elliott

The 185 reminds me of 102, that became a 502 with the notherly extension. I anticipate the same with the 185 going to become 105 when it gets extended southward to Dixie Mall. 185 is actually a clever number for this route. 100-series for express, then 18 for Brampton's route number for Dixie, then 5 for Mississauga's portion. Cross fingers for a 15-minute service than a 30-minute one.

And speaking of 109, there are two 109s that broke down at Square One's Platform O this evening. Didn't see the numbers as I was walking on the south side of Ratburn combined with my poor eyesight.

Is that on top of the one that is being implemented on the 27th? If so, that's great news. I also heard Dixie will get an express route first before Derry.

I think the UTM short trips during rush hours that are being cut on the summer can become a 110E or 110X (i.e. Square One - UTM super express) at the peak direction, while the segment going back to Square One can become the current 110 short (which could be given a branch designation 110A), serving all stops. This is especially important with the opening of the Erin Mills station, which will make the trip even "slower". Speaking of improved service in the west, Creditview getting 11-minute service is a good start. It seems the frequency boosts are spreading westwards. McLaughlin and Mavis were the first ones with the Sheridan campus opened. So maybe Mississauga Road's next? Like a 44A from Alpha Mills to UTM, maybe? And maybe 46 getting off-peak service? And finally a new Ninth Line route (40?)?

Well, I took the MiWay 5 survey, and the results are very pleasing for me. Respondents rank faster (i.e express) service as top priority, followed by less waiting (i.e. frequent service). Well I ranked frequnet service as #1, followed by more express service (ahem, Dixie post-Hanlan construction). The one terminal option doesn't make sense to me at all, and the respondents seem to agree so. I also chose more Sunday service, as well as regular routes connecting to GO Station (like 9 and 38 via Erindale, and probably thinking of a 38B rush-hour between Falconer and Erindale). I also commented stuff like 24/7 service along Burnhamthorpe, Dundas, and Hurontario.

I haven't been to the City Centre Terminal for a few months now, until today. I was fascinated by the new digital departure signage where the GO Transit info was. How long has that been in there?

This is interesting. Seeing 18 Dixie's Saturday frequency being bumped up to 15 minutes, even though MiWay's 5 Dixie is more crowded between Rathburn and Dixie Mall, Brampton seems to have better transit service than its neighbour to the south on the shared arterial routes (Dixie, Kennedy, Mavis-Chinguacousy, Airport Road, and soon enough, Mississauga Road) at least. And I like the idea of 115 going to the hospital to meet the 505. And the 29A is probably a test of demand whether to extend the 505 to Westwood, maybe???

My younger brother told me that there was an announcement about this particular incident earlier this afternoon when he was in school. When I found out that it was the former chaplain, I just broke down and my face is still in shock as of this moment. He was a really nice guy, serving all of students, staff, and teahcers at Philip Pocock. My personal condolences to his family. They were really blessed to have a guy like him.

14A Lorne Park, with 35 minutes, and 65 Barondale, with 40 minutes, and yeah... 4 used to run every 20 minutes at rush hours. And if they do add a bus, its frequency will go up to 24 minutes, and for midday, 32 minutes instead of the current 47. 65 seems to have upgraded to a regular-sized bus lately, and there are times where passenger load is relatively high (20-ish passengers) on a midday.

I dont know if this has been mentioned anywhere but MiWay will FINALLY have a Twitter account, @MiWayHelps for cutomer service. It will launch sometime in March.

May 29 is the date of the next service change after the March one? I'm very sure classes at post-secondary institutions end at April. So the first Monday of May is always the best timing for seasonal cuts at 22, 66, 107, and 110.

91 is very crowded during rush hours. They definitely need to switch to regular buses if possible during those times. But Saturday-wise... 91 doesn't run, does it? 61 needs another couple of buses on rush hour it seems. They just recently bumped the frequency up to every 13 minutes, and still many people stand leaving the terminal. What more to those who are waiting further on the line? And it seems they have solved the problems involving overcrowding at 110, where they put the peak-hour frequency every 7.5 minutes, with some bursts of 4-min frequency closer to the top of the hour. Reverse peak buses, even the shot turn branch to UTM only, despite this frequency, are surprisingly nicely loaded as well. The survey results seem to prove to be true: frequent service attracts riders.

One of the brand new articulated buses was in 66 last week or two.

The 80-minute frequency on Bloor seems to be just an additional trip, since Bloor's last bus at Islington is at around 2:20 AM, but the route's 40-minute regular weekday evening service is horrible in itself. Might as well add just one bus.

With 14 buses, when the transitway opens: - I'm seeing peak-hour frequency boosts on 107, and - maybe tweak the 108 to use half of 109's buses at its counter-peak, effectively doubling 109's frequency at the peak direction. After all, why change 82 to 108 if they will only use orange buses on the route? Some people (especially Humber students) still complain about 107's winding route structure. Maybe the solution could be an addition of an hourly super-express variant (107X?) stopping at all of 107's stops between Square One and Skymark, and non-stop service from there to Humber College via Dixon and Highway 27, which can cut the commuting time by 10 to 15 minutes. I quite understand where this frustration comes from. It seems that 107 is STILL a few minutes slower than: - taking 76 to East Mall and then taking the 191 (if coming from Square One), or - taking 35/35A to East Mall and then taking the 191 (if you're coming along the Eglinton area). I love the idea of 105 (especially that I'm from Applewood) but obviously having a basic rapid transit service (Transitway and Hurontario) would be a priority for now.

7 has been seeing shorter lineups at Square One. Likely a major shift of ridership to 107. Seeing that this is the first full academic year for the 107 running to Humber, it also has more riders than the 109, especially at the reverse peak. 109 is much emptier going the opposite direction than the 107. Understandably, it's a route that hits 3 birds with 1 stone after all: Airport, Malton, and Humber. 20 has been getting some articulated buses too, likely from some other routes. The 20 westbound schedule at the digital screen at Square One is still not being displayed, but some people going eastbound are pretty much aware of 20 running along their neighbourhood. 109 at midday seems to be well-used too. CRAZY pack of riders for the 88's Halloween Haunt trips! Whoever thought of adding trips for the Halloween Haunt should be thanked for this.

They do have a special at Route 46 leaving Sheridan College at around 6:15 PM every weekday to accommodate Sheridan students whose classes end at 6 PM. The special, though signed as 46S, acts as an unscheduled 46A (Sheridan College - Square One express).

Any route serving post-secondary institutions, like 38, 134, 191, 196, etc.

109 proves to be very popular indeed seeing them at Square One, at least the northwestern section. The southeastern section though... resembles that of the reverse peak direction. And yeah, they are most likely unaware. Once they see a quicker bus, they'll just jump into it. Maybe those who were waiting for 9 or 10 when they saw 109 came who are going to Square One decided to take it instead. People do not check up-to-date schedules every service change. At the first day of service change, people will go frustrated after thinking that the bus is x minutes "late". Then, they will do it again the following day, and the days to come, even complain at the department, ALL before realizing that the schedule has changed. 20 Westbound's departure times at Square One seems to be not displayed at the termina;. So no one gets on at the westbound bus. No wonder the only passengers of Rathburn west of Square One this week are eastbound passengers who were waiting for either 9 or 61, or those connecting at Erindale GO, or those informed. The 66 and GO Bus Route 46 are still wildly popular with the Sheridan shuttle bus already running. The shuttle buses are only popular at the PM rush.

Is there any reprieve by way of passes and tickets? <reads the option 3 table> I almost spit my apple juice to the monitor after seeing the Adult monthly pass jumping to $132!!! Conciession fares are tolerable though, I gotta admit that. Richmond Hill line will be busier knowing that the fare will be $3.30 + $2.70 + possible 2014 fare hike using YRT+TTC. Pity to those Torontonians working at the 407/Leslie tech hub as their fare for 300 Business Express will reach $152 a month + $128.50 Metropass + possible fare hike in 2014.

Sheridan College will be introducing free inter-campus shuttles between Davis, Hazel McCallion, and Trafalgar campuses this school year. Shuttles leave Davis and Trafalgar campuses at the top of the hour, while buses leave the Mississauga campus at the bottom of the hour. That means less riders on Route 46 for students that have classes between 9 am to 7 pm as Sheridan students getting on at Square One on the way to Trafalgar Campus have a new, free alternative. 46 at 7:30 am will still be very busy because the bus will skip the Hazel McCallion Campus during those times. Hence, I don't see the 46A being dropped. Cross-posted in Mississauga thread.

Sheridan College will be introducing free inter-campus shuttles between Davis, Hazel McCallion, and Trafalgar campuses this school year. Shuttles leave Davis and Trafalgar campuses at the top of the hour, while buses leave the Mississauga campus at the bottom of the hour. That means less riders on Route 66 for students that have classes between 9 am to 7 pm as Sheridan students getting on at Square One on the way to Davis Campus have a new, free alternative. Cross-posted in GO Transit thread.

Saw a bus today at Cooksville GO Station that says "Purchase Tickets Here". Was there an outage at the actual station booth?

The September service changes do not disappoint. The October change may be even bigger than this. So 108 is like 82 minus a few stops at Dundas. Makes total sense to me. 108 running every 15 minutes at AM rush and 20 during PM rush is a big improvement over hit-and-miss frequencies, especially the current 30-60 minute PM rush hour service on the 82. 16 getting Sunday service is also great news, but 5PM is too early to end the service, should be 7 like most routes do. But one step at a time... And also... "MiWay is your way school" needs some fixing.

Did I just... hear... weekend/holiday service and late evening service on 109??? That's great! Removes my "white elephant" commentary right away. I will also assume 107 will have weekend/holiday service too, otherwise the frequency will be so low on the transitway. MiWay does release serivce changes 2 weeks before the weekend before the actual service change date.