Newmarket is set to get more frequent service on two bus routes next year as York Region Transit continues to improve.
The agency presented to Newmarket council Oct. 7 to outline initiatives for the year and future plans for 2025. Improvements will include increasing the weekday frequency all day for both Route 33 — Wellington-Leslie and Route 57- Mulock — in response to demand.
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor said affordability challenges and growth make transit important.
“Transit is the answer and we have to keep moving transit forward,” Taylor said. “Even though many people will say, fair enough, the majority of people don’t use transit. Well, that number will grow. Urbanization, affordability, congestion will grow transit.”
The service enhancements are coming with the transit service increasing in ridership. In Newmarket, ridership has increased approximately 13 per cent so far this year compared to 2023, with a peak of more than 2 million in revenue ridership in May.
Other recent improvements include the addition of Sunday service on 96 - Keele-Yonge introduced in September, plus the expansion of on-request service in June. York Region Transit plans to further expand the on-request service in 2025, which offers a ride-share like experience where transit will transport you off-route.
Service manager Tamas Hertel said the route frequency increases reflect feedback they received from public consultation sessions this year.
“We’ve put the pandemic behind us. We are not levelling off in terms of our ridership growth,” Hertel said. “We are not levelling off the pre-pandemic levels. We haven’t yet, at least.”
The presentation also noted requests for the creation new route along Bathurst Street between the Newmarket terminal and Seneca College King Campus.
System-wide, Hertel noted other changes with York Region Transit, including fare integration with neighbouring areas and fleet electrification, with another 120 buses coming through 2028.
“I am very happy to see that,” Councillor Bob Kwapis said. “When a bus goes by through a residential area, you can’t even hear them anymore. It used to be quite an impact in the past.”
The new on-request feature garnered some questions, with councillors hearing some confusion about it. Hertel explained that it is not exactly like a taxi service, instead offering individuals not near routes a chance to get transported to routes or to locations where routes will not travel — but without the same flexibility in timing a taxi might offer.
