The road to nowhere: York Region's least popular bus routes

Yorkregion.com
Feb. 19, 2018
By Ian Kelso

York Region Transit has more than 100 bus routes serving residents in all of York Region's municipalities combined.

Some of those routes see seldom used, with just a few dozen average weekday boardings. Because of their low ridership, YRT groups most of these buses under local routes, routes that don't require a big fleet, full-sized buses, or frequent service.

Here are the region's bottom five bus routes by number of riders:

Stouffville (#15)

The least-ridden bus among York Region Transit's fleet is the Stouffville 15. Average weekday boardings for this bus going east and west from Yonge Street to Tenth Line is just 32. It's among YRT's base routes, the only one to make this list. The bus connects customers to the Gormley GO Station and only runs during morning and evening rush hours.

Huntington (#28)

Among YRT's few buses that venture into Brampton, the Huntington 28 runs from Highway 27 and Steeles Avenue north to Rutherford Road before turning and heading southbound on The Gore Road. Only an average of 62 riders use this route per weekday.

Mount Albert (#58)

The 58 connects Mount Albert to the rest of East Gwillimbury, the East Gwillimbury GO Station, and Newmarket. It has 74 average weekday riders. Some segments of the route, which run through the Sharon Arena or the 404 Town Centre, have frequent bus service.

Mingay (#45)

This small route has 86 average weekday riders travelling between Markville Mall and to Bur Oak Secondary School in northeast Markham near Mingay Avenue. It only has morning and afternoon routes and runs north and south. The route does not leave Markham.

Oak Ridges (#84)

The Oak Ridges 84 has an average of 114 riders per weekday. It connects the Oak Ridges Community Centre with its surrounding neighbourhood in Richmond Hill, driving a lap around Lake Wilcox. Mornings and afternoon service is every 30 minutes.