User:TheTrolleyPole/Union Station Bus Terminal

The Union Station Bus Terminal is part of GO Transit's facilities at Union Station in downtown Toronto, which is the hub for GO Transit's commuter rail service.

Description

 * This section pertains to the new terminal opening December 5, 2020.

The new bus terminal is located on the east side of Bay Street, directly across the street from the Scotiabank Arena, both of which are on the south of the Union Station Rail Corridor. It is housed within a 48-storey office tower at CIBC Square, a complex of office towers and elevated park over the rail corridor. A 40 m enclosed walkway above the street connects the bus terminal to Scotiabank Arena and, via the city's PATH underground pedestrian network, to the railway station. There are two street-level entrances, one on Bay Street opposite Scotiabank Arena, and the other on Lake Shore Boulevard just east of Bay Street. The TTC will provide Wheel-Trans (paratransit) service at the Bay Street entrance. There is a pickup/dropoff area and bicycle parking on the P1 level.

The terminal's bus platforms and waiting areas occupy two floors within CIBC Square. Similar to an airport, platforms are divided into zones. Digital screens direct riders to the appropriate zone for boarding, as bus routes have no permanently assigned platform within the terminal. Gate assignments appear on digital screens 10 minutes before bus departure followed by an audio announcement on the PA system. Glass gate doors separate the waiting area from the platform and open only when buses are ready to load or unload passengers.

Waiting areas are climate-controlled, feature Wi-Fi and have washroom facilities. Food and beverage services will be provided.

The terminal has accessibility features. Tactile signs on handrails to provide wayfinding information in Braille. Trip information is presented mostly at eye-level. All emergency, two-way intercoms are adapted for the hard of hearing. Power doors are opened by vertical bars instead of buttons for those having arm-movement problems. Elevator access includes the pickip/dropoff area on the P1 level.

The terminal has fourteen bus bays, and will accommodate GO Transit's fleet of double-decker buses.

Bus routes
One bus route, the Hamilton Express, serves this terminal in both directions throughout the day. Other routes are connected to the rail corridors, with no inbound bus service during the weekday AM peak hours or outbound bus services during the PM peak hours, when the relevant train services operate.

Connections
The bus terminal adjoins with Union Railway Station, served by trains from GO Transit, Via Rail and Amtrak to regional, national and international destinations.

The bus terminal also adjoins Union Subway Station, served by Toronto Transit Commission Line 1 Yonge–University subway and 509 Harbourfront and 510 Spadina streetcar routes. TTC bus routes 72 Pape and 121 Fort York-Esplanade also serve the bus terminal, using curbside stops on the streets nearby.

Current terminal

 * This section pertains to the new terminal opening December 5, 2020.

In 2014, Metrolinx announced plans to move the current terminal to the south tower of the then proposed Bay Park Centre, located to the south of the current location on the opposite side of the rail corridor. However, the complex did not secure a lead tenant (CIBC) until 2017, at which point the move date was changed to 2020.

In June 2017, construction on the teminal began within the CIBC Square development at the north-east corner of Bay Street and Lake Shore Boulevard. The terminal was developed through a partnership between Metrolinx and real estate firms Ivanhoé Cambridge and Hines. The architects for CIBC Square were WilkinsonEyre and Adamson Associates.

By 2017, Toronto Coach Terminal Inc. (the owner of its namesake terminal) had started negotiations to relocate intercity bus service, such as Greyhound and Coach Canada, from the Toronto Coach Terminal to the new bus terminal.

By mid 2020, the new bus terminal was complete, and being tested for public use.

December 5, 2020 will be the opening date of the facility to the public as well as the 50th anniversary of GO Transit bus services.

Previous terminal

 * This section pertains to the old terminal closing effective December 5, 2020.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, GO buses operated out of the Toronto Coach Terminal at Bay and Dundas Streets. After operations moved out of that terminal, GO buses used a curb-side facility on Front Street in front of the railway station that could hold up to 7 buses. However, taxis, delivery trucks and other private vehicles would improperly compete for space in the area reserved for buses. Also, GO staff had to organize lines of waiting passengers so as not to obstruct the sidewalk in front of the station. Thus, to relieve traffic congestion, GO Transit opened its off-street facility in 2003 at 141 Bay Street, on the east side of the street.

The site of the off-street bus terminal was once occupied by a small passenger depot and more recently former CP Express & Transport building. Most of the old structure was demolished with a dock door retained and limestone fascia stored.

The bus terminal is located directly across the street from the Bay street side of the railway terminal. An enclosed walkway above the street connects the bus terminal to the railway station concourse. There is also direct stairway access from the bus terminal to railway platforms 4 through 13 via the Bay East Teamway under the railway tracks.

The terminal has 7 platforms. with fixed platform assignments. That is, every GO bus route departs from the same platform, a practice that could result in backlogs and delays. Due to height restrictions on the approaches to the terminal, all buses serving the terminal are single-decker buses or special low-height double-decker buses. Per weekday, the bus terminal hosts 485 bus trips and serves 13,600 riders.

The bus terminal will move to a new location on December 5, 2020, located underneath the south tower of CIBC Square, a new office development south of the railway corridor. When the existing bus terminal is vacated, the north tower of CIBC Square will then be built on the site.