Hey guys, welcome back to the channel! Today, we are taking you all to our current resident
city of York Region, and we're gonna show you guys the transit options that are currently
available here, and the transit options that will be coming soon to the area.
York Region is just north of Toronto proper. It consists of the cities and townships of
Aurora, East Gwillimbury, Georgina, King, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Vaughan,
and Whitchurch-Stouffville, and it is the third most populous region of the whole of
Canada, with a strong Asian Canadian presence.
Located in the Greater Toronto Area with such proximity to Toronto, York Region is conveniently
served by many of the transit operators from Toronto and the GTA including GO Transit and
the TTC, and it uniquely has the Viva system, which is a network of Bus Rapid Transit services
under York Region Transit that cover the region and branch out to the surrounding areas.
Let's first take a look at the TTC subway service that extends into York Region. About
two years ago, the Yonge University Spadina line welcomed the Vaughn extension, which
saw the western portion of the line extended to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, connecting
with other rapid transit services in the area.
The other subway line that is relevant to this video is the Sheppard subway line, which
connects Yonge street to Don Mills avenue along Sheppard.
Next, let's take a look at the GO services within the Region. The main Go services within
the area are the Barrie line, Stouffville line, and Richmond Hill line, covering a sizable
portion of the southern end of the region.
The Barrie line connects Toronto union station to Allandale Waterfront in the city of Barrie.
It cuts through the centre of York Region, serving the areas of Vaughan, Aurora, Newmarket,
and East Gwillimbury. You can transfer to the Yonge University Spadina Subway line at
Downsview Park station.
The Stouffville line connects Toronto union station to Lincolnville station near Uxbridge.
It serves the southeastern area of York Region, including the areas of Markham Unionville,
and Whitchurch-Stouffville.
The Richmond Hill line connects Toronto Union Station to Gormley station in Richmond Hill,
serving the titular Richmond Hill area in York Region. You can get on the Sheppard Line
with a little walk at Oriole station.
Alright, now let’s start talking about York Region’s own rapid transit system, the Viva
system. Viva is a part of the York Region Transit
system and is comprised of 6 BRT lines, mainly serving the southern, busier end of the region,
but does have some service up north in Newmarket.
The Viva Blue line is one of the longer lines of the Viva system, and rightfully so as it
runs on the central corridor of Yonge street, connecting Finch station in the south, through
Bernard terminal, and to newmarket terminal in the north.
The Viva Purple starts from Richmond Hill Centre Terminal and heads east on Highway
7 to near the eastern edge of Markham. We’ll soon see that Richmond Hill Centre terminal
is one of the biggest and most important interchange terminals of the system, with most of the
Viva lines, such as the two we have already mentioned, either terminating or passing through
there, and where you can also catch a Richmond Hill line GO train to the north or downtown.
The Viva orange starts from Richmond Hill Centre terminal as well and heads west, connecting
Promenade Terminal, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre on the subway, and further on highway 7.
The Viva Pink covers parts of both the Blue and Purple lines, but terminates at Unionville
station instead, where you can catch a Stouffville line train either north or south. This is
a great intermediate line for the most used sections of the system.
The Viva Green takes a jagged route from Don Mills subway station north until it reaches
the purple and pink lines, and follows the purple line before ending at McCowan. This
is a line that mimics the Pink line but serving the area more to the east of Yonge Street
in Thornhill.
And finally, the Viva Yellow is up north serving the Newmarket area, connecting the Newmarket
Terminal, where the Blue line ends, east to Highway 404 terminal. The line connects to
Newmarket GO station on the Barrie line, giving riders a good transfer option to other parts
of town.
Although it is referred to as a BRT System, only a relatively small portion of the routes
has dedicated bus lanes, with the most prominent being the portion of Highway 7 between Richmond
Hill terminal and Unionville terminal, and some more near Vaughan Metropolitan Centre
and Newmarket terminals.
The last rapid transit line we’ll mention today is the Zum Queen route. Zum is the equivalent
to Viva for Brampton, one of the cities to the west of York Region, and its Queen route
covers parts of the viva orange route, and further west into Brampton.
Alright, so this is the current situation of York Regions rapid transit services. The
coverage is quite extensive right now even without us talking about the local bus system
yet, but it is a bit lacking in the middle of the region with most of the service focused
on the southern, more populous end.
Now, let’s start talking about the future of rapid transit in York Region.
First up, we’ll talk about the TTC subway as it finally expands more into the region.
The Yonge Subway Extension is a project currently in the works that will extend the Yonge line
from Finch to Richmond Hill Centre terminal, adding up to 6 new subway stations, and connecting
a crucial corridor in terms of Toronto transit and York Region transit.
As we have mentioned before, most of the Viva lines, as well as the Richmond Hill GO line
either terminate or pass through Richmond Hill Centre Terminal, and with a subway connection
it would mean a much faster and smoother journey without needing an extra ride on the Viva
Blue line, and relieving much of the traffic in this busy section of Yonge Street.
This subway extension would also mean relocating a few of the TTC bus routes that run on Steeles
Avenue and Cummer/Drewry Avenue; these all used to terminate at Finch station, and this
would mean a definite decrease in bus traffic along this section of Yonge.
Currently, the Yonge subway extension is still in the planning, design, and engineering phase
and will remain so for another year or two. After that, it will be at least 10 years before
it will finally open, so we will be looking at around a 2030 opening date. However, with
the connections and convenience it brings, it definitely will be a worthwhile wait.
Next up, let’s zoom in and take a look at all the Viva expansions and extensions.
Situated in Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, The SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal will be a
9-bay bus terminal for YRT and Viva buses, helping customers connect to transit within
and outside of York Region with much more comfort. This terminal will also serve as
a central hub for surrounding commercial and residential development, being a short walk
to amenities and offices. Construction was delayed for a bit at the end of last year,
but it is slated for completion before the end of this year. This should really spruce
up the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre area even more, and grow traffic for the under-utilized
subway extension.
Next up, we have a series of Viva rapidways that will create dedicated BRT lanes and Viva
stations in different places of the system, which will bring much faster, and comfortable
service for riders and they look very nice as well, as a bonus.
The first rapidway project is the Newmarket Yonge Street project, which covers 2.4 kilometers
on Yonge Street from the connection to Viva Yellow at Davis drive south to Savage-Sawmill
Valley. This project is very close to York Region’s headquarters in Newmarket, as well
as being situated in downtown Newmarket, creating a smooth connection there. Construction began
in 2016, and the rapidway is slated to open this year.
Next, we have the Yonge Street Richmond Hill rapidway. This project covers the length of
Yonge from Highway 7 to 19th Avenue, adding 6.5 kilometres and 7 centre-lane Vivastations
to the system. Uniquely though, since there is a heritage area between major mackenzie
and Crosby, Viva will continue to drive in mixed traffic, and there will be a curbside
station at Crosby instead. Construction began in 2014, and riders will be able to use this
rapidway next year in 2020.
The next two projects are both upgrades on the western portion of Highway 7 where the
Viva Orange runs, so they have been grouped together for the sake of discussion. The two
projects are the Highway 7 west project from Vaughan Metropolitan Centre to Wigwoss-Helen
and the Bathurst & Centre project from near the Barrie line crossing to Richmond Hill
terminal. There will be a total of 12.6 km of new rapidway, and 10 new viva stations
added to the system, and it finally fleshes out the Rapidway for the main portion of Highway
7 that the Viva system uses. Both of these projects are scheduled to open for service
by the end of 2019, and we look forward to riding the full route on the Viva Orange then.
The final project currently under construction is the Cornell Bus terminal, This terminal
will be located in close proximity of the current eastern end of the Viva Purple line
at Markham Stouffville Hospital, with 11 bus bays for YRT and Viva Buses. This will be
a central transit hub for the surrounding area, with it being within walking distance
to the hospital, as well as Cornell Community Centre and library. Construction has begun,
and it will be completed by the end of this year as well.
Besides these already under-construction projects, there are a number of planned, but unfunded
projects for the Viva system, which we will take a look at right now.
First up, we have the Yonge Street rapidway project, which will finally bridge the gap
between the Richmond Hill section and the Newmarket section. This section of rapidway
will be 14.5 kilometers long, and it will add 9 new viva stations.
Next, we have the Highway 7 west rapidway project, which will finish up what the previous
highway 7 west rapidway started to convert the rest of the Viva orange route into a proper
rapidway, as well as extending service further to highway 50. This will add 5.8 kilometers
of rapidway and 6 stations to the system.
After that, we have the Highway 7 east rapidway project, which will round up the conversion
of the whole highway 7 into having bus rapidway, covering the section between Kennedy and Cornell
terminal. This project will add 9.5 kilometers of rapidway, and 8 viva stations.
As for proposed, but unfunded extensions and new routes in the system, we have a few of
those projects as well. In the future, Viva plans to add BRT service on Major Mackenzie
Drive between Jane and the Stouffville line, Jane Street between Major Mackenzie and Steeles,
and Leslie street/Don Mills road from Major Mackenzie to Don Mills station. These will
be 23 kilometers, 6 kilometers, and 14 kilometers respectively, and will finally add some needed
mid section connections to the system.
Alright, so this is about it for Viva expansions, there were quite a few of them, and the system
is shaping up to be even more comprehensive in the future, which is super exciting.
To round out the video, we’ll take a look at the GO transit extensions and expansions
that will improve the general connectivity of the area.
The Richmond Hill GO line is getting a one-station extension to Bloomington, as well as 15 to
30-minute weekday rush-hour service for a much smoother journey downtown. No word on
when this expansion will come into play, but hopefully that will be soon with construction
at Bloomington already underway.
As part of Metrolinx’s Regional Express Rail service, both the Stouffville line and
the Barrie line are getting much-expanded service and frequencies. Both lines are getting
two tracks on some sections and major improvements on other sections, with electrification on
the horizon as well.
By 2025, the Stouffville line will be getting all-day, two-way, 15-minute service from Union
to Unionville, with the rest of the line also getting 20 minute service during rush hour,
and the Barrie Line will be getting all-day, two-way, 15 minute service from Union to Aurora,
with the rest of the line getting 30 minute service during rush hour. Both lines are also
getting infill stations along its routes, the York Region relevant ones being Innisfil,
Mulock, and Kirby on the Barrie line.
This will be super exciting especially for commuters living in York Region looking to
get downtown for work or pleasure, or traveling to different destinations, and we will most
likely be benefiting a lot from this as well!
And finally, there are long-term plans to extend service of the Stouffville line beyond
Lincolnville to Uxbridge. Since these tracks are already owned by GO Transit, it just makes
sense to finish traveling the whole way anyway. Until this happens though, there is a GO bus
service to Uxbridge.
Alright, that was a long one, but we are finally at the end of recounting all the rapid transit
expansion plans for York Region. Lots of new service coming to the region as a whole, and
we are definitely most looking forward to the whole region being fitted out by BRT Rapidways
in the future.
Like, subscribe, and let us know in the comments what you are most excited about for the future
of rapid transit in York Region, and which city you would like us to do a Future of video
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our Patreon. Thanks for watching guys, and we’ll see you in the next one!