Durham Region Transit

[newflyerinvero]

I think DRT might be in a good situation by September, depending on what routes and jew routes are brought back.

However@110B West Pickering, do you have a good idea when the 11 Nova Hybrids and 8 Electric buses (whatever they become), could arrive?These could replenish the fleet from what was lost from the recent retirements of mthe 2008 D40LFs.

But, if DRT has grander plans to bring more needed services without the amount of the fleet that's available, any indication if short-term leased buses, with options of future purchase?

[Chris W]

9 minutes ago, Gamer Studios said:

There's a bus tracking as "999998" right now @110B West Pickering

Watch it be a ProMaster being taken off OnDemand.

[FutureHeartsJunkie]

4 hours ago, 110B West Pickering said:

So...

DRT has released information surrounding the service related Public Information Centres. The point is to guide the next 5 Year Service Strategy titled "The Route Ahead"

The documents provided by DRT do not share many details about specifics, other than a map, some guiding principals and some service standards... but, that wont stop me from trying to interpret it here.

It's worth noting, OnDemand isn't going anywhere... I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing depending on where it is or how it is used, but it is staying in areas that just simply can't financially support routes. 

Major stuff

PULSE network expansion, (10 Years outlook)

- 900 extended to Central Oshawa GO,

- 901 extended to Windfield Farms (Development is booming up there)

- 902 will be added to the PULSE network, same service pattern by the looks of it with frequent service between Oshawa Centre/Thornton Corners and Trulls, and 30 minute service between Thornton Corners and Bowmanville.

- 915 and 916 will simply be converted to PULSE (much like the 901 was) with 15 minute service on weekends as well.

Late Night Service and 24 Hour service

Correct me if I'm wrong, but would DRT be the first system in Canada for a municipality of its size and a system of its ridership to implement 24 hour service? 

- It mentions talks of adding trips to the 900 and 901, and making OnDemand available until at least the last GO train throughout the urbanized areas of the region, not sure where the 24 hour service comes in, but we will see.

- The 905 will have new trips later into the night, but no specifics. I assume this will be on the 905B to Port Perry and Uxbridge as this is detailed in the "rural" subheading 

- Rural OnDemand service span will be increased to match that of the 905.

Other stuff

Peak = 30 minutes or better in Peak only

Local = 30 minutes

Grid = 30 minutes or better 7 days per week,

Frequent = 15 minutes or better 7 days per week

The map DRT attached sucks and is really cluttered, no route numbers and lines of the same colour overlapping, (someone try to work out Bowmanville, thats my challenge to everyone) 

Things I can decipher, theres some route resurrections proposed over the next 4 years...

Pickering

101 looks unchanged, but with local all day service

110B looks to form its old routing but on its own local route, 

New local service to current seaton developments along the currently unbuilt Rossland Road Extension north to Taunton and Burkholder Drive. 

Ajax

New local service (211 presumably) from Pickering Parkway Terminal to Ajax GO via Pickering Parkway, Kingston, Church, Delany, Ravenscroft, and Westney. 

New peak route (219 presumably) from Ajax GO to Westney and Williamson via Westney, Ravenscroft, Williamson, Westney, Rossland, Ravenscroft.

New local (circular?) route (217 or 226?) from Ajax GO that covers parts of the former 226 and 217 routes, including Lake Driveway, Westney South, and Clements Road.

New peak route (215? presumably) from Ajax GO to Audley and Williamson via Salem.

291 looks to be classified as a local route, but I doubt its getting anything above hourly service.

New local service (223 probably) its the old routing of the 223c, but running all day.

Whitby

303, and the 308 looks to be coming back relatively unchanged

New peak route (315 I assume) from Whitby GO serving areas included in the West Whitby Secondary Plan, Brock Street, Burns, Annes, Dundas, Des Newman, Rossland, Coronation, Taunton, Country Lane, Rossland, back to Whitby GO.

New local route (312) from Thornton Corners East GO to West Whitby via Thornton, King/Dundas, Kendalwood, Nichol, Glen Hill, Dundas, McQuay... that it, where it goes beyond there isn't on the map, but as per the Ridership Recover Framework Phase 2, along rossland to Cochrane, then Bonacord back to McQuay Boulevard.

New local 304 service from Whitby GO, along Burns, and Anderson into Brooklin, then Winchester, Cachet, Carnwith, Baldwin and Winchester back to Anderson and Whitby GO. This makes the 304 the Brooklin Local bus instead of the 302.

The 302 in brooklin will now serve Baldwin, Vipond, Ashburn, Carnwith, Thickson, Winchester east to Simcoe and will loop at Windfield Farms, connecting to the 901 PULSE Simcoe.

The 905 is unchanged in Whitby, but changes in Oshawa will be located below.

Oshawa

Some routes are back! all have some major changes, including changes to reflect the LSE GO Bowmanville Extension.

New Local service (412) from Thronton Corners GO to Oshawa Central GO via Thornton Road, Adelaide, Fleetwood, Margate, Townline, Olive, Ritson and First. 

New Local service (411) from Thronton Corners GO to Trulls and Highway 2 via Laval, Stevenson, Gibb, Park, Hillside, Cuber, Bloor, Grandview, Townline, Gord Vinson, Meadowglade, Prestonvale, Glen Abbey, Sandringham, Trulls, Avondale, Sandringham, Courtice Road, George Reynolds, Nash, Trulls and return somehow.

403 looks unchanged, but loops at Thornton Corners GO via Gibb, Stevenson and Laval.

410 Extension from Coldstream to Conlin then Harmony down,

905A reroute Simcoe, Britannia West, Windfield Farms, Bridle, Britannia East, Harmony, to Harmony Terminal, 

New Local service from Durham College to Harmony terminal (417 probably) using Simcoe, Conlin, Harmony. 

Bowamnville...

nope. 

Heres the map. remember, its all going to PICs' meaning, changes will likely take place once details are finalized, below the map is also a link to the presentation boards. 

https://www.durhamregiontransit.com/en/routes-and-schedules/resources/PICs-2021/RecoveryPlanPIC2021_Final_V2.pdf 

 

 

 

 

I was anticipating that the On-demand will be expanded in some form (especially those neighbourhoods that once had a bus route but not anymore - the 225 for example), but we'll see on what beyond the five year plan will be. 

As for the 101, the biggest clientele who uses that route are the employees at OPG and HO (OPG = Ontario Power Generation, HO = Hydro One) among other businesses within the southern part of the Industrial Area in Pickering. 

For the Oshawa routes you had mentioned, I'm not sure how will that play a role for students attending Durham College (both the Whitby and Oshawa campuses) , OTU (Ontario Tech University) and TUO (Trent University Oshawa)? 

[senzation#3]

On 4/16/2021 at 2:40 PM, 110B West Pickering said:

Late Night Service and 24 Hour service

Correct me if I'm wrong, but would DRT be the first system in Canada for a municipality of its size and a system of its ridership to implement 24 hour service? 

- It mentions talks of adding trips to the 900 and 901, and making OnDemand available until at least the last GO train throughout the urbanized areas of the region, not sure where the 24 hour service comes in, but we will see.

- The 905 will have new trips later into the night, but no specifics. I assume this will be on the 905B to Port Perry and Uxbridge as this is detailed in the "rural" subheading 

- Rural OnDemand service span will be increased to match that of the 905.

 

 

 

 

 

• What I do know is that the major cities in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal) have 24/7 service, because they the demand to support that kind of service. Durham region doesn't have the demand to support 24 hour service unless all business in Durham region open 24/7 and if office work is expanded to afternoon and night shifts
• I've read the PIC and I think there is a contradiction in that presentation. For example, on the service initiatives section, for availability they said that the goal is to 'phase in 24 hour transit service' and they say on the action part to 'study opportunities for 24 hour service'. Would it just make sense to say to 'phase in late night transit service rather than 24 hours unless they expand On Demand service for 24 hours
• The two late night bus routes 403C and 980 is a good service is a good idea. However, the flaw of that is that the schedule doesn't really align with most industrial shifts (Afternoon: 4 pm -12 am, Night: 12 am - 8 am)
• Since the presentation lacks any details, I'm very skeptical that DRT will implement that kind of service by 2025. I think the Bowmanville extension by 2025 (4 years) is way too optimistic

 

[Gil]

On 4/16/2021 at 2:40 PM, 110B West Pickering said:

...

Late Night Service and 24 Hour service

Correct me if I'm wrong, but would DRT be the first system in Canada for a municipality of its size and a system of its ridership to implement 24 hour service? 

- It mentions talks of adding trips to the 900 and 901, and making OnDemand available until at least the last GO train throughout the urbanized areas of the region, not sure where the 24 hour service comes in, but we will see.

- The 905 will have new trips later into the night, but no specifics. I assume this will be on the 905B to Port Perry and Uxbridge as this is detailed in the "rural" subheading 

- Rural OnDemand service span will be increased to match that of the 905.

...

Heres the map. remember, its all going to PICs' meaning, changes will likely take place once details are finalized, below the map is also a link to the presentation boards. 

https://www.durhamregiontransit.com/en/routes-and-schedules/resources/PICs-2021/RecoveryPlanPIC2021_Final_V2.pdf 

I'm not sure what you want to use as a metric for comparison for municipalities with 24-hour service.  I will presume that large centres like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are in a tier unto themselves.  Mississauga is still in a pilot phase of their 24-hour service which currently consist of only 4 routes (5 if you count the one which was split in two), 3 of which connect with the TTC's Blue Night service and only run on weekdays.  There are large overnight employment areas that don't have overnight service either from MiWay or the one 24-hour GO Transit bus route which runs through Mississauga.

I don't know how pandemic ridership is affecting these routes as they still cater to a lot of essential workers.  It's not as if there are transit enthusiasts riding these at 3:00AM!  If DRT does decide to follow a similar route they'd probably start first with the 900 which connects with the TTC's Blue Night Service along Ellesmere and just misses out on the connection to the service along Morningside (perhaps a loop around the block instead of using the Centennial College loop?).  Other 900-series routes since they're region-wide can be added with the initial rollout (901, 915, 916 similar to the 2025 Frequent Network in the map above) to provide some basic coverage.  I assume there'd be some consultation with businesses operating 24-hours that would lead to further modifications to the system.

The problem with such a skeletal initial rollout in Mississauga and Durham is that there are few opportunities to make transfers and virtually none in between the terminus points.  Even the 24-hour GO Bus route only makes stops at Pearson, Renforth Transitway, Dixie Transitway (no connections) and Square One.  Pardon the hastily made Mississauga overnight map.

[newflyerinvero]

The only thing I gathered for 24 hour transit service is the only one with OnDemand Transit service.

 

Though, in my opinion, the 900-based routes could be far better and have a 24-hour OnDemand supplement it.

 

Regarding the other routes coming back, unless it's my eyes, is there a proposed route that heads north on Thornton from Oshawa Centre that serves Trent University just before King? I still think a 4p9 that serves Thornton and Stevenson, whether it's one way or two way service can be a good way to connecting other grid routes.

[J. Bullock]

On 4/18/2021 at 5:46 PM, newflyerinvero said:

Regarding the other routes coming back, unless it's my eyes, is there a proposed route that heads north on Thornton from Oshawa Centre that serves Trent University just before King? I still think a 4p9 that serves Thornton and Stevenson, whether it's one way or two way service can be a good way to connecting other grid routes.

A simple solution to this would be introducing service on Dryden Boulevard. The long awaited bridging of the gap between Anderson and Thickson was completed several months back, enabling continuous service along the corridor. A loop around 605 Rossland, and heading east along Dryden to Thornton, straight down to Thornton Corners. Peak directional, with limited midday service between Thornton/Dryden & 605. 

A case could also be made for bringing back the old 469/470 School Trippers, and repurposing them as GO Shuttles. Bi-directional in peak periods, northbound to serve MCVI and Paul Dwyer in the morning, returning south to serve Thornton Corners... vice versa in the PM Rush. 

Most of the ridership on the Thornton corridor were students.

 

[Oc4526]

Found this in my Twitter feed

Also Presto E-Tickets are now available for DRT Customers 

 

[FutureHeartsJunkie]

11 hours ago, 110B West Pickering said:

Have been since August or September.

The big news is that effective this morning, Paper transfers are issued to cash and ticket paying customers

In other related news, The Durham Region Transit Customer Service Centre (CSC) located at the Ajax GO station - now offers customers to tap using their debit card, credit card or mobile wallet/device (linked via Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay) when buying a PRESTO Card and loading funds/transit passes on PRESTO.

I've recently discovered that a few weeks ago when I loaded my DRT pass on PRESTO. Until recently, you have to insert your credit/debit card on the PIN Pad and enter your PIN number (on the old POS (point of sale) device). They recently upgraded to a newer model that runs on a mobile (cellular) phone connection.

While it's unclear when DRT will offer contactless payments by credit/debit cards onboard their buses, it's a giant step forward.

[Kobayashi]

Looks like they were wrong. 

According to the VINs of DRT #8330-#8332, these buses are NOT WMATA rejects, but originally built for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority.

- #8330 - 2B1569P78V6033266 | Rockland Coaches #1016/NORTA #97351
- #8331 - 2B1569P71V6033450 | Gray Line (Houston) #4020/NORTA #974XX
- #8332 - 2B1569P7XV6033267 | Rockland Coaches #1002/NORTA #97352

[MTL66]

Spotted at Nova Bus

DRT Pulse: 7106/7112/7113/7114/7115/7116

[MRD10]

On 5/29/2021 at 10:10 AM, 110B West Pickering said:

DRT finally connects to the subway network at McCowan RT Station

the routing will be McCowan RT Station, Progress Avenue, Centennial College, Progress, Sheppard, Kingston, Salem, Rossland, Thickson, Dryden, Garrard, Taunton and Simcoe before ending at North Campus.

this route will operate 7 days per week at every half hour, weekends it mentions the route only operates to Amazon, but doesn’t say where from, presumably Scarborough, Pickering and Ajax as that would be the more ridership heavy half of the line.

lastly, Overnight service,

DRT is launching 24 Hour transit service on route 900, and 901.

On the 900 routing will be modified as buses will not enter Centennial Circle, this is to provide a connection to the TTC Blue Night Network at Morningside and Ellesmere. In the East the route end at Simcoe Street

Here is the link to the presentation

https://calendar.durham.ca/default/Detail/2021-06-02-1330-Transit-Executive-Committee-Meeting/13a766e0-19e2-41a4-821b-ad36009bc436

 A few questions..

1. Why don't Durham buses entering Scarborough take the 401 for the majority of the routing. For example 401 direct to Markham or McCowan Rd, instead of taking local roads?
2. Will there be a Durham bus connection to the Amazon facility at Morningside and Steeles?
3. Will the DRT 900 loop around military trail like the TTC 905 does?

[FutureHeartsJunkie]

On 6/9/2021 at 11:55 PM, MRD10 said:

 A few questions..

1. Why don't Durham buses entering Scarborough take the 401 for the majority of the routing. For example 401 direct to Markham or McCowan Rd, instead of taking local roads?
2. Will there be a Durham bus connection to the Amazon facility at Morningside and Steeles?
3. Will the DRT 900 loop around military trail like the TTC 905 does?

1) Not sure if Durham Region Transit buses would be able to cruise along the 401 at highway speeds owning to the number of passengers on board.
2) Unclear if that will ever happen.
3) Currently, DRT Pulse route 900 has been using the Centennial Circle loop (from my own experience when taking that route a while back in February 2020). There was a time in which DRT Pulse 900 terminates directly at the UTSC (University of Toronto (at) Scarborough Campus) when the bus route was launched back in late June-2013. However it's final terminating point nowadays is Centennial Circle (since January 2019).

If one of my colleagues could correct my statements, that'll be ultra helpful.

[TTC7447]

14 hours ago, FutureHeartsJunkie said:

3) Currently, DRT Pulse route 900 has been using the Centennial Circle loop (from my own experience when taking that route a while back in February 2020). There was a time in which DRT Pulse 900 terminates directly at the UTSC (University of Toronto (at) Scarborough Campus) when the bus route was launched back in late June-2013. However it's final terminating point nowadays is Centennial Circle (since January 2019).

Pulse 900 used to terminate directly at UTSC bus loop until late fall 2016 when UTSC began construction on Highland Hall requiring the removal of the TTC stops on the north-west side of the bus loop.  At the time, the NW side housed TTC 38 westbound alone, TTC 198 & 95B/95E together, and a layover stop for TTC buses.  The SW side was home to GO 51 York alone, GO 51 Pickering alone, and Pulse 900 alone.

When half the loop closed, TTC routes were moved to the SW side, and GO 51 in both directions shared one stop, and there was barely any space for layover, but drivers still did it causing major delays for buses arriving and departing (among other headaches for the TTC specifically - see pictures).  The Pulse 900 instead looped around Military Trail and serviced the south west corner of Ellesmere & Military.

Mid 2018, DRT realized they could better serve Centennial College by changing their route to terminate and loop at Centennial/UTSC EV building loop, but this announcement wasn’t made official for many months.  A platform for the Pulse 900 was put together at the south east corner of Ellesmere & Military.

The UTSC loop reopened fully in January 2019, but no additional stops were added.  There’s one TTC stop pole for the 95/995 & 905 on the NW side, and one for the 38 on the SW side.  There is also one stop for both GO 41 (formerly 51) buses.  There’s nothing in place of where the Pulse 900 used to service.  TTC 12D does not service any loops.  Things also may have changed since the introduction of TTC 905A.

Fun fact: that collision between that hoist & 1722 is why 1722 retired.

[409 Thornton]

On 6/9/2021 at 11:55 PM, MRD10 said:

 A few questions..

1. Why don't Durham buses entering Scarborough take the 401 for the majority of the routing. For example 401 direct to Markham or McCowan Rd, instead of taking local roads?
2. Will there be a Durham bus connection to the Amazon facility at Morningside and Steeles?
3. Will the DRT 900 loop around military trail like the TTC 905 does?
 

I think there is a larger plan to get BRT in some form on Ellesmere Road to STC, which would give DRT and TTC buses significant priority.  

I do like the idea of an express service provided by DRT from Centennial College Progress Campus to Oshawa Centre via Highway 401 to Port Union. I believe that this service would give Durham Residents a quick and cheaper option, and we can use MiWay as an example which has multiple routes that use Highway 427. 

I would support this option with the use of Suburban buses which offer a little more seating capacity without the rear door and comfort while travelling on a highway. Ideally, id like to see the 920 on its current route via Sheppard, but then offer the limited express service connecting Centennial college at key times. This bus can easily slip on to the 401 with the on ramp to Eastbound 401 right there on Progress Avenue. We'll see how passengers respond to the new routes coming, and maybe we can get some support for DRT buses using highways 401, 407 and 412 in the future.

[2044]

I like the idea of taking the 401 as a Pulse branch much the same way Züm does in Brampton.

[409 Thornton]

1 hour ago, 2044 said:

I like the idea of taking the 401 as a Pulse branch much the same way Züm does in Brampton.

Just to Port Union or even Whites, any further east and buses would be caught up in significant traffic delays, unless authority is given to use the shoulder, like on Highway 403.

 

[2044]

13 minutes ago, 409 Thornton said:

Just to Port Union or even Whites, any further east and buses would be caught up in significant traffic delays, unless authority is given to use the shoulder, like on Highway 403.

 

Yes I agree. That stretch is pretty good even in rush hour. Port Union would be good since it would still connect with the 85 and in the TTC is looking at routing the 95 past there.

[Shaun]

On 6/12/2021 at 12:50 PM, TTC7447 said:

Pulse 900 used to terminate directly at UTSC bus loop until late fall 2016 when UTSC began construction on Highland Hall requiring the removal of the TTC stops on the north-west side of the bus loop.  At the time, the NW side housed TTC 38 westbound alone, TTC 198 & 95B/95E together, and a layover stop for TTC buses.  The SW side was home to GO 51 York alone, GO 51 Pickering alone, and Pulse 900 alone.

When half the loop closed, TTC routes were moved to the SW side, and GO 51 in both directions shared one stop, and there was barely any space for layover, but drivers still did it causing major delays for buses arriving and departing (among other headaches for the TTC specifically - see pictures).  The Pulse 900 instead looped around Military Trail and serviced the south west corner of Ellesmere & Military.

Mid 2018, DRT realized they could better serve Centennial College by changing their route to terminate and loop at Centennial/UTSC EV building loop, but this announcement wasn’t made official for many months.  A platform for the Pulse 900 was put together at the south east corner of Ellesmere & Military.

The UTSC loop reopened fully in January 2019, but no additional stops were added.  There’s one TTC stop pole for the 95/995 & 905 on the NW side, and one for the 38 on the SW side.  There is also one stop for both GO 41 (formerly 51) buses.  There’s nothing in place of where the Pulse 900 used to service.  TTC 12D does not service any loops.  Things also may have changed since the introduction of TTC 905A.

Fun fact: that collision between that hoist & 1722 is why 1722 retired.

Is the bus going to travel along process to get to McCowan? Doesn't that duplicate the TTC service that is already in place?

[2044]

Decided to do some foaming of the first day of the 917 to the Zoo. I think it’s a great addition and I’m looking forward to trying it one day. Right now it’s every 1 to 2 hours on weekends and holidays only, but I hope this becomes a regular route in the near future.

[John Oke]

Have all Oshawa D40LF’s been retired? I work near Harmony Terminal and all D40LF’s I’ve seen are 915 and 916 and none on any 4XX route 

[John Oke]

4 hours ago, 110B West Pickering said:

8466 is the only D40LF in service at Raleigh

When will all of the D40LF’s be withdrawn across the network? 

[John Oke]

Anyone know when the next service increase is? Was on the 905 earlier today and it was quite busy for a mid-afternoon.

Also saw 8466 at Oshawa Centre term on the 902B

[Chris W]

2 hours ago, 110B West Pickering said:

September 7th, expect schedules by the end of next week

Any routes being reinstated from the unnecessary service robbery of 2020?

[FutureHeartsJunkie]

I've been using the OnDemand Service that DRT had offered for a while now and each trip I took - was a DRT-Branded Promaster vehicle.  Is it uncommon to see a "contracted taxi" appear on the DRT On-Demand app as one of the vehicles requested for the service?

During my observations down at the Ajax GO, I often see "Circle Taxi"-branded vehicles acting as a"guise" for the DRT On-Demand Service.