{{more citations needed, date=August 2021 Ajax Transit was a public transit operator in the Town of

Ajax, Ontario Ajax (; 2021 population: 126,666) is a town in Durham Region in Southern Ontario, Canada, located in the eastern part of the Greater Toronto Area. The town is named for , a Royal Navy cruiser that served in the Second World War. It is approxi ...

, Canada. Ajax Transit and

Pickering Transit Pickering Transit was a Canadian public transit operator in the City of Pickering, Ontario. History Transit service in Pickering began with the Bay Ridges Dial-A-Bus, which ran from July 1970 to January 1973 as a demonstration project conducte ...

were merged on September 4, 2001, to form the Ajax Pickering Transit Authority (APTA). APTA was merged into

Durham Region Transit Durham Region Transit (DRT) is the regional public transit operator in Durham Region, Ontario, Canada, east of Toronto. Its headquarters are at 605 Rossland Rd East in Whitby, Ontario, and there are regional centres in Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa. ...

on January 1, 2006.

Routes

The following routes were operated: *Elm *Duffins *Beach *Harwood *Westney Heights *Village *Puckrin *Applecroft *Hospital *Flag Bus

History

In 1973, the Town of Ajax conducted a survey of potential transit ridership in Ajax. This led to bus service beginning in 1973, under a contract with

Charterways Transportation Limited Charterways Transportation Limited was a bus operator in Ontario, Canada. The head office was located in London Ontario. Of particular note: * It was one of a few sub-contractors to GO Transit during GO's early years. * It also operated municipal ...

, which operated service using a fleet of school buses, with heaviest ridership between the Pickering Beach area and downtown Ajax. In the late 1970s,

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

buses were acquired and began operations on the Elm, Duffins, and Beach routes, which exist to this day. In the early 1980s, the Harwood, Westney Heights, and Village routes began service. Service on the Puckrin route began in the late 1980s. In 1985, Ajax built a new transit garage and offices near the location of the Ajax GO Station. This location was ideal as Ajax Transit's routes all operated from the Ajax GO Station, providing a service that was tightly coordinated with the

Lakeshore East Lakeshore East is a master-planned mixed use urban development being built by the Magellan Development Group in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located in the northeastern part of the Loop, whi ...

train service of

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven millio ...

. This facility remains in use as the 'DRT West' facility of

, and DRT's Ajax routes continue to operate from the GO Station. In 1991, Ajax Transit implemented a

smart card A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

fare system. This system allowed riders to use stored-value cards to access transit services. This system was eliminated in 2001 with the formation of the Ajax Pickering Transit Authority. However, this system was very forward looking and foreshadowed the forthcoming

Presto card The Presto card (stylized as PRESTO) is a contactless smart card automated fare collection system used on participating public transit systems in the province of Ontario, Canada, specifically in Greater Toronto, Hamilton, and Ottawa. Presto ...

, in which Ajax Transit's descendant

will be a participant. In 1992, Ajax town council authorized implementation of a town-operated transit system to replace the contracted services. Also in 1992, Ajax Transit introduced Flag Bug service in which cutaway vans could be flagged down at any point on a fixed route. Durham Region Transit's Ajax operations remain heavily based on those operated by Ajax Transit.

References

* A Town Called Ajax, The Ajax Historical Board, 1995 Transit agencies in Ontario Transport in Ajax, Ontario History of transport in the Regional Municipality of Durham

Routes

History

See also

References