Durham Region Transit


Durham Region Transit 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. It was formed by the merger of Ajax/Pickering Transit, Whitby Transit, Oshawa Transit, and Clarington Transit.

Overview

DRT's operation is overseen by the Durham Region Transit Commission, consisting of the members of Durham Region Council. In April 2007, a new Durham Region Transit Executive Committee was created to take over day-to-day oversight responsibilities, with the full Commission meeting on a limited basis as needed. The Executive Committee consists of the Regional Chair and one councilor from each of the eight Durham Region municipalities as appointed by the Mayor of each municipality.
DRT is organized into operating divisions mirroring its predecessor systems:
Most of DRT's operational and maintenance services are provided by regional staff who are members of Canadian Auto Workers Local 222.
Whitby initially operated under the terms of an existing Whitby Transit contract with Trentway-Wagar. A new contract that combined Brock, Scugog & Uxbridge operations with Whitby operations was awarded to Trentway-Wagar in 2011. The drivers and maintenance staff were therefore employees of Trentway-Wagar. This contract ended on June 30, 2016.

Routes

On July 28, 2008, DRT introduced a unified route number system using a three digit format, with the first digit indicating the municipality:
In its first year of operation in 2006, DRT implemented a number of service changes:
In 2007, the following new services were introduced:
As a consequence of an operational budget shortfall, DRT implemented service cutbacks in December 2007 and March 2008, including cancellation of midday services, reduction in service hours and frequencies, and elimination of its 10 Ajax route.

Rapid transit

There has been some discussion of the possibility of creating a rapid transit line along the Durham Highway 2 corridor. The Durham Region Long Term Transit plan identifies Highway 2 and Taunton Road as higher order corridors where transit services would be especially fast, frequent and include elements such as right-of-way separation, transit priority, and potential for different vehicle technology including light rail.
On June 15, 2007, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a $17 billion transit plan called MoveOntario 2020. One component of the plan was a bus rapid transit line on Highway 2 between Pickering and Oshawa. In November 2007, Metrolinx recommended a funding package of $82.3 million for a "Quick Win" implementation of a bus rapid transit line along Highway 2. This funding package was approved in full as part of the 2008 provincial budget, and a preliminary BRT implementation is expected to be running within three years.
The first phase of BRT implementation, known as DRT Pulse, began service June 29, 2013, operating on the Ontario Highway 2 corridor between Downtown Oshawa and the University of Toronto Scarborough campus. It runs on 7.5 minute headways during rush hour and 15 minute headways during off-peak hours. Connections to Toronto Transit Commission services are available at U of T Scarborough and connections to GO Transit are available at various points along the line.
The initial phase is similar to the first phase of Viva Rapid Transit, with buses running in existing lanes, while the full implementation will provide dedicated bus-only lanes and utilize transit signal priority to save travel time. These lanes, which incorporate bicycle lanes into their design, are already in use on a section of Kingston Road West in Ajax, and are under construction on Kingston Road near Pickering Town Centre.
The BRT is complemented by improved DRT and GO Transit service along Taunton Road, Rossland Road, Bayly/Bloor/Victoria Streets, and Simcoe Street.
A further advancement of rapid transit is now in the proposal stage; the Highway 2 BRT would eventually be replaced with light rail transit all the way east to Courtice Road in Clarington, and west into Scarborough in Toronto. It would be complemented by two further LRT lines: on Simcoe Street in Oshawa, and on Taunton Road. This would be augmented by further BRT on Whites Road and Brock Road in Pickering; Harwood Avenue and Salem Road in Ajax; Brock Street and Baldwin Street in Whitby; Highway 7 from the western Pickering border to Simcoe Street in Oshawa; and Taunton Road westerly beyond Whites Road into Toronto on Steeles Avenue.

Fares

The provincial Minister of Transportation has announced plans to introduce a unified smartcard-based payment system for the entire Greater Toronto Area called "Presto card". DRT will be a participant in this system beginning in winter 2011.

DRT fares on GO Transit buses

DRT tickets, passes, and transfers are accepted on GO buses operating within Durham Region, allowing riders to freely transfer between DRT and GO buses to complete a trip within the region. Full details about this program are available . The following restrictions are of specific interest:
The following GO bus routes will still accept DRT tickets, passes, U-pass and transfers within the Durham Region:
DRT uses the following maintenance and operational facilities:
Raleigh Division:
Whitby Works Satellite Division - Trentway-Wagar / Coach Canada:
Westney Division:
Pickering Works Satellite Division

History

DRT was formed in January 2006 through an amalgamation of existing municipal transit systems in Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, Oshawa, and Clarington. The systems were transferred to the regional government along with the legal authority to operate public transit in the local municipalities. This required approval by both Durham Region Council as well as four out of eight local municipal councils consisting of at least 50% of the population of the Region. The approval process took several years, with final approval for the amalgamation given by Durham Region Council on February 9, 2005. The remainder of 2005 was spent preparing for the merger. DRT assumed its responsibilities and inherited the equipment and facilities of its predecessor systems effective January 1, 2006.
On October 5, 2006, members of Local 222 began a legal strike action against DRT. All services were suspended other than those operated by Trentway-Wagar in Whitby. Limited specialized service continued via the use of contracted taxis. On October 29, a tentative settlement was announced, and full service resumed on November 3.

Previous systems

Public transit service in Durham Region has a long history prior to the creation of DRT, dating back to the 19th century. The list below shows predecessor transit systems in each municipality:
Pickering
Ajax
Whitby
Oshawa
Clarington