Dundas Bus Rapid Transit Mississauga East Project Live Meeting – January 27, 2022
Watch a recording of the live update and a Q&A session for the Dundas BRT Project held on January 27, 2022.
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- Dedicated lanes for buses, where feasible, resulting in shorter travel times and more reliable transit service
- Frequent service with a bus every 5 minutes or less during peak hours
- Smart signals will adapt to support smoother traffic flow for all commutes – on buses, in personal vehicles, and on bicycles
- Better connections to TTC, Viva Rapid Transit, MiWay, Oakville Transit, Burlington Transit, Hamilton Street Rail (HSR), Hurontario Light Rail Transit (LRT) and GO Transit routes to allow for the use of dedicated lanes and shared stops, making it easier to travel through the region
- Reliable service with buses separated from general traffic in most areas, and greater stop spacing to allow for fast, efficient and reliable service
Canada Line BRT - Richmond, British Columbia
Provo Orem BRT - Utah County, Utah
Le Corbusier BRT - Laval, Québec
How is the study structured?
The study is structured into the following four areas along Dundas, three Transit Project Assessment Processes (TPAPs) for Toronto, Mississauga East and Mississauga West, and one Preliminary Design Business Case (PDBC).
- Toronto – Kipling Transit Hub to Etobicoke Creek
- Mississauga East – Etobicoke Creek to Confederation Parkway (WE ARE HERE)
- Mississauga West – Confederation Parkway to Ninth Line
- Halton and Hamilton – Ninth Line to Highway 6 (no TPAP anticipated)
What formal process is followed?
Metrolinx is working with various municipalities to advance planning and design of the Dundas BRT Project, which includes the following key phases:
- TRAP
- Preliminary Design (PD)
- PDBC
Find more information about the study process on our Environmental Assessment webpage.
In September 2020, Metrolinx completed and published an Initial Business Case (IBC) to assess the need for the Dundas BRT. The document provides an evidence-based assessment of the case for investment in the new rapid transit corridor. The IBC provides the information necessary for decision-makers, stakeholders and the public as an important part of the transparent and evidenced-based decision-making process.
This document includes:
- A confirmation of the problem and/ or opportunity and identifies a set of investments that could address them
- Provides a high-level range of varying investments that could be implemented
- Gives insights and recommendations for future work
The IBC evaluated the early-stage feasibility of the Dundas BRT by examining the strategic, economic, financial and deliverability and operations cases. The IBC found that the BRT could:
- Accommodate more than 30,000 new net daily riders
- Benefit traffic flow resulting in between 345,000 and 555,000 hours of decongestion benefits per year
- Decrease greenhouse gas emissions by between 100,000 to 600,000 tonnes per year
- Unlock economic and regional development by connecting rapid transit to 230,000 to 465,000 jobs found within 2 kilometres of the catchment area (approximately a 10-minute walk)
- Offer frequent rapid transit service to 600,000 to 1,000,000 people living within 2 kilometres of the corridor
- Reduce transit commute times along the corridor by approximately 14 minutes on average
The Dundas BRT Initial Business Case considered the following three service options. All the options perform well and show a robust case for investment, demonstrating the benefits of service integration on the Dundas corridor to support BRT infrastructure investment.
What is a stop?
A stop is a designated area where the Dundas BRT will stop to pick up and drop off passengers. The scale and amenities of each stop will reflect the level of predicated usage or existing infrastructure in the area.
Potential amenities of the Dundas BRT stops include:
- Access ramp and railings
- Tactile warning strips (e.g., textured ground surfaces for the visually impaired)
- Location of stop name and wayfinding signage
- Next bus information
- Fare collection
- Art and cultural heritage elements
- Benches and seating
- Service maps
- Weather protection
- Garbage bins
An example of a typical median BRT stop.*
An example of a typical curbside BRT stop.*
*Conceptual rendering for illustrative purposes and subject to change through design development and stakeholder engagement.
What is the distance between each stop?
When selecting BRT stop locations, access must be balanced with travel time. Stop locations are based on factors as follows:
- Locations identified as part of the Dundas Connects Study and the Initial Business Case (IBC);
- Current transit facilities and intersecting bus routes that form the basis of a feeder network;
- Distance between stops; and
- Land use and major trip generators.
The distance between each Dundas BRT stop location will vary, depending on the city being travelled through. Increased spacing between Dundas BRT stops will allow for fast and reliable service through the corridor.
Dundas BRT stops in Mississauga East
Since the last round of public engagement, work has advanced on establishing the proposed stop locations and potential amenities. Eight stop locations within Mississauga East have been identified, each of which has been informed by the above mentioned criteria.
As preliminary design work for Toronto, Mississauga West and Halton and Hamilton is still underway, more information related to proposed stop locations and potential amenities in these areas will be presented during a future Public Information Centre.
Provisions for future electrification technology are being considered in the planning of the corridor. This may be considered as the existing electrification technology allows transit vehicles to run smoothly without the use of fossil fuel, providing a green mode of transportation.
Instead of fueling each morning/evening, electric buses charge overnight at bus depots and, if required, schedule midday recharging layovers at garages or pass through discrete charging stations at potential layover locations during the day to ensure a smooth ride through the Dundas Street corridor.
Why electrification?
When compared to diesel or compressed natural gas, electric buses:
- Offer a smoother, quieter ride
- Emit minimal or zero carbon or greenhouse gases (GHGs), helping to meet targets set out in Ontario’s Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) of reducing overall GHG emissions by 40% by 2030 and the City of Toronto’s goal to ensure 100% of transit vehicles transition to low-carbon energy by 2050
What could electrification look like?
Electrification may look similar to Le Corbusier BRT or the Laker Line BRT shown below.
MiWay Electrification Pilot
Did you know?
- MiWay is currently conducting studies and participating in a hydrogen fuel cell* electric bus pilot project to understand how hydrogen-electric technology can help advance Mississauga’s commitment to a zero-emission bus fleet.
- MiWay will add new bus technologies, which already include 11 new, second generation hybrid-electric articulated buses with more planned for delivery in 2021, to stay up to date with industry trends, while adjusting the long-term bus replacement plan to effectively manage the integration of new technology as older-model buses complete their lifecycle.
* Hydrogen fuel cell technology requires considerable upfront costs and increased operating costs when compared to electric technology. However, costs associated with hydrogen fuel cell technology is rapidly decreasing.
Le Corbusier BRT - Laval, Québec
Laker Line BRT - Michigan, US