The sprawling collection of Toronto suburbs in York Region are one day away from a new option in public transit. The new VivaYork system will provide frequent, comfortable and extremely well organized bus service on the Highway 7 and Yonge St corridors, two of York’s most important and congested arteries.
The initial phase will provide Viva buses with signal priority, allowing them to jump queues of traffic at red lights. Later phases are projected to include dedicated busways, LRT’s, and even a subway stretching into York Region. (Anything is possible if gas prices stay high!) With connections to the TTC’s Young Subway line, and a connection to the Sheppard line to come, this fast and reliable service could entice drivers in the heart of York Region to leave their cars at home. Here’s hoping.
What’s more, each bus will be satellite linked and WiFi ready so you can surf the net while riding if you’re so inclined. They’ll each also have a GPS locater and tracker, so that if you’re waiting at the bus stop you can see on a map where your bus is and have a little read out and tells you how long you have to wait for the next bus.