York Region Transit route 107 'Keele'

Also see the TTC route history: 107 Keele North.

107 Keele North

Number of Branches	5
Distance	18.0 km (Teston - Downsview Station)
Types of buses used	Orion V , Orion VII/NG , GM New Look
Divisions	TTC Wilson
2008 Ridership	867,620 (▼ 3.4% from 2006)
Jan 2009 Weekday Average	3,003

Basic

107 Keele North is a base route operated by the TTC for YRT in Vaughan, ON. This route serves Keele St. between Steeles and Kirby Rd.

This route has 5 main branches:

107A Teston Rd - Wilson Station (First AM trip weekdays)
107B Rutherford GO Station - Downsview Station (Weekdays)
107C Teston Rd - Downsview Station (7 days a week)
107D McNaughton Rd - Downsview Station (Weekends)
107F Kirby Rd - Downsview Station (Rush hour only)

These routes serve the Maple and Concord communities. 107B connects to Rutherford GO Station, and branches B, C, and F serve York University.

All branches of 107 run alongside VIVA Purple between Highway 7 and York Blvd. It connects at Keele and Highway 7, and also with Orange at York University.

History

Service was contracted out to the TTC by Vaughan Transit. This involved TTC operating the buses and collecting the fares, but Vaughan Transit paying for any losses in running the service. A TTC fare was required for passengers travelling south of Steeles Ave., but only a Vaughan fare was required if the entire trip was north of Steeles. When Vaughan Transit was aquired by YRT, the contract was picked up as well, with similar conditions.

Full, 7 day a week, 18 hour a day service was operating on Keele north of Steeles as early as 1996, and was the first route the TTC considered to have 'full' service that operated into York Region, as it had a solid line. It is not clear if route 41 was operating north of Steeles before Downsview Station opened, when 107 first started operating, but the complicated route structure seems to indicate so. Originally, there were 3 branches. 107C operated to McNaughton (which is 107D today), 107 to Rutherford, and 107B to Langstaff, looping via Rivermede. 107 and 107C combined had full service, and 107B provided extra rush hour service.

In 1998, 2 additional branches were created: 107F (to Langstaff, looping with 107B) and 107D (to McNaughton, looping with 107C). These branches now looped through York University, while the other 3 branches skipped it. By 2002, the D and F branches had disappeared, with all service now operating through York U. 107C was extended north to Teston, looping on Drummond and Cranston Park, and 107B was extended to the new Rutherford GO station, via Basaltic. 107B also had increased service hours, and the 2 routes combined had full service south of Rivermede. In 2003, 107D was reinstated, looping at McNaughton. One year later, 107F was also reinstated, as a rush-hour branch to Kirby Rd. 107C also gained full service. By the summer of 2006, 107B/C/F began to serve York University year-round, as opposed to September-May previously.

107F has the record of going the furthest outside the TTC fare zone, all the way north to Kirby Rd, which is 12km north of Steeles. Even so, 107C comes in a clear second (Teston Rd, or 10km north of Steeles), with 107D roughly tying 224D for 3rd (between 8 and 9km).

107 is currently threatened. It has poor ridership, especially the portion south of Steeles. With the looming budget cuts, 107 south of Steeles is part of the considered cuts. Since service north of Steeles is under contract to YRT (and one of the best performing TTC routes north of Steeles), it will still have to be operated. If the southern portion is cut, it will be the only TTC route to fully operate outside of Toronto. Another possibility is that YRT will assume responsibility of this route.

In 2007, ridership decreased due to rider migration to VIVA Purple. Starting November 2008, this route was directly impacted by the York University strike.

Future Recommendations

N/A

Vehicles

107 is a non-accessible route. Even so, because Wilson has a large number of surplus accessible buses, it is not uncommon to see a number of VIIs or NGs providing service on this route. GM fishbowls are also found on this route.

High Schools

107C and F serve St. Joan of Arc Catholic High.

Summary

	Route	Frequency	Buses Used
Weekday Peak	B	16:30	6
	C	33:00	7
	F	33:00	7
Weekday Midday	B	40:00	2
Weekday Midday	C	30:00	3
Weekday Evening	C	30:00	3
Weekday Late Evening	C	40:00	2
Saturday	C	60:00	3
Saturday	D	60:00	3
Sunday	C	80:00	2
Sunday	D	80:00	2