key goals are to ramp up service on major corridors and ensure seamless connections across different types of transit to make it easier to reach important destinations. Work on an updated service plan, to cover the years 2026 to 2029, is underway.

The gross operating budget will increase by 7.6%, more than the planned 5.6% due to increased ridership. Though the ridership growth projections are quite low.

We have the continued 3% fare increases but at least they're increasing the net tax levy by 4.7%.

Will be interesting to see their 2026-29 service plan.

 

[Sandpit]

Will be interesting to see their 2026-29 service plan.

Fingers crossed for 24-hour service on Yonge and Jane.

 

[Bojaxs]

Don't follow VIVA too much. Are there still plans to construct a BRT along Major Mackenzie? Be nice to have a rapid transit connection between Maple GO and Richmond Hill GO. Essentially connecting the Barrie and RH GO lines.

 

[chrisw]

Don't follow VIVA too much. Are there still plans to construct a BRT along Major Mackenzie? Be nice to have a rapid transit connection between Maple GO and Richmond Hill GO. Essentially connecting the Barrie and RH GO lines.

Yes, but Jane St BRT and Highway 7 East BRT are the current projects the region is prioritizing to ask for funding.