MiWay

[PrimeTio]

1 minute ago, transitfan100 said:

Is it the ones that protect drivers from assault like Brampton and TTC?

It kinda looks like bramptons XD40s shield. (Not my photo) 

[TTC Guy]

7 minutes ago, PrimeTio said:

It kinda looks like bramptons XD40s shield. (Not my photo) 

Looks like the same thing as on TTC’s Proterras as well

[smallspy]

15 hours ago, Gil said:

I don't know how much of the short-lived extension of the 32 west of Etobicoke Creek was a request from Mississauga vs. a means to serve that one segment of Eglinton, which technically was in Toronto but completely inaccessible by TTC.  They obviously didn't want to spend the money to build a loop at Rakely on the Toronto side of the street and the truck traffic on Rakely itself probably meant it wasn't feasible to layover at the end of the street.  The ironic thing is there's a Drive Test location there but you needed a car to get to it!  Service on Eglinton has improved with the addition of the 35 EGLINTON and the Transitway, but those are relatively recent additions to the network and still require an additional fare when coming from Toronto to get to.  There really isn't an option to loop north of Eglinton with the section of Skymark still unopened between Spectrum and Satellite pending development, so this will continue to be a part of Toronto that lacks access to the TTC.

That is not my understanding of the history of that extension.

 

The TTC had requests to service the area, and their research indicated that there was high enough ridership coming from Eglinton to justify it. That's why it was done, and why it didn't require a second fare. Mississauga didn't get involved in the operation of the service until near the end of it.

 

Dan

[Doppelkupplung]

15 hours ago, PrimeTio said:

It kinda looks like bramptons XD40s shield. (Not my photo) 

I always thought the TTC shield was the best. It gave the best of both options, protected or unprotected. 

[MiExpress]

On 1/17/2023 at 5:09 PM, Gil said:

I don't know how much of the short-lived extension of the 32 west of Etobicoke Creek was a request from Mississauga vs. a means to serve that one segment of Eglinton, which technically was in Toronto but completely inaccessible by TTC.  They obviously didn't want to spend the money to build a loop at Rakely on the Toronto side of the street and the truck traffic on Rakely itself probably meant it wasn't feasible to layover at the end of the street.  The ironic thing is there's a Drive Test location there but you needed a car to get to it!  Service on Eglinton has improved with the addition of the 35 EGLINTON and the Transitway, but those are relatively recent additions to the network and still require an additional fare when coming from Toronto to get to.  There really isn't an option to loop north of Eglinton with the section of Skymark still unopened between Spectrum and Satellite pending development, so this will continue to be a part of Toronto that lacks access to the TTC.

 

9 hours ago, smallspy said:

That is not my understanding of the history of that extension.

 

The TTC had requests to service the area, and their research indicated that there was high enough ridership coming from Eglinton to justify it. That's why it was done, and why it didn't require a second fare. Mississauga didn't get involved in the operation of the service until near the end of it.

 

Dan

EDIT: I will leave my response here since it may be noteworthy, but looking back at the discussion and checking old TTC maps I may have gotten confused about whether the discussion was about the 32 branch that simply looped at explorer which was also called the 32B at one point, or the extension of the route further into the Airport Corporate Centre.

The 32 extension west of Explorer into Mississauga was initiated in February 2002 in cooperation with Mississauga, partly as a response to requests for additional service by various companies that had relocated to the Airport Corporate Centre. Mississauga funded the total operating costs of this extension from day one of the service; initially a second fare was not charged and the full annual operating cost of the TTC extended service ($145,000) was covered by Mississauga. Starting in January 2004 as a result of city budget pressures a second fare was implemented to reduce the net cost for Mississauga from $145,000 to $60,000.

Given that Mississauga was also receiving requests for additional service to the area that might have been the reasoning they initially chose to fully fund the total operating costs rather than implement a second fare.

The relevant portion from the attached report...

The extension of TTC Route 32B-Eglinton West was initiated in February 2002 and was established on a single-fare basis. This means that customers travelling from Toronto to the Airport Corporate Centre in Mississauga are not required to pay a second fare on crossing the Mississauga boundary. This is not consistent with other TTC cross-boundary services, which require that a second fare be paid on crossing the municipal boundary. The financial performance of this route could be improved if it was converted to operate on a double-fare basis. This would mean that customers travelling west from Toronto will pay the TTC fare on boarding and then pay a second fare on crossing the Mississauga boundary. On the return trip they will pay the first fare on boarding in Mississauga and the second fare after crossing the boundary into Toronto.
Some loss in ridership would be experienced by this change but, despite this loss, it is estimated that the net revenue on the route would increase. The service is currently used by approximately 1,000 passengers per day (600 travelling west into Mississauga and 400 travelling east into Toronto). Through discussions with TIC staff, it is estimated that approximately 35% of current ridership will be lost, if the double fare is introduced. Despite this ridership loss, full-fare revenue would be received from the remaining 650 trips per day instead of the current arrangement which receives fare revenue for onlythe400tripstravellingtoToronto. Collection of the second fare would generate increased revenues to Mississauga Transit of $85,000 per year.
It is therefore recommended that, consistent with the operation of TTC Route 58 and all other cross-boundary services operated by the TTC, a second fare be collected on TTC Route 32B for the portion of the route operating in Mississauga.
The additional revenue generated by this change will result in a reduction in the operating deficit of this route from $145,000 to $60,000. This amount is included in the 2004 proposed budget.

 

2003 11 19 GC Agendas & Minutes-33-39.pdf

On 1/15/2023 at 6:21 PM, ngdvd said:

There are no rules that force the TTC to not serve Westwood Mall. 22 Finch goes further into Toronto than an extension of 36 Finch would go into Mississauga.

The TTC isn't forced to provide bus service along Steeles for York Region residents either, but they do it anyway, because it is beneficial to Toronto residents as well. Likewise, a 1km extension of 36 Finch to major transit hub like Westwood Mall instead of terminating at Indian Line Park would also open up many new possibilities for Toronto transit riders. I never imagined that the idea of a 1km extension of an existing bus route can garner so much confusion and controversy and resistance, but I guess that's the internet for ya.

There may be no rules that force the TTC to not serve Westwood but there are others that make the proposition less attractive. To start, the terminal is not controlled by TTC and they would require approval from Mississauga to use the terminal. Given Westwood is already at capacity Mississauga may not approve which would result in a hypothetical extension of TTC 36 needing to terminate elsewhere in Malton, resulting in a longer routing and further additional operating costs.

The city's bylaws, like other municipalities, contains an exclusivity clause which state that MiWay is the only provider of internal public transit trips within Mississauga unless approval is given by the city to pick/up and drop off for internal trips within Mississauga. If TTC did not receive this approval they could still operate to Westwood Mall as long as they did not pick up inbound and drop off outbound, but this restriction could reduce potential ridership and make any extension not meet productivity (ridership) or financial targets.

Lastly and related to the above, the origin points of ridership in Malton are spread out with riders using Westwood as a transfer location to and from other MiWay or Brampton services. Unless they lived right near Westwood or along the short stretch of Morning Star to Humberwood they would still be forced to pay two fares for their trip. It wouldn't matter if people connect to MiWay/Brampton Transit from the 36/Finch LRT at Humber College (a connection that already exists) or a hypothetical TTC 36 extension to Westwood, the vast majority would require another fare to continue their trip and given this I agree with other posters that proper fare integration is a better way to solve this issue rather than more duplication of existing service.

[GZ6113PHEV5]

Is the number of active 2003 D40LF declined to 13 now？

[Orion_II]

Is it me or has there been a lot more substitutions of express busses on local routes? I've been riding the 46 a lot recently and noticed I'm more likely to get a MiExpress XD40 or an Orion VII than a local bus. I know they're still pulling 03, 05, and 06XX busses and that the 22XX busses havent been delivered, so maybe thats the cause?

[PrimeTio]

On 1/18/2023 at 10:51 PM, GZ6113PHEV5 said:

Is the number of active 2003 D40LF declined to 13 now？

It’s better to keep retirements conversations to the other topic I’ve created. As for the 2003 D40LFs, it does look reasonable that 13 buses are remaining. #0302, #0306, #0307, #0312, #0313, #0317, #0320, #0323, #0326, #0332, #0334 #0338 #0341 are the current remaining units at the moment. Everything else has been retired between 2014-2022.

6 minutes ago, Orion_II said:

Is it me or has there been a lot more substitutions of express busses on local routes? I've been riding the 46 a lot recently and noticed I'm more likely to get a MiExpress XD40 or an Orion VII than a local bus. I know they're still pulling 03, 05, and 06XX busses and that the 22XX busses havent been delivered, so maybe thats the cause?

What ever allocation has available is what they will give the drivers. Drivers can also pick there own buses if they want, but it all depends on allocation and availability. If they have only express buses inside the garage and someone wants to do the 68, an express bus will be allocated so the driver can do his route on time and efficiently. This has been a common occurrence for many years now.

[GZ6113PHEV5]

5 hours ago, PrimeTio said:

It’s better to keep retirements conversations to the other topic I’ve created. As for the 2003 D40LFs, it does look reasonable that 13 buses are remaining. #0302, #0306, #0307, #0312, #0313, #0317, #0320, #0323, #0326, #0332, #0334 #0338 #0341 are the current remaining units at the moment. Everything else has been retired between 2014-2022.

What ever allocation has available is what they will give the drivers. Drivers can also pick there own buses if they want, but it all depends on allocation and availability. If they have only express buses inside the garage and someone wants to do the 68, an express bus will be allocated so the driver can do his route on time and efficiently. This has been a common occurrence for many years now.

It would be quite boring if every bus is assigned to do a specific route and it is allocated to several drivers.

[The Squishy Bus]

Mississauga Transit 0332 has caught fire @ Dundas & Shorncliffe while on route 35. 

 

[drum118]

14 hours ago, The Squishy Bus said:

Mississauga Transit 0332 has caught fire @ Dundas & Shorncliffe while on route 35. 

 

Well be move the dead end line as it not worth spending time and money on it with new buses coming this year that have been delay since last years due to the supply change issue. It only lasted 4+ years longer than it should in the first place. Got to thank Council for those extra years as they were not willing to fund the replacements buses like they should in the first place.

[G.A]

4 hours ago, The Squishy Bus said:

Mississauga Transit 0332 has caught fire @ Dundas & Shorncliffe while on route 35. 

 

Interesting they still have bad luck with these fires. 

[drum118]

Share your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours

Hello MiVoice participants.

MiWay wants your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours.

Please click here or follow this link to complete a short, 3 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/buscolors 

In the fall of 2010, the MiWay name and new branding were introduced to our transit services in Mississauga. This was the beginning of service growth and other improvements for customers. At that time, two types of service were introduced: MiLocal orange buses operating on local and school routes, and MiExpress blue buses operating on express routes.

We want to know what matters to you most about our MiLocal and MiExpress services. 

The survey will be available until 11:59 pm on Feb. 24, 2023. MiWay will use the feedback to continue to improve the customer experience. 

[FlyerD901]

58 minutes ago, drum118 said:

Share your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours

Hello MiVoice participants.

MiWay wants your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours.

Please click here or follow this link to complete a short, 3 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/buscolors 

In the fall of 2010, the MiWay name and new branding were introduced to our transit services in Mississauga. This was the beginning of service growth and other improvements for customers. At that time, two types of service were introduced: MiLocal orange buses operating on local and school routes, and MiExpress blue buses operating on express routes.

We want to know what matters to you most about our MiLocal and MiExpress services. 

The survey will be available until 11:59 pm on Feb. 24, 2023. MiWay will use the feedback to continue to improve the customer experience. 

Keep them all orange. I'm sure they're own dispatch sheet is showing them bus colours don't matter. Why even bother with the survey. You have to look at the destination sign regardless. It was good marketing when they first started it. But if your not putting the effort to keep express buses on express routes, don't bother with the different colour schemes. 

What really needs to change, is the Mississauga city logo. But that's more of a city issue. 

[Kelvin3157]

1 hour ago, drum118 said:

Share your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours

Hello MiVoice participants.

MiWay wants your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours.

Please click here or follow this link to complete a short, 3 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/buscolors 

In the fall of 2010, the MiWay name and new branding were introduced to our transit services in Mississauga. This was the beginning of service growth and other improvements for customers. At that time, two types of service were introduced: MiLocal orange buses operating on local and school routes, and MiExpress blue buses operating on express routes.

We want to know what matters to you most about our MiLocal and MiExpress services. 

The survey will be available until 11:59 pm on Feb. 24, 2023. MiWay will use the feedback to continue to improve the customer experience. 

Considering no one really cares about the colours and whatever bus shows up on the route whether it be at orange or blue, a bus is a bus

[Doppelkupplung]

Well at least they're acknowledging the problem with the survey. But its been going on long enough now for people to know that the bus color doesn't really matter. 

Keeping them all orange seems like the cost-effective option. People already know that 100-series routes are express. 

 

[GTAmissions1]

2 hours ago, drum118 said:

Share your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours

Hello MiVoice participants.

MiWay wants your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours.

Please click here or follow this link to complete a short, 3 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/buscolors 

In the fall of 2010, the MiWay name and new branding were introduced to our transit services in Mississauga. This was the beginning of service growth and other improvements for customers. At that time, two types of service were introduced: MiLocal orange buses operating on local and school routes, and MiExpress blue buses operating on express routes.

We want to know what matters to you most about our MiLocal and MiExpress services. 

The survey will be available until 11:59 pm on Feb. 24, 2023. MiWay will use the feedback to continue to improve the customer experience. 

Just filled it out. I think the orange and blue buses have outlived their purpose especially with fleet shortages and often having to utilize a different coloured bus to provide service. Marketing it as Express routes in the 100 series is a better way of informing passengers between local and express routes. 

54 minutes ago, Kelvin3157 said:

Considering no one really cares about the colours and whatever bus shows up on the route whether it be at orange or blue, a bus is a bus

Pretty much my way of thinking. If I am waiting for x route at y departure, as long as the bus shows up is what matters to me. Don't value what colour it is, just takes me from A to B. 

[drum118]

You will be surprised by the number of riders who look for a colour of a bus than the display board that they get on the wrong bus or wait for x colour to show up.

If the right colour is on the right route all the time, its no big deal as you know you are on the right bus. The past 3 years has been a mess as to what bus is the right bus due to lack of buses for service.

Have waited for an 103 bus a few times and only seeing orange and white buses, that I gave up waiting for that blue bus as it would been faster to use the local service. One of the last time I was waiting for the 103 to show up that was already over 10 minutes late and seeing only white buses playing follow the leader, decided to take the next bus that pull up to the stop. It turn out that the 2nd white bus behind the one I got on was an 103 as it pass me.

Not an fan of the blue bus style. So so on the orange that is a lot better than a white one.

Have waited for an express bus on Dundas only to see the blue bus pull up to the stop as an local and the orange one behind it was the express.

Once the 2009's are gone, we will have X colour for the fleet, depending if Y are repainted to that colour.

I have no problems having 2 colour, so on those colours are always on the right route after 2024 all the time.

[Gil]

9 hours ago, FlyerD901 said:

Keep them all orange. I'm sure they're own dispatch sheet is showing them bus colours don't matter. Why even bother with the survey. You have to look at the destination sign regardless. It was good marketing when they first started it. But if your not putting the effort to keep express buses on express routes, don't bother with the different colour schemes. 

What really needs to change, is the Mississauga city logo. But that's more of a city issue. 

Do the newer buses still have the different features originally found exclusively on the blue MiExpress buses - reading lights and charging outlets?  When the outlets do work, I'd be hoping to get one to be able to charge my phone regardless of which route they were on.  The reading lights make for some nice mood lighting in the evenings.  I don't think people realized they could turn them on and off as the switches were so high up!

If they start implementing those features (well, at least the outlets - and keep them working) on both the MiLocal and MiExpress buses then I don't see a need to have separate fleets.

I was never a fan of the rebranded Mississauga logo.  It does kinda look like the old Mississauga Transit logo.  The whole rebranding process seemed like a waste of time and resources.  The new ones don't change my impression of either the City or transit agency.  The MiWay logo looks like a riff on the DRT logo!  DRT's Pulse logo reminds me of the Mississauga Transit logo. 

[JazzyJay729]

13 hours ago, drum118 said:

Share your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours

Hello MiVoice participants.

MiWay wants your thoughts on our orange and blue bus colours.

Please click here or follow this link to complete a short, 3 minute survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/buscolors 

In the fall of 2010, the MiWay name and new branding were introduced to our transit services in Mississauga. This was the beginning of service growth and other improvements for customers. At that time, two types of service were introduced: MiLocal orange buses operating on local and school routes, and MiExpress blue buses operating on express routes.

We want to know what matters to you most about our MiLocal and MiExpress services. 

The survey will be available until 11:59 pm on Feb. 24, 2023. MiWay will use the feedback to continue to improve the customer experience. 

At the beginning when the rebranding started it made sense but nowadays it’s so common to see local routes (11 Westwood, 42 Derry, 66 McLaughlin to name a few) running express buses on local routes.

At the end of the day, there’s the destination sign on the bus, the voiceover when the doors on the bus opens and bus tracker sites where the rider can know which bus is theirs.

I love the colours and branding but it’s starting to fade and not make a whole ton of sense when there is a lot of mismatch happening.

[Gil]

On 1/14/2023 at 9:57 PM, drum118 said:

Don't know why the southbound stop at Bloor on Dixie is not back in service as its finished other than adding the shelter. You got riders standing at both stops with some drivers bypassing the north one while others stop at both.

The northbound stop at Bloor on Dixie is in service once again and a huge improvement over what was there before. The shelter is now located where the sidewalk was before, with the new sidewalk in front of it at the same level with a bend at each end for the stop. Part of the bus pad is level with a slight slop to the curb. Comply with accessibility requirements now.

The northbound stop for Dundas is back in service as well the shelter for Dixie.

Did Mississauga's contract with their infrastructure provider (in this case bus shelters), Outfront expire or did they run out of the current model of bus shelter?  The ones that were replaced along Dixie are the typical barrel top variety and I have yet to see one with a map or even just a bracket for one.  The City wants to increase the number of bus shelters, but looks like they just went with the cheapest/generic option available further eroding their branding. 

Apologies, they've uploaded rotated again for some reason.  The first one is at Matheson and Dixie.  The second one is at Bloor and Dixie and include tactile strips on the sidewalk denoting the bus stop similar to what Toronto does when a cycle track passes in front of a transit stop. 

[drum118]

After 15 years pushing for this as well a number of past councilors, it looks like it is finally going to happen. Going to General Committee Meeting next week

i. That a Transit Advisory Committee be established and that the Terms of Reference attached as Appendix 3 be approved.

Transit Committee Given the City’s commitment to transit and that it is one of the largest allocations of the City’s budget, the introduction of a transit advisory committee as outlined in Appendix 3 is appropriate. The Transit Advisory Committee would provide stakeholder perspectives on the provision of public transit services and transit infrastructure in the City. The Committee would also provide insights and advice with respect to enhancing the customer experience on-board vehicles, at stations, terminals and stops and during interactions with front line staff. The proposed Transit Committee fulfills the requirements for a new committee and should be established.

NEW COMMITTEES The Council Procedure By-law provides the following criteria to form a new advisory committee: If there are no statutory requirements, the establishment of an Advisory Committee must fulfill at least five of the follow criteria: (1) align with the City’s Strategic Plan (and other Master Plans or guiding documents); (2) require citizen voices or external stakeholder expertise to develop public policy or fulfill corporate mandate; (3) ensure that broad subject matter is handled by multiple internal divisions and/or external stakeholders; (4) include emerging issues of clear importance to the municipality; (5) significantly help streamline discussion and decision-making at a Standing Committee; (6) handle work that staff do not perform; (7) required for the long-term (minimum of five years); (8) mandate and work plan can be clearly articulated.

[newflyerinvero]

On 1/31/2023 at 10:40 PM, JazzyJay729 said:

At the beginning when the rebranding started it made sense but nowadays it’s so common to see local routes (11 Westwood, 42 Derry, 66 McLaughlin to name a few) running express buses on local routes.

At the end of the day, there’s the destination sign on the bus, the voiceover when the doors on the bus opens and bus tracker sites where the rider can know which bus is theirs.

I love the colours and branding but it’s starting to fade and not make a whole ton of sense when there is a lot of mismatch happening.

I liked their branding back in 2010 and their specific routes they were supposed to run on.

Back then and throughout the years, depending on where I was within Mississauga on my travels seeing a blue bus around would tell me that there is a 100-series route close by and would know which  bus to look for especially when there'd be more than one route that'd be serving the same stop. Visually it was much more comforting to know which bus is operating oin what route based on colour, but eventually I had to use the minocular to really determine which route it was on as it was bedcoming a colour mixture. I know I'd have a much harder time at determining bus colours if I was colour blind!

I think and I doubt tthis'll happen, for Malton Garage to be open 7 days a week so at least there'd be more white (ya, orange = local, but whites are too (LFRs),) to be available more often insead of having to resort to using the blues as excess local buses. That's an issue and a talking point for another day though.
Sure, marketing on what buses are what is good and all and I wish it'd go back to that, but I think it'll be a mix-colour bag for quite awhile. And yes, I had completed that survey regarding the bus colours to be more specific to what they're supposed to run on, but I doubt it'd make a difference. So, I'll be resorting to double-checking if this bus that's approadching is a local or an express.

[Gil]

The new Service Changes for February 27 are out:

Service Changes on Monday, Feb. 27

Saturday service will resume on Route 107 Malton Express, and there will be weekday service increases on Routes 3 Bloor, 35 Eglinton, and 39 Britannia. There will also be schedule adjustments on some routes to improve service reliability.

Saturday service resumes on Route 107 Malton Express

Saturday service will resume on the Route 107 Malton Express to help alleviate overcrowding on the Route 7 Airport.

The Route 107 Malton Express will operate every 20 minutes on Saturdays from 10 am to 7 pm, with service from City Centre Transit Terminal to Westwood Square Transit Terminal.

Please check for updated Saturday schedules.

Weekday service frequency improvements due to high customer demand

The routes below will have increased service during weekdays to respond to ridership growth and provide more capacity where and when customers need it.

• 3 Bloor
• 35 Eglinton
• 39 Britannia

Saturday service reductions due to low customer demand

The routes below were identified for service reductions during a comprehensive review of ridership across the MiWay network. The resources saved from these reductions will be reinvested back into the network to increase capacity and prevent overcrowding on busier routes.

• 29 Park Royal-Homelands
• 36 Colonial-Ridgeway

Schedule adjustments

Schedule adjustments will be made on the routes below to improve service reliability as traffic and ridership patterns continue to evolve throughout the city.

 

MiWay will make further schedule adjustments as needed to ensure that services remain responsive to customer needs.

• 2 Hurontario (weekdays)
• 5 Dixie (weekdays)
• 7 Airport (weekdays)
• 13 Glen Erin (Saturday)
• 17 Hurontario (weekdays)
• 29 Park Royal-Homelands (weekdays)
• 30 Rexdale (weekdays)
• 36 Colonial-Ridgeway (weekdays)
• 46 Tenth Line-Osprey (weekdays)
• 48 Erin Mills (weekdays)
• 61 Mavis (Saturday)
• 70 Keaton (weekdays)
• 107 Malton Express (weekdays and Saturday)
• 108 Meadowvale Business Express (weekdays)
• 109 Meadowvale Express (weekdays)

Holiday service

On Good Friday, Friday, April 7, 2023, buses will operate on a holiday schedule. Some routes will operate at a reduced frequency, including:

• 4 Sherway Gardens
• 5 Dixie
• 17 Hurontario
• 23 Lakeshore
• 29 Park Royal-Homelands
• 36 Colonial-Ridgeway

Some routes will not operate due to low customer demand, including:

• 28 Confederation
• 35 Eglinton
• 46 Tenth Line-Osprey
• 48 Erin Mills

Please check for updated schedules.

Next planned service change – April 24, 2023.

The additional service on the 39 BRITANNIA is definitely needed if they can't get artics on that route during rush hour.  I'm running an errand this afternoon and the 43 MATHESON-ARGENTIA which was supposed to depart 5 minutes before the 39 BRITANNIA showed up after for whatever reason, meaning the 39 was packed.  The desto was only displaying BUS FULL - SORRY, so I had no idea which route it was until the doors opened and the automated announcement came on.  The driver had us board at the rear (which extended my PRESTO trip window).

The busiest part of the Britannia/Matheson corridor is between Dixie and Mavis.  I don't know that you could run supplemental service on that stretch.  Maybe new service on Millcreek and then running to say Cheekbone?  Express service would only really serve half the trips directly, the others having to rely on catching the local directly or via a transfer.  Increased frequencies on the 43 MATHESON-ARGENTIA and 87 MEADOWVALE-SKYMARK pair might solve the problem of crowding on the Eglinton corridor as long as the 87 is properly advertised. 

[MiExpress]

2 hours ago, Gil said:

The additional service on the 39 BRITANNIA is definitely needed if they can't get artics on that route during rush hour.  I'm running an errand this afternoon and the 43 MATHESON-ARGENTIA which was supposed to depart 5 minutes before the 39 BRITANNIA showed up after for whatever reason, meaning the 39 was packed.  The desto was only displaying BUS FULL - SORRY, so I had no idea which route it was until the doors opened and the automated announcement came on.  The driver had us board at the rear (which extended my PRESTO trip window).

The busiest part of the Britannia/Matheson corridor is between Dixie and Mavis.  I don't know that you could run supplemental service on that stretch.  Maybe new service on Millcreek and then running to say Cheekbone?  Express service would only really serve half the trips directly, the others having to rely on catching the local directly or via a transfer.  Increased frequencies on the 43 MATHESON-ARGENTIA and 87 MEADOWVALE-SKYMARK pair might solve the problem of crowding on the Eglinton corridor as long as the 87 is properly advertised. 

With 16 additional artics to be added to the fleet (replacing 16 40' buses and expanding the artic fleet from 77 to 93) hopefully the 39 is at the top of the list for conversion to artics. However at some point consideration needs to be given to implementing the route 50 along Lisgar and Churchill Meadows as envisioned in the original MiWay Five plan because the demand is becoming imbalanced. It could probably be introduced with no net new service hours by shortening the 39 to Churchill Meadows and eliminating what is left of the 49. The 50 taking over the west half of the 90 and another route like the 46 extended to cover Copenhagen would also allow the 90 to be eliminated freeing up more service hours.