| Parent | Brampton Transit |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 20, 2010 |
| Service area | Brampton, York Region, and Mississauga |
| Service type | bus rapid transit |
| Routes | 3 |
| Operator | Brampton Transit |
| Web site | About Züm |
Züm (pronounced Zoom, IPA: /zuːm/) is a bus rapid transit system for the suburban city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, northwest of Toronto owned and operated by Brampton Transit. The first phase calls for three corridors operating in mixed traffic, similar to York Region Transit's (YRT) Viva network. There will be connections to the City of Mississauga, York Region, and the City of Toronto, with the first corridor having started service in fall 2010.[1] Phase 1 is expected to be fully operational by fall 2012. A key aspect of the Züm plan is increased service on supporting local corridors.[1] Unlike other, similar, services and partly due to Brampton's geographic position farther from Toronto than other suburbs such as Mississauga or Vaughan, many Züm corridors will overlap significantly with other agencies' services, requiring more complex, co-operative planning between neighbouring cities. During the planning of this bus rapid transit system, Züm was called "Acceleride".
Contents |
Summary of routes:
| Corridor | Opening Date | Terminus | Stations # | Running time (mins)* | Route length (km) | Status | Connecting Services | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen | September 20, 2010 | Downtown Brampton (Queen and Chinguacousy by Phase 2) | York University YRT Terminal | 17 (20 by Phase 2) | 54 (501) 47 (501A) |
28.5 (501) 29.8 (501A) |
Full Service | YRT, TTC, GO (Brampton GO Station) Viva Purple |
| Main | September 6, 2011 [2] | Sandalwood Parkway Loop | Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal | 18 (20 by Phase 2) (7+ Post-LRT) | 45 - 50 [3] | Full Service | Brampton Transit, MiWay | |
| Steeles | Fall 2012 | Shopper's World Terminal (Steeles and Hurontario) | Humber college North Campus | 11 (20 by Phase 2) | Full Service | Brampton Transit, MiWay, TTC | ||
| Bovaird | 2014 | Mt. Pleasant GO | Airport Loop | 13 (Phase 2) | Full Service | Brampton Transit | ||
Phase 1 calls for three express corridors to improve service on some of Brampton's busiest routes.
Some stops and routes will be made outside of Brampton, namely Mississauga, Toronto and Vaughan. Once the Queen route leaves Brampton and enters Vaughan, the bus schedule alternates between express (along Highway 407) with no stops until York University, or regular (along York Regional Road 7) with stops at all stations that are on the York Region Transit Viva Orange route. Brampton Transit has a fare partnership agreement with York Region Transit that allows for boarding and debarking anywhere along the Viva Orange route, using Züm buses.
The first corridor, which began service on September 20, 2010, runs between the Downtown Brampton Terminal in the west to its easterly terminus at York University in the City of Toronto. Routes 501 and 501A operate east along Queen Street in Brampton. Route 501 (full service, every 15 minutes) continues along Highway 7 through the City of Vaughan and then south on Jane Street to York University. Route 501A runs express through Vaughan to York University via Highway 407 during peak periods. This covers the eastern segment of existing Route 1, and replaces Brampton's portion of the former Route 77 and Route 77A to York University, and the temporary Route 177/177A Highway 7 Express. Route 501 stops at all York Region Transit Viva Orange stops in Vaughan; running at the same frequency as Viva Orange, it covers its entire route except for the segment between York University and Downsview Subway Station that is primarily served by TTC express route 196 every 2–15 minutes. Route 501A replaces and expands the 77A express branch via Highways 427 and 407. It runs during rush hours only at 15 minute intervals, providing a combined 7.5 minute service between Highway 427 and Downtown Brampton. Route 1 continues to operate, providing local service between Chinguacousy Road and Highway 50; however, service on that route has been reduced to a 10-minute frequency during rush hours, and 20-minute frequency at other times of the day.
The second corridor, which began service on September 6, 2011, runs from Sandalwood Parkway in the north end of Brampton to MiWay's City Centre terminal near the Square One shopping centre in the south, via the Downtown Brampton and Shoppers World terminals along Highway 10, called Main Street in Brampton, and Hurontario Street through Mississauga.[1] It covers the route of current route 2, which has frequent rush-hour service. Route 502 extends and replace MiWay's route 102 InterCity Express. It runs every 10 minutes during rush hours and 20 minutes off-peak hours, including weekends. Route 2's rush hour frequency was reduced to 20 minutes to optimize ridership.
A large portion of this route overlaps Mississauga's Hurontario Street corridor. Mississauga Transit provides frequent local and express services on this corridor south of Steeles Avenue, with the section between Eglinton and Britannia being served with 3-minute frequencies.
Hurontario/Main Street from Port Credit to Queen Street would eventually be converted to an LRT system.[4] The leftover of the eventual Route 502 (north of Brampton GO Station) will remain and possibly extended to Highway 410 in the north. As a preparation, both MiWay Route 103 and Züm Main overlap express service between Shoppers World Brampton and Eglinton Avenue.
The final corridor outlined in Phase 1 is expected in service as of fall 2012. It will run from the Shoppers World Terminal at Steeles Avenue and Hurontario Street to Humber College North Campus at Finch Avenue West and Highway 27 in Toronto [1] with connections to the planned Finch West LRT line and various express bus services, via Bramalea GO Train Station. Though largely industrial through Brampton, Steeles Avenue sees extremely frequent bus service every six minutes on current route 11. This is the only planned corridor that operates almost entirely within Brampton city limits.
This will be a future route in Phase 2 and targeted for 2014.
These are intermodal points that allow transfers to other modes such as Brampton Transit, Mississauga Transit, GO Transit, Toronto Transit Commission.
In phase 2, the existing routes will be extended to the west, and new service will be introduced on Bovaird Drive through north Brampton. Beyond Phase 2, the agency plans to look into exclusive busways.[5]
In preparation for the launch of Route 501 (Queen Street), Brampton Transit re-built its Bramalea City Centre terminal, relocating it from its previous location beside Clark Boulevard, on the south side of the shopping centre, to the north-east corner, adjacent to Queen Street. Minor renovations will also be performed at the downtown terminal.
In preparation for the launch of its Main Street route, Brampton Transit will also relocate the Shoppers' World terminal, near Hurontario and Steeles, to be closer to Hurontario/Main Street.
Züm will use Brampton's downtown, Bramalea Centre, and Shoppers' World terminals, in addition to Mississauga's City Centre terminal, and Toronto's York University Commons terminal.
With York Region's Viva as a precedent, Züm buses shares the same fare structure as the conventional Brampton Transit system. Further partnership between the two agencies permits YRT customers to board Züm buses within York Region and pay standard YRT fares.
The Presto card fare payment system has been active on Züm since 2011.
| Make/Model | Description | Fleet Nos | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Flyer Industries Xcelsior | XDE40 BRT | 1050–1074, 1150–1165 (41 vehicles) |
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