What’s going on subway surfers, we’re back on the surface today exploring some abandoned
bus loops around Toronto. While we were able to count more than 160 bus loops that have
existed in the Toronto area over the course of transit history, many have been demolished
to make way for development, while others are still in use today. However, we were able
to locate seven bus loops that no longer see regular service, but still exist. Today, we’ll
be visiting these locations, exploring their history and what they look like today. I’m
Zach with Vanishing Underground, and let’s get started.
The first bus loop on our list is in Vaughan, near the intersection of Dufferin and Racco.
Service to the loop began in 1993, with the 105 Wilson Heights being extended from its
former terminus at Glen Shields. At the time, the loop was the northern end of development
for the area, save for some industrial buildings around Langstaff Road. The loop remained in
service until 2000, when the route was extended further north, and renamed from Wilson Heights
to Dufferin North. Today, the loop is part of the Dufferin Public Works Yard for the
City of Vaughan, but is still publicly accessible. YRT’s route 105 services a stop at the nearby
intersection of Dufferin and Racco, following a similar route to the previous TTC bus.
The next loop on our list is near the interchange of Highway 401 and 404 in North York, beside
George S Henry Academy. Service to the loop began in 1985, with the new route 122 Graydon
Hall running between the loop and York Mills Station. While the route was initially intended
to extend further east under the Don Valley Parkway, issues with parked cars and narrow
corners forced the plans to be cut back. Route 166, which serviced portions of route 122
as well as route 115 Silver Hills on weekday evenings and Saturdays, also terminated at
the loop between 1991 and 1992, before it was discontinued. 2004 saw the 122 finally
extend under the Don Valley Parkway, removing most service from the loop. However, to this
day, limited school trips on the 25 Don Mills route leave the loop at the George S Henry
Academy bell time, running north on Don Mills to Steeles.
Next up is the oldest loop on our list, located at the northeast corner of Mount Pleasant
and Eglinton. This loop began service in 1925 as the terminus for the St Clair streetcar,
and saw service relatively unchanged for over 50 years. In 1975, service along Mount Pleasant
was changed from the St Clair streetcar route to its own Mount Pleasant streetcar route,
however this was short lived, as streetcar service along Mount Pleasant was abandoned
the following year. After a brief hiatus being serviced by diesel buses, trolleybuses were
placed into operation along Mount Pleasant in 1977, following the former streetcar route
to St Clair station. However, these were withdrawn in 1991, replaced by the diesel buses that
we know today. With the loop being located in close proximity to the future Mount Pleasant
station on Line 5, service was removed from the loop in 2016 to improve reliability, being
extended further north on Mount Pleasant. However, once construction is complete, we
expect service will resume to the loop, providing convenient access to the future station.
The Roe loop is located on Avenue Road, roughly half way between Wilson and Lawrence. Service
to the current loop began in 1954 with the introduction of the new 61 Nortown trolleybus
route, which travelled south on Avenue Road from the loop. Later that year, a new route
1 began service to the loop, running north to Bombay, near the current terminus of the
Avenue Road North bus. The 61 Nortown bus was renamed to the 61 Nortown West in 1985,
and revised to end at the current Eglinton station. In 1990, the introduction of express
service along Avenue Road saw the cancellation of rush hour service on Route 1, with only
midday service remaining. However this was short lived, with route 1 and 61 being merged
to form the present day Avenue Road North route in 1992, with service to the loop continuing
outside of weekday daytimes. Finally in 2004, the remaining route 61 service was extended
to Bombay at all operating hours, removing all service from the loop. In 2019 and continuing
into the beginning of 2020, routes 124 and 162 were temporarily extended to the loop
due to construction at Lawrence station, however this diversion was short lived, and the loop
is once again unused today. Another loop in North York, the Seneca College
loop is located on Finch, just west of Highway 404 on the site of Seneca’s Newnham campus.
Originally opened in 1969 as the terminus for the 36 Finch bus, the loop also saw the
25 Don Mills bus extend to end at the loop in 1971. In 1974, a major reorganization in
service in response to development saw the 25 service withdrawn, and the 36 service replaced
with the new 39 Finch East bus. The 39 was extended east one year later, however some
trips continued to turn back at the loop. This continued in various time periods until
1989, when service was removed altogether. However, three years later, service was reintroduced,
along with a new 39F Express variation. This service continued until 2016, when a major
reorganization of service saw route 39 buses removed from the loop and extended east. Today,
the loop is used by Seneca College’s shuttle buses, and no longer sees regular TTC service.
Back in Vaughan, an off-street loop at Weston and Langstaff saw service begin in 1989, when
the 96K branch of the Wilson bus was introduced, running to Wilson Station. The 96 was split
two years later, resulting in the 96K being renamed to the 165B Weston. A second 165D
branch began servicing the loop in 1992, running outside of rush hours to York Mills Station,
while the 165B continued during rush hours to Wilson. However, less than four months
later, the 165 was extended further north, removing TTC service from the loop. Vaughan
Transit route 6 Ansley Grove also used the loop as a terminus until around 2003-2004,
when it was discontinued. Today, the loop remains unused and unmaintained.
Our final stop is the Woodbine Centre loop, located in Etobicoke. Service to the loop
began in 1985 with the opening of the mall, when the 37D branch of the Islington bus was
extended. Two weeks later, Mississauga Transit also revised their route 12 to service the
loop, and introduced a new route 30, which terminated at the mall. The 37D was extended
past the loop in 1992 to its present terminus, and renamed to the 37A, however a Sunday only
branch named the 37D was introduced the following year, running from the mall along Rexdale
Boulevard. TTC service was removed from the loop in 1999, but continued stopping on street.
Mississauga Transit also saw their 7 Airport bus extend Sunday service to the loop in 2002,
however this was withdraw later in the decade. Route 12 was also moved on street sometime
in the decade, however the timeline is unknown. Finally, the loop was abandoned in June 2019,
with route 30 being extended along Rexdale Boulevard, replacing route 12. However, the
shelter remains in place, although there are no plans for service to be reintroduced.
Thanks for watching. We hope you enjoyed this video, and learned about some new bus loops
in Toronto. If you know of any other abandoned bus loops in the Toronto area that still exist
today, feel free to leave them in the comments, and we’ll check them out for a part two
of this video. As always, feel free to leave a like and a comment if you have any questions,
or want to see more, and as for us here, we’ll be Vanishing Underground until the next one.