YRT's Newest Route Shows the Worst of Planning

At the beginning of September, YRT introduced a new route: the 361 Nashville Express. This route, which operates during peak periods only, at 27-minute frequencies, provides transit service to some parts of Vaughan that were otherwise at a significant distance from the transit. The map of the route is below. 

Its shape is quite peculiar, and genuinely looks like a little kid designed it. However, despite initial feedback from the public last year being mixed, there are some immediate positives: notably, the route operates through both residential and industrial areas, so demand is bidirectional. While it is not shown on the map, the 'end of the line' for a northbound trip is on Barons at MacTier: remember this for later.

As I do, I took the route on its first day of operation, and I was astounded at how stupid of a route it is. While there is some demand, the implementation of the service, combined with the fact that is requires three buses to operate, reads to me that this will be a money waster for years to come. Additionally, I argue that this route reflects everything that is wrong with York Region Transit's planning and models.

The Route

Buses operate from Highway 407 Station, making connections to the subway, numerous GO bus routes, and YRT's 20 Jane. From here, buses immediately hit Highway 407, exiting at Highway 27. Buses skirt through the Royal Group area, and then cross Highway 7, where connections can be made with YRT and Brampton Transit services. Buses continue via Vaughan Valley, Zenway, and New Huntington, before entering the 427 at Langstaff. Buses exit at Major Mackenzie, then make a loop through the new Nashville subdivision via Barons and MacTier, with a layover on Barons, before continuing east on Major Mackenzie. Access to the east part of the subdivision is via a stop on Major Mackenzie. Buses then turn down Islington, and operate along Napa Valley. From here, service travels west on Rutherford, re-entering the southbound 427, with the next stops being on New Huntington.

In practice, service through the residential areas operates as a large one-way looping.

Immediate Concerns

There's a few immediate concerns that jumped out at me last year, when consultation for this service was occurring. The emphasis on a fast connection to the subway over other service elements was a challenge, and the large loop would provide to be difficult to service. All my concerns have been found to be true.

I will provide a list of specific circumstances that make this route very difficult to use. I am sure that there are more, but these are the ones I immediately thought of:

• I live at Martin Grove and Steeles and work on New Huntington. Despite work being less than 4 kilometres away, my shortest trip is 10 kilometres. I have to take TTC's 60 to Islington, YRT's 13 to Highway 7, and Brampton Transit's 501 to Vaughan Valley, before I can even board the 361. The 13 and 361 are infrequent, and connection times are not a guarantee. Customers in Etobicoke have a very hard time accessing this service.
• I work on Royal Group. My walk to work takes the same amount of time as I spend on the 361.
• I just got a job at a new warehouse in the area. However, it is isolated from the other warehouses that the 361 directly serves, and pedestrian and cycling infrastructure are lacking.
• I work on Zenway. The 77 gets me to work fine, but going home, I have to wait through a long layover. This remains unfixed, but I have to watch empty 361s pass me in the meantime.
• I live in Nashville. The 361 gets me to Food Basics at Islington and Napa Valley, but, because the route is a big loop, I can't take the bus home. There is no other grocery store nearby.
• I live in Nashville and attend Tommy Douglas for school. The bus brings me part of the way to school, but coming home, I need to get a ride.
• I live in Napa Valley. It takes me about 40 minutes to get to Highway 407 Station in the morning, but, because of the layover being on Barons, the trip home takes a full hour.

The above issues make the usefulness of the route limited. Not all employees can get to work, people spend too much time on the bus to get home, and errands can't be done on the bus (a Longo's is being built in Nashville, but as of now it is a dirt pile).

On my trip, the ridership showed this. A few people rode from Highway 407 to New Huntington, but ridership to and from Nashville was limited. While this will obviously grow a bit, I doubt it will reach the point where it justifies the service.

The Bigger Issue

As I hinted at earlier in this post, this route shines a light on many of YRT, and frankly York Region as a whole's, worst issues. I will speak to a few of these briefly.

Despite traditional 'downtown commuters' being smaller in size now than in the past, service still focusses on downtown Toronto.

Other agencies are still very peak-oriented, but some, like Brampton Transit, have made headway in improving commutes that are off-peak, and reverse peak. York Region has not done this. York Region's routes focus on bringing people to work in Toronto, and the 361 continues this trend. It assumes that most people in Nashville benefit from the subway connection to get downtown, and prioritizes that connection. While there may be some demand from Nashville to New Huntington, that appears to be a secondary priority.

Express connections to major destinations take precedence.

While I agree that New Huntington and Nashville needed service, it should have been built into the existing network. Instead, it was laid over top, meaning that these areas are still very disconnected from the rest of York Region. YRT's other express routes do the same: they bring people from suburban communities to Finch Station, whereas the local routes in the area offer pitiful frequencies. In a sense, YRT's love of peak-period express services undermines the rest of the network at all hours of the day. A fast commuter link is shown to be more important that transit for all needs.

Trips are only to go to work, and not for other reasons.

If you live in Nashville and want to get groceries, you are S.O.L. Going downtown for the night? You'll have to get a ride most of the way home since this service's hours are so limited. This is true throughout all of York Region.

Development in York Region is so spread out, and, often, makes no sense.

Why do the new subdivisions in Nashville even exist. Why are they so far from everything? Shockingly, I've heard people call them 'transit-oriented developments', based on the fact that the long-shot Bolton GO line might have a station situated in between them. At best, that is fifteen years off. 

This example of extreme, unjustifiable isolation is not even a unique case in the area: see Royalpark Way, or Sanremo Court.

Well Patrick, what would you have done?

I'm so glad you asked! I have made a small service plan that builds service to Nashville and New Huntington in the broader YRT network. I think I resolve all the concerns that I laid out earlier, as well.

My plan requires one major infrastructural change: a new bus terminal at Highway 7 and Highway 50.

The above map shows the industrial part of Vaughan in question. The orange line is, well, VIVA Orange, which has been extended from Martin Grove to Highway 50. Brampton Transit's ZUM 501 operates here too, continuing west of Highway 50. The blue line is YRT's 77 Highway 7, which now operates both ways via Zenway. The pink line is the new 27 Huntington, replacing part of the 361. It operates from Martin Grove/Steeles loop, where it connects to TTC routes 46, 60, 927, and 960. It runs the full loop at Royal Group, and serves warehouses on New Huntington, Highway 50, and, off the map, Coleraine. The route ends at Mayfield @ Hwy 50 P&R, on the southern boundary of Bolton. 

I did not map other unchanged services, but this plan, combined with that is already there, helps develops a grid in York Region and eastern Brampton that makes most trips feasible on transit.

The map above shows the more residential area. Here, the green line, YRT's 13 Islington, is rerouted in Napa Valley, and is extended to Nashville via Kleinberg. It's a bit wonky, but it works. In turn, their 85 Rutherford route, the purple line, is extended west to Gore Meadows, in Brampton, providing a second York-Brampton link. As you can see in the bottom-right corner, the 85 crosses the aforementioned 27, allowing those living in Napa Valley an easy trip to the large employment areas at New Huntington. Nashville customers, notably, can travel both to and from Food Basics at ease.

This plan could be implemented tomorrow, but isn't final. I imagine, as the area fills in, the 13 Islington could be cut back to Kleinberg, and the 4 Major Mackenzie could run through Nashville, crossing the 27 and adding a new link into Brampton. This depends on how the area develops, of course, but it provides a plan for gradually improving transit service in both the immediate area, and across municipal boundaries.

By one gripe about this plan is that the one-seat trip from Nashville to New Huntington is lost, but I feel that is a sacrifice worth making for achieving broader network connectivity goals.

Lastly, while not mapped, I plan for YRT's school special from Kleinberg to Emily Carr, the 468, be extended to Nashville. A new school special to Tommy Douglas, following the same routing to Major Mackenzie, would also be implemented.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this post.