Bus terminal

[buildup]

Are there plans to relocate the Bus terminal at Bay & Dundas into the Union Station redevopment? In terms of a "trade" this redevelopment would be one of the best the city could see. The grimy real or perceived blight of the current location infects several blocks, as does the bus congestion.

Dropping some new development into the entire block would give a huge lift to the core.

 

[CDL.TO]

My number one problem with the bus terminal is that it is just plain unpleasant to use. You have to line up in the open air, boiling in summer and freezing in winter, breathing the fumes of idling buses, and scurrying out of the way while trying to keep your place in line when a bus has to pull into a platform. This makes it essentially impossible for elderly and for those with reduced mobility to use. Overall, it's clear that the place was not designed for modern coach buses; it feels like jumbo jets serving the little heritage terminal at the island airport.

The whole thing reinforces the idea that buses are a low-class form of transportation and desperately needs to be replaced.

 

[Second_in_pie]

It could definitely work to relocate the Bus terminal to Union station when Go busses from Union start being redundant with new train improvements. That'll give a nice modern facility with connections to the Subway and Go network.

Whether they're making plans for it or not, I don't know. But they certainly should!

 

[AKS]

I think there were plans to relocate the bus terminal closer to the highway. However due to costs, I think they're staying where they are.

 

[nfitz]

Seems a shame after all the renovations, and the tunnel.

 

[Dan416]

I thought this was supposed to happen when GO expands the current Union Bus Terminal?

 

[Second_in_pie]

Why would they need to expand it? They're supposed to be essentially phasing out Union-based busses in the next 10 or so years. They definitely won't be needing a bigger Terminal.

 

[Dan416]

Why would they need to expand it? They're supposed to be essentially phasing out Union-based busses in the next 10 or so years. They definitely won't be needing a bigger Terminal.

Well they bought the building across from Union Bus Terminal for that very reason, IIRC. And I would imagine phasing out Union-based buses will not happen entirely ever, nevermind in the next 10 years. A good number (most?) of those buses are Milton-bound, and Milton won't be getting all-day service any time soon (has the EA even started yet?).

 

[DavidH]

A good number (most?) of those buses are Milton-bound, and Milton won't be getting all-day service any time soon (has the EA even started yet?).

GO2020 does not call for all-day service to Milton - only to Meadowvale. Presumably the buses would then run Milton-Meadowvale to connect with the trains.

No, it won't be immediate but the post above was "within the next ten years". The question is whether GO will need additional bus space at Union before the needed service levels begin to drop.

 

[Dan416]

GO2020 does not call for all-day service to Milton - only to Meadowvale. Presumably the buses would then run Milton-Meadowvale to connect with the trains.

No, it won't be immediate but the post above was "within the next ten years". The question is whether GO will need additional bus space at Union before the needed service levels begin to drop.

Sorry I didn't mean all-day service to Milton. I meant all-day service on the Milton line.

 

[Second_in_pie]

@ Coruscanti: I believe that Go/Metrolinx has a plan to get all day service on the Milton corridor relatively soon, definitely within 10 years.

 

[Observer Walt]

^ Maybe so, but there will be significant opposition until they manage to electrify the line, which will be hugely expensive.

 

[DavidH]

^ Maybe so, but there will be significant opposition until they manage to electrify the line, which will be hugely expensive.

And we've seen what happened to that on the Georgetown corridor work.

 

[DSC]

GO is still working on relocating the Dundas Street bus station to the area of the Union Station bus station. Originally it was to go on Harbour Street but their studies showed that this was too far from the subway etc (yes, one hardly needs a consultant to tell you that) and the last time I spoke to someone there - early summer - they were looking seriously at expanding the Union Station bus station, either by adding a top layer or bringing it right to the back of the Dominion Federal Building. There was a mention of this on their website for a few months but it vanished (or I can't find it) and now that Metrolinx has absorbed GO .....

While on bus stations, the City is selling the Greyhound Parcel Depot site on Front Street at Sherbourne so I bet it won't be too long before they move elsewhere too.

 

[unimaginative2]

I have a study on relocating the bus station from a couple years ago. They looked at a few locations, including the old OPP headquarters. One of the options was next to Union Station on the site of the current GO bus terminal. It would be a bi-level structure and apparently would have enough room for all of the intercity buses. I'll have to dig it out to find out exactly how it was going to be designed. At any rate, it was easily the best location and probably not too problematic with crowding since bus use is likely to remain static at best with the expansion of rail service in the GTA.

Another interesting bus terminal is the Hamilton GO Centre. It seems to be quite massive and they only use a handful of the dozen or so platforms. Was it just built for hypothetical future expansion or were they thinking of using it for local buses or something?