Multiple exciting changes being made to Durham transit service

ROB DRAL The Standard

NORTH DURHAM: Durham Region Transit is excited to announce route and schedule changes to better serve the community in North Durham, taking effect on Monday, June 27.

Speaking to The Standard, Vincent Patterson, General Manager of Durham Region Transit, was excited to explain some of the adjustments that have been made to improve service throughout North Durham.
In a region-wide effort to improve transit, DRT held various information sessions, for the public to have input on what changes they wanted to see from the transit service. The changes made are a direct result of these information sessions.

“We now have a long-term strategy for rural and Northern communities. Two key areas we focused on were more frequent service and to expand to where people want to go,” said Patterson. “We wanted to simplify the network and offer service everyday of the week,” continued Patterson.

One of the most exciting changes is the addition of route 960 which will connect Uxbridge to Highway 404 and Davis Drive in Newmarket. Riders will be able to then hop onto the VIVA Bus network to continue their travel. This route will run morning, midday, and afternoon, every weekday.

To better serve northern communities, DRT is extending route 601 in Leaskdale and Udora to better connect the North to the South. It will be running Monday to Friday, all day. Route 950 will be replacing routes 701 and 801 and features a revised, better connected route into Oshawa.

In addition to route and schedule changes, DRT has also implemented a couple of features on their website to take all of the guess work and surprises out of public transit.

To help people plan their day, Triplinx is a feature on the DRT website, where riders can enter where they would like to go and at what time they would like to arrive. The system then calculates what routes to take and at what times to get to your destination at the desired time. A feature Mr. Patterson was very excited to talk about is the new bus tracking system. After about two years of tweaking the system, riders can now enter a route number and find out exactly where their bus is and how long it will take to arrive.

Durham Region Transit hopes these improvements to public transit, will connect the public to where they want to go, no matter where they might live and when they want to go.

Mr. Patterson says this is just the beginning. “We are very enthusiastic and have more in store in the next couple of years,” said Patterson. “We will keep building on the groundwork with the public’s input and increase frequency,” continued Patterson.

To check out routes and schedules or to use the Triplinx and bus tracking features go to, www.durhamregiontransit.com.