Brampton Transit

Brampton Transit (BT) is a public transport bus operator for the City of Brampton in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and within the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in Ontario, Canada. Brampton Transit began operations in 1974. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of .

Züm, a series of bus rapid transit routes running along various major roads within Brampton, was introduced in 2010. All Züm routes (with the exception of one) continue into neighbouring municipalities, namely Mississauga, Vaughan, and Toronto ( Humber College Bus Terminal).

Connections

Brampton Transit is connected with Mississauga's MiWay to the south, Milton Transit to the west, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to the southeast and York Region Transit (YRT) to the east. The Züm network directly connects to these neighbouring transit agencies, in some cases overlapping with their routes for considerable distances. This includes the 501 Züm Queen in Vaughan running alongside Viva Orange from Highway 50 east to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station, 502 Züm Main running alongside 103 Hurontario Express from Highway 407 south to Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal (next to Square One Shopping Centre) and 505 Züm Bovaird (both into Mississauga) running alongside MiWay and TTC routes to Toronto Pearson Viscount Station or into Toronto.

Most major north-south conventional routes connect to MiWay, primarily beginning or ending their route at or near Derry Road in Mississauga. As with some routes on the Züm network, a few conventional routes also overlap further south into Mississauga providing additional or integrated service alongside MiWay from the same street coming from Brampton. Examples include the 7/7A Kennedy looping via Courtneypark Drive, 30 Airport Rd and 14 Torbram terminating at Westwood Square, and 18 Dixie looping via Courtneypark Drive, Tomken Road, and Meyerside Drive.

Steeles Avenue is a major thoroughfare across the south end of the city. Route 11 Steeles formerly ran from west of Brampton Gateway at Hurontario Street, and eastward into Toronto to Humber College Bus Terminal at Humber College's North Campus. There is a transfer at the college with Route 50/50A Gore Road, that serves developments in The Gore Road area near the former Highway 50 and Albion Road. In September 2007, the western part of the route was cut back to Brampton Gateway and replaced with Route 51 Hereford. It connects with Miway at Mississauga Road and Meadowvale Boulevard. The 511 Züm Steeles route serves the entire length of Steeles through the city, from Humber College Bus Terminal to Lisgar GO station in Mississauga. It is the only Brampton Transit route to have both its endpoints outside Brampton.

Four routes run north into Caledon to provide service to urbanized areas bordering Brampton as well as the community of Bolton in the otherwise rural municipality.

Brampton Transit carries riders to and from the three Kitchener line commuter rail stations operated by GO Transit in the city; Bramalea, Brampton, and Mount Pleasant, where connections to GO buses can be made. GO buses also make an on-street connections at Brampton Gateway Terminal, and serves shopping centres such as Bramalea City Centre and Trinity Common. GO is an interregional agency that provides higher-order transit links Brampton to Toronto and other cities in the Golden Horseshoe.

Fares

Fares are as of May 10, 2023. The cash fare is $4.50.

Customers paying their bus fares with cash (and in some cases, special purpose paper tickets) may request a paper transfer from the bus driver; for customers using Presto cards, the transfer is applied automatically from initial tap on. Both are valid for two hours from the time of first boarding, which allows customers to transfer freely between Brampton Transit buses in any direction, as well as transferring to neighbouring Milton Transit, MiWay, and York Region Transit services.

On February 26, 2024, free transfers between Brampton Transit and the TTC (separate fares were charged prior to that date) have also been available for riders paying with Presto, credit, or debit cards under a new GTA-wide fare integration policy between the TTC and all other GTA transit services. However, the double fare still applies for cash payments.

Since August 11, 2022, customers also have the option to pay the equivalent of the Brampton Transit adult cash fare by contactless credit card or mobile wallet by tapping it on a Presto fare reader. Similar to the Presto card, the 2-hour transfer is applied automatically onto a customer's contactless credit or debit card or mobile wallet after the initial fare is paid.

Preschoolers, blind people and senior residents – who resides in the City of Brampton for those ages 65 and older so long as they carry a valid Brampton Transit Identification Card and a Presto card with a free annual pass loaded on it – can travel fare free on Brampton Transit. War veterans also travel for free by Veteran Transit Pass Program.

Terminals

Bramalea Terminal

Brampton Gateway Terminal

The new terminal, located on the northwest corner of Steeles Avenue and Main Street, opened on 26 November 2012. replacing the Shoppers World Terminal.

Downtown Terminal

The Downtown Terminal consists of two platform areas. The first being the terminal itself just off of Main and Nelson which services routes such as:
* 501 Züm Queen
* 561 Züm Queen West
*1/1A Queen
*52 McMurchy

The second portion is the two Züm stops on opposite sides of Main street. These stops service routes:
* 502 Züm Main
*2 Main
*24 Van Kirk
*25 Edenbrook

''For GO bus and trains servicing Downtown Brampton Terminal, see Brampton GO Station''

Heart Lake Terminal

:Location: Conestoga Drive, NW of Sandalwood Parkway and Kennedy Road
:Coordinates:
:Opened: Unknown
:Brampton routes: 2, 3/3A, 7/7A, 23
:Transit connections: None

Shoppers World Terminal

This terminal was replaced by Brampton Gateway Terminal, located on the northwest corner of Steeles Avenue and Main Street, on 26 November 2012. The old facility stands empty; it is to be demolished and the area to be used by Shoppers World Brampton as an additional parking lot.

Trinity Common Terminal

GO Train stations

* Bramalea GO Station – Brampton Routes: 11/11A, 13, 15/15A, 115, 16, 40, 92, 511/511A/511C
* Brampton GO Station – connection to Downtown Transit Terminal via pedestrian tunnel. Also connects with Via Rail
* Mount Pleasant GO Station – Brampton Routes: 1, 4/4A, 5/5A, 9, 29/29A, 55, 60, 505, 561. Also connects with Routes 6, 23, 26, 27, and 28 at Mount Pleasant Village terminal adjacent to the GO station
* Lisgar GO Station in Mississauga – Brampton Routes: 11/11D, 511
* Malton GO Station in Mississauga – Brampton Routes: 14/14A, 505 Also connects with Via Rail

Terminals outside Brampton

* Westwood Square in Mississauga – Routes: 5/5A, 14/14A, 30
* Humber College Bus Terminal ( Humber College North Campus) in Toronto – Routes: 11/11A, 50/50A, 511/511A/511C
* Pearson International Airport in Mississauga – Route: 115
* Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal in Mississauga – Route: 502 Züm Main
* Dixie Transitway Station in Mississauga – Brampton/MiWay Route: 185
* University of Toronto at Mississauga in Mississauga – Route: 199
* Viscount Station in Mississauga - Route: 505A Zum Bovaird

Routes

All Brampton Transit and Züm routes are wheelchair-accessible (). There is also an on-demand bus service operating in the industrial area around Dixie Rd/Advance Blvd, previously served by the former route 40.

Vehicles

BT has an active fleet of 375+ buses including:
* New Flyer:
* 2010 XDE40: 1050-1074 (Sandalwood)
* 2011 XDE40: 1150–1165 (Sandalwood)
* 2011 XD40: 1101–1130 (Clark)
* 2012 XD40: 1201–1218 (1201–1210: Sandalwood. 1211–1218: Clark)
* 2012 XDE40: 1250–1251 (Sandalwood)
* 2012 XDE60: 1275–1294 (Sandalwood)
* 2013 XDE60: 1475–1484 (Sandalwood)
* 2014 XDE60: 1575–1579 (Sandalwood)
* 2015 XDE60: 1580–1592 (Sandalwood)
* 2016 XDE60: 1675–1682 (Sandalwood)
* 2017 XDE60: 1775–1784 (Sandalwood)
* 2018 XDE60: 1875–1885 (Sandalwood)
* 2019 XDE60: 1975, 1976 (Sandalwood)
* 2020 XDE60: 2075-2084 (Sandalwood)
* 2020/2021 XE40: 2152-2157
* Nova Bus:
* 2005–2006 2nd Gen LFS: 0601-0621 (Clark)
* 2006: 2nd Gen LFS: 0622-0638 (0622-0625: Clark. 0626-0638: Sandalwood)
* 2007: 2nd Gen LFS: 0701-0715 (Sandalwood)
* 2008: 2nd Gen LFS: 0801-0827 (0811-0812, 0821-0827: Clark. 0813-0820: Sandalwood)
* 2009: 2nd Gen LFS: 0901-0916 (0910, 0912-0916: Clark. 0901-0909, 0911: Sandalwood)
* 2009: 3rd Gen LFS: 0917-0926 (Sandalwood)
* 2014: 4th Gen LFS: 1401–1414 (1401–1410: Clark. 1411–1415: Sandalwood)
* 2015: 4th Gen LFS: 1501–1519 (1501–1509: Sandalwood. 1510–1519: Clark)
* 2016: 4th Gen LFS: 1601–1623 (1601–1609: Sandalwood. 1610–1623: Clark)
* 2017: 4th Gen LFS: 1701–1713 (mixed garage allocations)
* 2018: 4th Gen LFS: 1801–1823 (Mixed Garages)
* 2019: 4th Gen LFS: 1901-1916 (Mixed garages)
* 2020: 4th Gen LFS: 2007-2024 (Mixed garages)
* 2021: 4th Gen LFS: 2101-2108 (Mixed garages)
* 2022: 4th Gen LFS: 2201-2224 (Mixed garages)
Retired models include:
* GMC New Look (T6H-4523N, T6H-5307N, T8H-5307A and others) Last unit retired in early 2007.
* New Flyer D800B (last unit retired in 2001).
* New Flyer D40 Suburban (formerly GO Transit) – retired in 2003 and 2004.
* Orion Bus Industries Orion I in 30' and 40' versions (last unit retired in 2011).
* Motor Coach Industries Classics retired in 2008.
* Leyland Olympian Double Decker 8500 (sold, now operated by a tour company in downtown Toronto)
* Orion Bus Industries ( Orion V models from 1991 & 1999, Orion VI models from 1996 & 1998)
* New Flyer D40LF (models from 1996 retired by September 2012), (2002 and 2003 models retired by Summer 2021), (2004 models retried by March 2024). Last units, 0421 and 0427, retired in January 2023 and March 2024 respectively.
Brampton Transit Transit Enforcement Officers patrol in white hybrid vehicles ( Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry) with red and blue stripes.

Depots

Brampton Transit operate depots in Clark and Sandalwood.

Bus rapid transit

Züm is Brampton's bus rapid transit system. In order of each route initially opening, its first corridor, 501 Zum Queen was launched on September 20, 2010, and runs along Queen Street from Downtown Brampton to York University via Bramalea Terminal. It later branched out to add frequency to the route, with the 501A going along Highway 407 and the 501C beginning at Bramalea Terminal rather than Downtown Brampton, to York University (both branches were discontinued in 2024). 502 Züm Main opened in 2011 and runs North & South along Main/Hurontario Street from Sandalwood Loop to Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal (Square One). 511 Züm Steeles opened in 2012 and goes east to west along Steeles Avenue, from Lisgar GO Station in Meadowvale, Mississauga, to Humber College Bus Terminal in Toronto via Sheridan College and Brampton Gateway Terminal. 561 Zum Queen West opened in 2016 and operates service from Downtown Brampton to Mount Pleasant GO Station via Queen Street and Mississauga Road.

505 Züm Bovaird opened in 2014 and went east to west along Bovaird Drive from Mount Pleasant GO Station to the Queen Loop at Goreway and Queen. A north-to-south extension along Airport Road to Malton GO station was opened in 2018, realigning the route while no longer servicing the Queen Loop. A branch of this route, 505A, opening in 2022, runs from Trinity Common Terminal to Viscount Station on the Pearson Airport Terminal Link Train.

A proposed Zum Route along Chinguacousy Road will connect the Cassie Campbell Community Centre at Sandalwood Parkway, to Bramalea GO Station via Steeles Ave. It is expected to be in operation in the fall of 2024 to coincide with the opening of the Hurontario LRT. This corridor is also said to help alleviate overcrowding on the existing 4/4A Chinguacousy and Routes 11/11A/511/511A/511C along Steeles Avenue. The routes are currently the 2nd busiest and 5th busiest, respectively.

Accidents

On November 16, 2011, a Züm bus on the 501 Queen route crashed through a noise wall after colliding with an SUV on Highway 7 in Vaughan, sending five people to the hospital. In the early hours of October 9, 2024, another Züm bus, this one not in service and carrying no passengers, crashed at a sharp angle through a similar wall along Bovaird Drive after colliding with a car, demolishing fences as it plowed through several backyards, although there were no injuries.

See also

Brampton Transit makes connections to other transit systems in the Greater Toronto Area:
* Milton Transit
* MiWay (Mississauga Transit)
* Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)
* GO Transit
* UP Express
* Terminal Link Train
* York Regional Transit (YRT)
* Via Rail

References

External links

Official site

Brampton Transit Fares



Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1573

{{Public transit systems in Canada

Transit agencies in Ontario
Transport companies established in 1974
1974 establishments in Ontario