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York Region Transit system enhancements continue as ridership rises following COVID-19 pandemic

May 02, 2023

Newmarket – York Regional Council received an update on York Region Transit’s (YRT) 2022 system performance, highlighting continued reliability throughout changing travel patterns and increasing travel demand.

In 2022, YRT continued to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic with revenue ridership increasing to 15.5 million in 2022 compared to 9.4 million in 2021. Ridership prior to the pandemic in 2019 was 22.3 million; ridership is expected to continue to rise and return to pre-pandemic levels over the next several years.

“Transportation remains a top priority to Council. It is essential to continue to provide and enhance our transit system to ensure it remains safe, convenient and reliable,” said York Region Chairman and CEO Wayne Emmerson. “Continuing to make advancements in transit, including bringing the Yonge North Subway Extension to the City of Markham, City of Richmond Hill and City of Vaughan, supports our growing communities, businesses and travellers today and in the future.”

Enhancements to YRT in 2022 included:

  • Refurbishing 48 buses through asset management programs
  • Replacing 63 concrete bus stop pads, installing 21 new pads, upgrading 11 bus shelters and installing 22 new shelters throughout the Region
  • Adding two new electric buses into service in support of the Transit Bus Fleet Electrification Plan, converting all YRT buses to zero-emission technology by 2047
  • Opening of Cornell Bus Terminal and Major Mackenzie West Terminal
  • Piloting solar-powered technology for passenger information screens
  • Continuing to advance the Yonge North Subway Extension into York Region and associated transit-oriented communities

“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, YRT provided services to essential workers who relied on transit to get to and from work,” said Town of Aurora Mayor Tom Mrakas, Chair of the Region’s Public Works Transportation Services. “As public health restrictions have been removed, it is great to see more and more people return to using public transit to get to destinations they need and want to go.”

Fare and service integration continues to be a priority through collaboration with the Ministry of Transportation, Metrolinx and other Greater Toronto Horseshoe Area (GTHA) transit agencies. As part of this work, in 2022 the Ride-to-GO program was improved to allow free travel on YRT to and from GO Transit.

YRT operates a family of services, including rapid transit, conventional, Mobility On-Request and paratransit. Mobility On-Request, a cost-effective and flexible service delivery model designed to provide service to travellers in lower-demand areas, continues to operate in place of 15 local conventional bus routes ensuring transit options remain available. Services, schedules and routes are regularly monitored and adjusted to meet customer demand.

The Regional Municipality of York consists of nine local cities and towns and provides a variety of programs and services to more than 1.2 million residents and 55,600 businesses with more than 615,000 employees. More information about the Region’s key service areas is available at york.ca/regionalservices 

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Media Contact:

Tamara Ostrowski, Corporate Communications
The Regional Municipality of York
Phone: 1-877-464-9675, ext. 71226
Cell: 905-251-6412
@email