York Region Transit BRT Division

From CPTDB Wiki

YRT BRT Division is one of four YRT operational divisions. The BRT division handles operation of the 5 Viva routes, operating in Aurora, Markham, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Toronto and Vaughan.

The current contractor for the BRT division is York BRT Services LP, a subsidiary of Veolia Transportation Services, which also operates the Southwest division. The contract to operate and maintain the Viva bus rapid transit system was awarded on March 30, 2005 to 4286847 Canada LP and Connex Canada. Connex became Veolia, with the numbered company also eventually changing its name to York BRT Services LP. The original contract was for a five year term, expiring September 5, 2010, and containing a provision to be extended for another five years. Negotiations for a contract extension began in July 2009, with a 3-year extension being awarded until September 7, 2013 with a provision to negotiate two additional years.

Originally, the division consisted of two separated facilities. The Newmarket facility, located at 18106 Yonge Street, was owned by the region and opened in 2005 in accordance with Viva operation. It was used for storage and maintenance of the AG300 fleet for operation on VIVA Blue. A second cluster of facilities, located at 22, 51A and 91 Caldari Road, provided vehicle fuelling, washing and maintenance (located at S&N Diesel), administrative facilities, and storage for the A330 fleet, operating on Viva Purple, Orange, Pink and Green. The Caldari cluster was later consolidated into the 91 Caldari Road property. The Newmarket facility has been given to North Division upon the termination of the contract with First Student on January 16, 2012, and Viva Blue operations were temporarily being run out of the YRT Southwest division, which had the excess space. The lease for the 91 Caldari Road property expired on September 30, 2012, and a new temporary property at 8301 Keele Street now houses operations for all of the BRT division in one property. Construction of a new region-owned facility near Leslie Street and 16th Avenue, in the Headford Business Park, began on December 21, 2012, with an opening date in 2015.