Mississauga Transitway

The Mississauga Transitway is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It comprises a series of purpose-constructed bus-only roadways, as well as reserved lanes on existing city streets and portions of Highway 403, that together form a continuous 18 km (11 mi) route spanning most of the city from Winston Churchill Boulevard in the west to the junction of Highways 401 and 427 in the east on the border with Toronto. Service on the Transitway is provided by MiWay and GO Transit, with some stations providing connections to Brampton Transit and Toronto Transit Commission bus services.

Mississauga Transitway
Dixie Station and Transitway
Overview
LocaleMississauga, Ontario, Canada
Transit typeBus rapid transit
Operation
Began operationNovember 17, 2014 –
November 22, 2017
Operator(s)MiWay
GO Transit
Technical
System length18 km (11 mi)
System map

 Renforth
Orbitor
 Spectrum
Etobicoke Creek
 Etobicoke Creek
 Tahoe
 Dixie
Little Etobicoke Creek
 Tomken
 Cawthra
 Central Parkway
Hurontario LRT
City Centre
Square One
Credit River
HOV lanes
bypass shoulders
Highway 403
 Erin Mills
Winston Churchill
Renforth station bus driveway seen from the pedestrian overpass between the platforms

Originally proposed in the 1970s, the Mississauga Transit plan has evolved over time. In the 1990s, a serious proposal intended to build a "transitway" from Ridgeway Drive at the very western edge of the city;[1] this was eventually revised to its current state, with construction beginning in November 2010.[2][3] The first stretch of the present Transitway opened between Hurontario Street and Dixie Road on November 17, 2014.[4] Other remaining sections faced delays, and were open in stages until the eastern terminus, Renforth, was opened on November 22, 2017.[5][6] There were plans to eventually extend Transitway service to a new regional bus terminal at the Kipling subway station in southern Etobicoke,[7] which came to fruition with the opening of the terminal on January 4, 2021.[8][9]

Design and operation

The Mississauga Transitway consists of busways and bus-priority lanes. The first segment of busway parallels Highway 403 from the western terminus at Winston Churchill Boulevard to Erin Mills Parkway. From there, buses use dedicated shoulder lanes on Highway 403 and Centre View Drive to reach MiWay's existing City Centre Transit Terminal on Rathburn Road. The longer second busway begins east of Hurontario Street, paralleling Highway 403 to Cawthra Road and then following Eastgate Parkway on its north and west side to Eglinton Avenue East, and Eglinton on its north side to the eastern terminus at Renforth Drive in Toronto.

Bus services along the Mississauga Transitway operate similarly to that of the Ottawa Transitway network, using a mixture of express and local routes that call at intermediate stations constructed along the route. Because the Transitway does not directly connect to any major transit hubs other than the City Centre Terminal, all routes that use the Transitway travel in mixed traffic to reach other outlying termini such as Kipling subway station.

The Transitway is shared by MiWay standard and articulated buses for intra-city travel, along with GO Transit-operated highway coaches and double-decker buses along inter-city routes. The busways have a maximum speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) on the dedicated roadway between stations, and 50 km/h (31 mph) in the vicinity of stations. MiWay buses operating along the Transitway stop at all stations by request, while GO Transit routes only make stops at Winston Churchill, Erin Mills, Dixie, and Renforth stations (depending on the route).[1][10]

Funding and construction

The Transitway project, estimated to cost $259 million,[3] was funded as part of the Government of Ontario's MoveOntario 2020 plan, with both the federal and provincial governments contributing up to a total of $173 million.[11] Construction responsibilities were divided between Metrolinx and the City of Mississauga: Metrolinx was responsible for the western segment between Winston Churchill and Erin Mills, a portion of the eastern segment between Hurontario and Cawthra, and Renforth Station; while the city was responsible for all other stations and segments.[6] Construction on the eastern segment began in November 2010,[3] while Metrolinx launched construction of the western segment in November 2013.[12]

Routes served

MiWay

With the opening of the first phase on November 17, 2014, MiWay adjusted three of its routes to use the eastern section of the corridor, with service initially operating Monday to Saturday from 4:30 AM to 10:30 PM. A fourth route, 110 University, began using the Transitway lanes on Highway 403 on September 7, 2015 with the opening of Erin Mills station, which is the only Transitway station served by this route.

On January 8, 2017, with the opening of the new Winston Churchill station, new Sunday service was implemented on 109 Meadowvale Express, expanding service along the full length of the Mississauga Transitway to 7 days a week.

Route Service Type Terminus Service Span
87 Meadowvale-Skymark Local Meadowvale Town Centre Bus Terminal Renforth Rush hour
100 Airport Express Express Winston Churchill Toronto Pearson International Airport Monday–Friday
107 Malton Express Express City Centre Transit Terminal Humber College September–April: Monday–Friday
Westwood Mall Bus Terminal September–April: Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays
May–August: all week
109 Meadowvale Express Express Meadowvale Town Centre Bus Terminal Kipling subway station All week
110 University Express Express City Centre Transit Terminal Clarkson GO Station All week
University of Toronto Mississauga (short turn) Monday–Friday

GO Transit

Current GO Transit bus routes that use the Transitway include the following:

Route Stations used
19 Mississauga / North York Dixie, Renforth
25 Waterloo / Mississauga Erin Mills, Winston Churchill
29 Guelph / Mississauga Erin Mills, Winston Churchill
40 Hamilton / Richmond Hill Dixie, Renforth
45/46/47 407 West Erin Mills

Stations

Access to the stations along the BRT portion of the route is by means of pedestrian walkways, with Kiss & Ride areas at most stations and Park & Ride lots at selected stations. All stations are wheelchair-accessible (), have heated waiting areas, and loading platforms designed for level boarding, similar to the Züm service operated by Brampton Transit.[13]

The following is a list of stations, from west to east:[10]

StationOpened[14]GO Transit StopPark and RideKiss and RideNotes
Winston Churchill January 2, 2017[15]Yes300 spacesYes
Erin Mills September 7, 2015Yes300 spacesYes
City Centre November 1997Yes[lower-alpha 1]200 spacesYes
Central Parkway November 17, 2014[4]NoYes
Cawthra No60 spacesYes
Tomken NoYes
Dixie Yes170 spacesYes
Tahoe February 16, 2016[16][17]NoNo
  • originally Fieldgate.[1]
Etobicoke Creek NoNo
  • originally Fieldgate North [1]
Spectrum May 1, 2017[18]NoNo
Orbitor NoNo
Renforth November 22, 2017[19]YesNo

The Renforth station, located one block west at Commerce Boulevard, is currently planned to feature an indirect multi-modal interchange with a proposed western extension of the TTC's Line 5 Eglinton that would terminate at the nearby Pearson International Airport. Originally proposed in 2007 under the city of Toronto's Transit City plan, the first phase of the line will open as far west as Mount Dennis station at Weston Road in 2022. The Renforth interchange would open later, pending the financing for the project,[20] and would feature a full-service below grade BRT station, but only an at-grade median surface stop for the LRT, requiring transferring passengers to cross Commerce Boulevard and descend a set of stairs to access the BRT.[21]

As of 2020 however, in an addendum to the Line 5 extension, the addendum showed the future Renforth LRT station partially at-grade and the station located off-street on the north side of Eglinton, north of the transitway terminal.[22]

Notes
  1. Connects to GO Transit at Square One Bus Terminal across the road

References
  1. "The Mississauga Transitway". Transit Toronto. 2006-11-10. Archived from the original on 2008-06-15. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  2. "Rapid - Mississauga Bus Rapid Transit News" (PDF). 3. Mississauga. Fall 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-08. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Joseph Chin (2010-11-19). "City breaks ground on BRT station". Mississauga News. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  4. "Mississauga opens 4 Transitway stations". CBC News. 2014-11-17. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  5. Tess Kalinowski (2014-05-06). "Key transit projects facing delays". Torstar Network, via Mississauga News. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  6. "Mississauga Transitway Project". GO Transit. Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  7. Mackenzie, Robert (August 18, 2017). "From Drawing Boards to Reality: More GO Train and Bus Service". Urban Toronto. Retrieved 2017-10-27.
  8. "New Kipling Bus Terminal". City of Mississauga. 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  9. metrolinx (2020-12-14). "Making way for MiWay service with new bus terminal opening at Kipling Transit Hub". Metrolinx News. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
  10. "Rapid - Mississauga Bus Rapid Transit News" (PDF). 1. Mississauga. Spring 2008. Retrieved 2009-11-08. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. "Mississauga Receives Federal Funding for Bus Rapid Transit Program". City of Mississauga press release. 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  12. Louie Rosella (2013-11-29). "Phase 2 of Mississauga Transitway begins". Mississauga News. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
  13. "Mississauga Transitway". City of Mississauga. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
  14. "MiWay Five Transit Service Plan". City of Mississauga. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  15. "MiWay service at Winston Churchill Station starts on January 2". MiWay Blog. City of Mississauga. December 20, 2016. Archived from the original on January 4, 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  16. MiWay will Service Two New Mississauga Transitway Stations February 16
  17. Williams, Rachael (16 February 2016). "Two new Transitway stations open today". Mississauga News. Retrieved 2018-01-19. With new stations located at Tahoe and Etobicoke Creek, Transitway service will now extend from Dixie station to the Mississauga Airport Corporate Centre
  18. "MiWay will Service Two New Mississauga Transitway Stations May 1". MiWay Blog. City of Mississauga. 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  19. Newport, Ashley (November 21, 2017). "MiWay to Begin Servicing New Station Tomorrow". Insauga. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  20. San Grewal (November 2, 2016). "Mississauga fumes over $470 million Toronto LRT funding assumption". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  21. "Welcome to our Public Open House: Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit (LRT)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
  22. "ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECT REPORT – 2020 ADDENDUM APPENDIX A DESIGN PLATES" (PDF). Metrolinx. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
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