What’s going on subway surfers, we’re back on the surface today for our series,
Random Transiting. For this series, we explore a random bus stop, route or other notable
transit facility, taking a look at some interesting facts about the chosen transit feature. For
this edition, we’re taking a look at the Humber College Bus Terminal in northwest Toronto.
I’m Zach with Vanishing Underground, and let’s take a look.
Humber College Bus Terminal is located near the intersection of Highway 27 and Humber
College Blvd in Etobicoke, roughly 20 kilometres northwest of Downtown Toronto. Constructed
on the site of Humber College’s North Campus, this 10 bay bus terminal services routes from
four different transit agencies, which connect to Brampton, Mississauga, Vaughan, and North
York. The off street terminal replaced stops on Humber College Blvd, which were often overcrowded
to high volumes of students and buses. The new terminal opened in September 2015,
located 250 metres southeast of the previous off street stops. Buses enter the terminal
using the main entrance of Humber College off of Silver Bell Lane, with seven of the
ten bays located in a bus-only area.
The terminal is divided into three lanes with
three bus bays each, along with an additional bay on the west end of the terminal, and a
Wheel-Trans Access Hub. Overhead canopies run along platforms 2 through 10, with wind screens
to provide some shelter for waiting passengers. On the southern platform a Wheel-Trans Access
hub contains a partially enclosed heated shelter, along with an accessible ramp. A partially
enclosed shelter also exists at Platform 1, servicing MiExpress buses into Mississauga
City Centre. Each platform contains a next vehicle departure screen, which displays times
for the next few buses, as well as weather forecasts and Humber College news. Pedestrian
crosswalks exist on the peripheries of the terminal, allowing passengers to access the
various platforms, as well as waste receptacles scattered throughout the terminal.
The Humber College Terminal is one of the most regionally connected transit terminals
in the Greater Toronto Area, with bus routes from four transit agencies converging on the
site. From Toronto, buses on the 96 Wilson, 927 Highway 27 Express and 996 Wilson Express
service the terminal running east to connect to Line 1, and south to Line 2. Overnight
service on the 336 Finch West bus also stops at the terminal, running between Finch Station
and Woodbine Racetrack. From Vaughan, York Region Transit buses on the 7 Martin Grove
run north to Woodbridge, connecting with VIVA Orange and 501 Züm Queen routes at Highway
7. Brampton’s 511 Züm Steeles and 11 Steeles local buses also end at the terminal, providing
service west to Lisgar GO Station and the Brampton Gateway Terminal.
Brampton Transit also offers connections north
on the 50 Gore Road bus, which also connects to the 501 Züm Queen at Queen Street. Finally,
MiWay offers daily connections to the Westwood Square Terminal in Malton, as well as weekday
service during the school year to Pearson Airport and the Mississauga City Centre. With
the arrival of the Finch West LRT in 2023, this terminal will serve as an important regional
transit hub, providing important connections to these aforementioned destinations.
Nearby, the final stop for the Line 6 Finch West LRT is being constructed, which will
connect from Humber College to the Finch West Station on Line 1. This below grade stop is
located roughly 250 metres east of the bus terminal beside Highway 27, and will provide
an important rapid transit link into North York. From preliminary plans and drawings,
it seems that the existing bus terminal will remain in place once the LRT opens, with a
sidewalk linking from the LRT station to the bus terminal. We hope that the LRT will be
a catalyst for increased regional connections at the terminal, with more local and rapid
transit routes being extended to connect with the LRT. While TTC plans to extend their 37A
Islington bus to the terminal once the LRT opens, no other regional transit agencies
have released their plans at this time. GO Transit also recently withdrew their services
from this area, with the 38A Bolton / North York bus ending service in June 2019.
Thanks for watching. We hope you enjoyed, and perhaps found a new place to check out
on your next adventure. If you have any questions or we got anything wrong, leave us a comment
down below, and we’ll be sure to get back to you. Feel free to leave a like if you want
to see more, and as for us here, we’ll be Vanishing Underground until the next one.