System TTC Bus System Locale Toronto, Ontario | Began service 2009 Start Downsview Station | |
 | ||
Operator Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Routes 196 York University Rocket,
199B Finch Rocket,
Viva Orange | ||
The York University Busway is the collective name for a series of bus lanes and bus only roadways leading from Downsview station to York University, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is used by the Toronto Transit Commission's 196 York University Rocket and York Region Transit's Viva Orange bus rapid transit routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The busway was constructed to address over-crowding and reliability issues on the route 196 York U Rocket.
Contents
The busway increased the average speed of route 196 by 41% from 23.3km/h to 32.8km/h, making it the third fastest TTC route at rush hour, after the Scarborough RT and route 192 Airport Rocket. It is now faster than any of the subway lines. Due to the savings in time from using the busway, service frequency on route 196 was increased from every 2 minutes 15 seconds to every 2 minutes while reducing the number of buses operating on the route from 20 to 16.
Overview
Going north from Downsview station to York University, the segments are as follows:
Total Length: ~6.5 km
The busways consist of a single lane in each direction with barriers along the side. The busway within the hydro corridor has Ontario Tall Wall barriers and the busway within York University has guardrails. Where busways intersect with minor streets, traffic signals are equipped with transit signal priority allowing buses to pass through without stopping. To facilitate left turns from the curbside bus lanes on Dufferin Street to the hydro corridor busway, there is a jughandle controlled by traffic signals.
The busway in the Finch hydro corridor is officially named "York University Busway", but the busway within the York University campus is unnamed. In TTC route descriptions, the busway within York University is referred to as "busway" (i.e. Buses turn north on busway...) and the busway in the Finch hydro corridor referred to as "busway on hydro corridor."
The stops are as follows, from north to south:
History
The busway was proposed in 2004 to increase speed and reliability on Route 196. Groundbreaking occurred on July 25, 2008, with completion planned for the fall 2009 school term.
During construction, it was discovered that a gas pipeline was closer to the surface than had been thought, so the busway in the hydro corridor had to be redesigned to accommodate it. This caused it to be delayed, and the only part that was open for the fall 2009 school term was the busway within York University, which started operation on September 6, 2009. Consequently, route 196 buses continued to use Keele and Sheppard avenues. The busway was officially opened on November 20, 2009 and route 196 was rerouted immediately. Other TTC routes using the busway were rerouted a week later.
The final cost of the busway was $37.8 million, of which $18.4 million was contributed by the City of Toronto, and $9.6 million was contributed each from the Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario.
In early 2010, the "busway on hydro corridor" was given the official name "York University Busway".
On May 1, 2011, Viva Orange began using the York University Busway.
On March 28, 2016, TTC route 199 Finch Rocket was extended westward to York University from its previous terminus at Finch Station as the 199B Finch Rocket. It travels along the York University Busway from Dufferin Street and Finch Avenue to York University.
Routes
Other transit agencies are welcome to use the busway:
Criticism
The busway has been criticized as a waste of money because routes 196 York University Rocket and Viva Orange will cease service when the Spadina subway extension opens in 2017. When the busway was announced, the subway extension project was an unfunded proposal. It allows buses to operate at comparable frequency and speed to the subway extension, and to bypass traffic caused by subway construction. The Dufferin Street-Allen Road portion will continue to be used after the subway extension opens. The TTC had intended to close the busway after the Spadina subway extension subway extension to Vaughan opens, but on November 14, 2016, the TTC decided not to close the busway. Instead, the 199B Finch Rocket will continue to use the busway.