[doady]

I saw MT has information about the September service changes at Square One so I just glanced the new schedule online and they are definitely a mixed bag. Since MT still has not posted the pamphlet online, but has posted the new schedules online, I will post the changes in detail.

The Good:

1. New pre-rapid transit 110 University, first all-day, everyday express route for MT
- 15 minute rush hour frequency, 30 minute at all other times
- stops at Clarkson GO, Sheridan Centre, UTM, South Common, Erin Mills/Folkway, Square One
- replaces routes 24 (good), 48 (not so good), 206 (not good at all)

2. Substantially increased frequencies on the following routes:
- 44 Mississauga Rd (rush hour)
- 4 Applewood and 44 Mississauga Rd (Saturday, probably no longer interlined)
- 20 Rathburn and 28 Confederation (weekends, definitely no longer interlined)
- 201 Dundas Express (rush hour)
- 13 Glen Erin (weekends)
- 48 Erin Mills (all days, at all times)
- 36 Vega Loop (Saturday)

3. Slightly increased rush hour frequencies for Confederation (why?); very slight increased frequency for Dixie/Lakeshore on Sunday

4. Updated routings in MCC

5. New Sunday service for the 48 (no mention of this at all in the pamphlet)

6. New accessible routes 26 and 36

The Bad (you should probably sit down for this):

1. No more express service for Burnhamthorpe (!!!)
- new non-express rush hour route 76 instead, east of Sq One
- severely reduced rush hour frequency west of Sq One

2. Erin Mills cut off at South Common (gone the way of McMurchy)

3. Vega Loop no longer synchronized to Burnhamthorpe (weekday)

4. Routes 9 and 44 no longer synchronized (weekday, Saturday)

5. Typical monthly reduced frequencies for several routes due to increasing travel times (see Guelph Transit thread). These routes are:
- Glen Erin (off-peak)
- Mississauga Rd (midday)
- Mavis (all day)
- Dixie and Lakeshore (Saturday)
- Confederation (midday)

 

[ShonTron]

The Ugly

Nothing there for route 19 Hurontario/202 Hurontario express

---

Thanks for posting.

A very mixed bag, with enough boneheaded changes to make things very disappointing.

With the TTC not implementing its needed Sept. changes, the last major 905 system to report in is GO Transit. (DRT isn't doing much, it has slowly started to reroute its buses towards a semi-grid, regional system, but is taking its time).

New pre-rapid transit 110 University, first all-day, everyday express route for MT

A very good idea and a very useful route (much better than the 24). I guess it will use the 403 between Centre View and Erin Mills?

2. Substantially increased frequencies on the following routes:
- 44 Mississauga Rd (rush hour)
- 4 Applewood and 44 Mississauga Rd (Saturday, probably no longer interlined)
- 20 Rathburn and 28 Confederation (weekends, definitely no longer interlined)
- 201 Dundas Express (rush hour)
- 13 Glen Erin (weekends)
- 48 Erin Mills (all days, at all times)
- 36 Vega Loop (Saturday)

So MT does have the resources to put into service expansion for a change.

3. Slightly increased rush hour frequencies for Confederation (why?); very slight increased frequency for Dixie/Lakeshore on Sunday

Maybe MT threw an extra bus on to prevent service cuts due to increased running times, with the result that frequency is improved a tad.

1. No more express service for Burnhamthorpe (!!!)
- new non-express rush hour route 76 instead, east of Sq One
- severely reduced rush hour frequency west of Sq One

Holy crap! That's terrible. Does 76 do anything different than the 26 (is there a reason why it isn't just 26A?)

5. Typical monthly reduced frequencies for several routes due to increasing travel times (see Guelph Transit thread). These routes are:
- Glen Erin (off-peak)
- Mississauga Rd (midday)
- Mavis (all day)
- Dixie and Lakeshore (Saturday)
- Confederation (midday)

Something that Mississauga Transit is notorious for. It's excusable in rush hours when frequency is the best, but off-peak and weekends, it can screw people up big with transfers or throwing away clock-face schedules.

 

[drum118]

I saw MT has information about the September service changes at Square One so I just glanced the new schedule online and they are definitely a mixed bag. Since MT still has not posted the pamphlet online, but has posted the new schedules online, I will post the changes in detail.

The Good:

1. New pre-rapid transit 110 University, first all-day, everyday express route for MT
- 15 minute rush hour frequency, 30 minute at all other times
- stops at Clarkson GO, Sheridan Centre, UTM, South Common, Erin Mills/Folkway, Square One
- replaces routes 24 (good), 48 (not so good), 206 (not good at all)

2. Substantially increased frequencies on the following routes:
- 44 Mississauga Rd (rush hour)
- 4 Applewood and 44 Mississauga Rd (Saturday, probably no longer interlined)
- 20 Rathburn and 28 Confederation (weekends, definitely no longer interlined)
- 201 Dundas Express (rush hour)
- 13 Glen Erin (weekends)
- 48 Erin Mills (all days, at all times)
- 36 Vega Loop (Saturday)

3. Slightly increased rush hour frequencies for Confederation (why?); very slight increased frequency for Dixie/Lakeshore on Sunday

4. Updated routings in MCC

5. New Sunday service for the 48 (no mention of this at all in the pamphlet)

6. New accessible routes 26 and 36

The Bad (you should probably sit down for this):

1. No more express service for Burnhamthorpe (!!!)
- new non-express rush hour route 76 instead, east of Sq One
- severely reduced rush hour frequency west of Sq One

2. Erin Mills cut off at South Common (gone the way of McMurchy)

3. Vega Loop no longer synchronized to Burnhamthorpe (weekday)

4. Routes 9 and 44 no longer synchronized (weekday, Saturday)

5. Typical monthly reduced frequencies for several routes due to increasing travel times (see Guelph Transit thread). These routes are:
- Glen Erin (off-peak)
- Mississauga Rd (midday)
- Mavis (all day)
- Dixie and Lakeshore (Saturday)
- Confederation (midday)

It is the old Peter pay Paul for service. You want more service and where do we cut it.

As to 206 been cancel, this is no surprise as it is a waste now since they increase the headway years ago. Then the ridership west of Sq One does not support it in the first place. Sadly, I wrote a report some years ago calling for 206 to run from Sq One only to Islington, but with better headway.

They are killing off the 206 to justify the BRT

As to 28 I am at a lost as it does not support anything less than 20 minutes.

As to 110, I love to see the ridership numbers to justify the route from Clarkson in the first place. 24 was a killer and thanks to the folks on Mississauga Rd otherwise it should have ran along Burnhamthorpe Rd in the first place. Again why no BRT stop is plan that would service UTM better as well Streetsville area.

As to item 3, it was a killer for how 26 operate today that only benefit a few ppl, but cause problems for all the other riders along the route.

Again any fast service like 48 gets kill and it force more people to use their car to get to the GO station. These changes continue to show how clues the planners and schedulers are in the first place. They should be force to ride these changes to see how they keep screwing thing up. But since they have never ridden the system in the first place why should they start now.

 

[Observer Walt]

Based on this description, I'm puzzled as to what this new route 76 will be, and how it will differ from 26.

Abolition of the Burnhamthorpe express bus seems like a backward step; I had the impression that a lot of people used it to get from the subway to the City Centre.

 

[ShonTron]

I think Drum might have the reason - to justify the Transitway. As well, the 206 would free up enough buses for the 110, the peak service improvements.

Another question - Doady/Drum, do you mean the 48 won't go south of South Common? That could be another way of forcing people onto the BRT route.

 

[doady]

The 76 is just a non-express version of the 206 east of Square One, so the routing is different enough from the 26 so it can't be called 26A. I don't like this change at all. At least make it the same routing as the 26.

I honestly don't think the BRT is the reason the 206 is being eliminated. The Meadowvale/MCC/Subway pre-rapid transit route has not even been introduced yet. It doesn't make any sense.

Maybe the real answer is in the 89. The 89 lost its "Express" designation in 2005 and is probably going to be eliminated altogether soon also. The route has some major problems, like severe unreliability and overcrowding (the worst in Mississauga, even worse than the 19) so it is even slower than normal routes. Maybe MT thinks the 206 is too slow like the 89.

Note that there will be even more major changes in the next few months and hopefully they won't be as many bad ones.

As to 110, I love to see the ridership numbers to justify the route from Clarkson in the first place.

Well they are canceling the 48 south of South Common, so I think there is more than enough ridership for the 110.

 

[ShonTron]

Maybe the real answer is in the 89. The 89 lost its "Express" designation in 2005 and is probably going to be eliminated altogether soon also. The route has soem major problems, like severe unreliability and overcrowding (the worst in Mississauga, even worse than the 19) so it is even slower than normal routes. Maybe MT thinks the 206 is too slow like the 89.

Note that there will be even more major changes in the next few months and hopefully they won't be as many bad ones.

Hmmm. Interesting. Perhaps we will see he same situation as in (2004 was it?) when MT had a big change in September and another big one in October (hopefully communications will be better this time!). The 89 replacement will be interesting to watch for sure, and I would expect to see something from MCC to ACC soon.

 

[jeicow]

As to 110, I love to see the ridership numbers to justify the route from Clarkson in the first place...

Killing the 48 will provide enough ridership. Current mid-day of 27mins will be raised to 30, but rush hour of 20mins will be improved to 15. Biggest draw back are for students @ Iona and Erindale who are forced to wait only for the 13 to go north/south now.

It will also force people who want to transfer to the 1 make the switch at UTM, which isn't always the nicest place to switch late at night (unless it changed recently), but at least bring some more activity to the campus in the evening. The frequency for 1s will be the same though, and I recall UTM having more shelters than the lone one @ Erin Mills/Dundas.

Do both eastbound and westbound 1's run into UTM? I think they did, but the lines on the MT map look like they have the eastbound bus bypassing it.

Some upsides are the fact that Clarkson does have a large UTM student population so it will make it much more convenient for them. It will be a lot easier to get to Sq. 1 from Clarkson which was the only major MT terminal not to have a direct link to Sq. 1 (the 8 doesn't count with it's crosstown service and terrible weekend frequency)

I think MT really should beef up service on the 23 and encourage southern riders to take it to Long Branch and then connect through the 123 to get to Kipling. This routing saves between 15 minutes (rush hour) and 1 hour (late night/weekends) when coming from Port Credit, and could only save more when coming from Clarkson. This lack of inter-system connections is the reason why trips take longer than they should. Lakeshore is likely the fastest cross town route south of the 403, and as long as the driver doesn't get off the bus @ Port Credit, will beat almost every express buses across town (when the 23 is on local service).

Again any fast service like 48 gets kill and it force more people to use their car to get to the GO station.

Areas will this will have the biggest impact is between 1) Sheridan and Dundas 2) Dundas Connections 3) South of Lakeshore area unless 37 gets improved rush hour service. Majority of people of people who use transit to get to Clarkson come through the 8 and 13. People south of Truscott walk for the most part (shown by the fact that the pedestrian bridge is under construction).

Worst part is that I won't be in Mississauga to see how these new changes will affect the city since I'll be in Waterloo for school. The new 110 route has potential, but at the cost of the 48 is ridiculous. If anything, I'd keep the "new" 48 north of south common, and introduce another route between South Common and Clarkson with reduced service.

 

[Dan416]

If 89 is eliminated, what will it be replaced by? I found the 89 to be a great way of getting to the subway in the morning. Just wasn't very quick. The 27 is the one I take nowadays. It's pretty quick getting to Islington cuz it's not overcrowded or anything.

Regarding 206 being eliminated, I don't think it's a good idea until they have something to replace it. 201 is better though, since it goes right by Kipling.

 

[ShonTron]

Pamphlet and maps of new routes are on-line.

New routings PDF

Pamphlet PDF

 

[doady]

My bad, I forgot to list some stops for the 110: Dundas and Truscott. Also forgot to mention new 32 Lisgar shuttle route and extension of the mysterious route 230.

I just realized that after Hurontario and Dundas pre-rapid transit routes are introduced (in 2009 and 2010, respectively), the only remaining "Express" routes will be the 230 Sheridan Express and 288 Wonderland Express, both of which are not shown of the map.

If 89 is eliminated, what will it be replaced by? I found the 89 to be a great way of getting to the subway in the morning. Just wasn't very quick. The 27 is the one I take nowadays. It's pretty quick getting to Islington cuz it's not overcrowded or anything.

If the 89 is eliminated, expect the 27 to be eliminated too since they are interlined. An extension of the 35 and 39 and the new Meadowvale/MCC/Subway BRT route can take their place. If the 35 had served Islington from the beginning it might have helped the 89 a little more. Still, quite a few people use the 35 already but it seems not to have made any difference for the 89 as far as I can tell.

 

[drum118]

My take is 26 headway will be every 14 minutes at peak time up from 10 minutes.

76 riders will spend an extra 5 minutes in traveling time and the 26 riders using this will see close to 7 minutes more traveling time. I would not use 26A as it confuse riders like the 19A still does today and better off using a different number.

Any bus that continue pass Sq One on the same route should have a different number for the opposite direction as the riders are lost which 19 or 26 or 206 they are supposed to catch in the first place. Seen too many riders get on the wrong direction bus only have to get off and travel back the way they came and just added more traveling time to their trip.

61 riders will see their 3rd change this year.

28 will stay on Confederation and not service Webb Dr anymore and this back the call for the FREE shuttle bus. Waiting to see what plan for the 6 as I would not be surprise to see it stay on Confederation. Only one block to walk to the Library.

Same should happen to the 3 on Sunday and stay on Duke. I find a lot of folks waiting for the 3 on Sunday at Elm Dr who are new to the area and don't realize the change of route on Sunday. This change needs to be scrap.

People who use 48 south of South Common Mall will have to take the slow boat to China and do a seeing cruise on 13 now and waste 10 minutes or more doing so. Will see poor service 100%.

110 service is coming at the lost of other service else where. Every thing comes at the lost of something.

Lisger will be using the new EZ and will not effect any service at all since MT will have 6 buses that they do not now with the Orion II that have been in the dead-end line for the past few years..

As to the 89, this needs a major over haul as it has too many stops now. Most of the ridership gets on Eglinton, not Islington with the exception of a bus or 2. The plan new route will not deal with most ridership issues.

27, 67, 25 need to be kill as they carry very few riders in the first place. 25 and 67 should be a loop feeding 19. 19A itself should be scrap 100%. The most I have seen on it when it returns to the route at peak time is 7.

As for for the 202 don't get me started as I stated to council before and after the first month of service it was the wrong way. It needs a major over haul 100%.

We all know about 19 and service should be every 4 minutes at peak, 6 for day off peak and 10 and night. Sat it should be 6 using the current setup and 10 at night. Sunday every 12 minute 100% using 40' after 7 pm.

7 should be every 15 minute 7 days a week.

Service on major route needs to start at 6.30am on Sunday not the 8-10am we see today. 26 needs 20 minutes on Sunday and 15 on Sat. 3 can support 15 on Sat and 18 on Sunday with no additional buses now.