VIVA + York Region Transit

[6ixGod]

YRT/VIVA is the most frustrating transit agency in the GTA. They literally spent billions building some of the most beautiful BRT stations I’ve seen and they **** the bed with mind numbingly horrible frequency and timing. It’s a region that still thinks they’re a sleepy suburb of Toronto….it’s not…especially Vaughan and Markham.

Build it and they will come. I know plenty of people who avoid VIVA simply because the scheduling and frequency makes no sense. Look at the GO stations in Markham, they’re packed every morning. People happily will ditch the car to take decent public transport.

 

[cplchanb]

YRT/VIVA is the most frustrating transit agency in the GTA. They literally spent billions building some of the most beautiful BRT stations I’ve seen and they **** the bed with mind numbingly horrible frequency and timing. It’s a region that still thinks they’re a sleepy suburb of Toronto….it’s not…especially Vaughan and Markham.

Build it and they will come. I know plenty of people who avoid VIVA simply because the scheduling and frequency makes no sense. Look at the GO stations in Markham, they’re packed every morning. People happily will ditch the car to take decent public transport.

they had 15 years of data even before covid to show that the build it and they will come sentiment didnt necessarily ring true. suburban moms and dads still clung to their giant suvs. covid and the horror stories of TTC assaults certainly did not help.

 

[Wm Perkins Bull]

YRT/VIVA is the most frustrating transit agency in the GTA. They literally spent billions building some of the most beautiful BRT stations I’ve seen and they **** the bed with mind numbingly horrible frequency and timing. It’s a region that still thinks they’re a sleepy suburb of Toronto….it’s not…especially Vaughan and Markham.

Build it and they will come. I know plenty of people who avoid VIVA simply because the scheduling and frequency makes no sense. Look at the GO stations in Markham, they’re packed every morning. People happily will ditch the car to take decent public transport.

once you stop thinking of VIVA as a transit project and more as a jobs program it stops being a disgrace, and more an ingenious plan to gyp the province out of billions of dollars.

 

[ARG1]

once you stop thinking of VIVA as a transit project and more as a jobs program it stops being a disgrace, and more an ingenious plan to gyp the province out of billions of dollars.

Its neither, its a development project.

 

[Rainforest]

YRT/VIVA is the most frustrating transit agency in the GTA. They literally spent billions building some of the most beautiful BRT stations I’ve seen and they **** the bed with mind numbingly horrible frequency and timing. It’s a region that still thinks they’re a sleepy suburb of Toronto….it’s not…especially Vaughan and Markham.

Viva dropped the ball, big time. They began with frequencies 15 min or better, even when they had no busways and had to run in mixed traffic. 15 min or better is when the riders don't need to time their trips to the bus schedule, and can just come to the stop.

Now they have busways, but the frequency on some routes is every 20+ minutes. Not even exactly 20' clockface, but 20+.

They used to have direct connections to York U, both from Markham via RHC, and from the west end. The demand was so good that they had to run additional peak-time buses from RHC to York U.

Now, if you want to go from Markham to York U: First take Viva Purple to RHC, then Viva Orange to VMC, then subway to York U. Partly because York U doesn't want buses on their premises. But at least Viva could run a continuous service from Markham to Hwy 50 in the west.

 

[anb]

They used to have direct connections to York U, both from Markham via RHC, and from the west end. The demand was so good that they had to run additional peak-time buses from RHC to York U.

Now, if you want to go from Markham to York U: First take Viva Purple to RHC, then Viva Orange to VMC, then subway to York U. Partly because York U doesn't want buses on their premises. But at least Viva could run a continuous service from Markham to Hwy 50 in the west.

At least the TTC is doing something right in comparison with the Finch West corridor (well only except no BRT/LRT on the east side). They already have the 939 going to the station but imagine if they settled at just Yonge/Finch, then you had to take the 36 to Keele, then the subway to York U.

That is exactly what it feels like on Highway 7. If you have to take the Zum at VMC you have to also do the Purple -> Orange trip which makes the entire experience disjointed. If Viva Purple could extend to VMC, and let Zum handle the west end into Brampton that would make Highway 7 an actual frequent corridor.

Maybe Viva Orange can still exist, it can start at the Major Mac terminal then head down Jane, turn on Highway 7 to head straight to Highway 50, and they can even turn on The Gore Rd to head to Humber College. This move can benefit both BT and YRT as it’ll alleviate overcrowding on the BT 50 and 501 routes while giving more ridership to YRT.