Züm

Züm
ParentBrampton Transit
FoundedSeptember 20, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-09-20)
Service areaBrampton, Toronto, Vaughan, and Mississauga
Service typeBus rapid transit
AllianceViva Rapid Transit
Routes5
Fleet43 40' XDE40
58 60' XDE60
OperatorBrampton Transit
WebsiteAbout Züm

Züm (pronounced Zoom, IPA: /zuːm/) is a bus rapid transit system for the suburban city of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, northwest of Toronto, operated by Brampton Transit. Three routes extend into the Cities of Mississauga, Vaughan, and Toronto, with the first corridor having started service in fall 2010.[1]

Phase 1 became 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 diagonal geographic position relative to 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.

Buses usually operate in mixed traffic, although Route 501 Queen uses the Highway 7 Rapidway, a busway built for York Region Transit's (YRT) similar Viva network, while travelling through most of Vaughan, and stops at all stations along YRT's 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. This was particularly convenient during a labour dispute involving some contractors operating YRT resulting in the temporary suspension of Viva Orange.[2]

History

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In the earlier stages of Brampton's rapid transit planning, the initiative was known as Acceleride (logo pictured).

Phase 1 planned for three express corridors to improve service on some of Brampton's busiest routes.

Originally, the 501 Queen route ran to York University in Toronto, with two express branches (501A and C) following Highway 407, but the express branches were cancelled and the base route cut back to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (where the route had a connection with the namesake subway station since December 17, 2017 when a new subway extension opened) by June of 2024.[3][4]

In the future, the agency plans to look into constructing exclusive busways.[5]

Routes

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Corridor Opening date Termini Stops Running time (mins) Status Connecting services
501 Queen September 20, 2010 Downtown Brampton Vaughan Metropolitan Centre 26 65-70 Full service Brampton Transit, MiWay, YRT, TTC, GO, Viva Orange
502 Main September 6, 2011 Sandalwood Parkway Loop Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal 18 55–60 Full service Brampton Transit, MiWay, GO
511 Steeles November 26, 2012 Lisgar GO Station Humber College Bus Terminal 21 60–65 Full service Brampton Transit, MiWay, TTC, YRT, GO, Milton Transit
505 Bovaird September 2, 2014 Mount Pleasant GO(505)
Trinity Common Terminal (505A)
Malton GO
Viscount Station
23 60-65 (505)

40-45 (505A)

Full service Brampton Transit, GO, MiWay, Terminal Link, TTC
561 Queen West September 6, 2016 Mount Pleasant GO Downtown Brampton 10 20–24 Monday To Friday only Brampton Transit, GO

Terminals

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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 northeast corner, nearer to Queen Street. Minor renovations will also be performed at the downtown terminal.

In preparation for the launch of its 511 Steeles route, Brampton Transit also replaced the Shoppers' World terminal near Hurontario/Main Streets and Steeles Avenue with a new terminal, the Brampton Gateway Terminal, at the actual corner of Steeles and Hurontario/Main.

Züm uses the Downtown, Bramalea, and Brampton Gateway terminals, in addition to Mississauga's City Centre terminal, and the Toronto Transit Commission's Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station in Vaughan. Züm also connects to Toronto Pearson International Airport via an airport people mover (Terminal Link) station at Viscount Road in Mississauga.[1]

Intermodal transfer points

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A 501 Züm Queen bus at the Vivastation at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station

These stops allow interchanges with multiple regular Brampton Transit routes and/or other services, including Miway, GO Transit, and the TTC.

Stop Corridor Open
Airport Loop Bovaird Drive 2014
Bramalea City Centre Queen Street 2010
Bramalea GO Station Steeles 2012
Brampton Civic Hospital Bovaird Drive 2014
Downtown Brampton Queen Street

Main Street

2010
Humber College Bus Terminal (Toronto) Steeles 2012
Hurontario–407 Main Street 2011
Lisgar GO Station (Mississauga) Steeles 2015
Malton GO Station (Mississauga) Airport Road 2018
Mount Pleasant GO Station

Mount Pleasant Village

Bovaird Drive

Queen Street West

2014
Sandalwood Loop Main Street 2011
Shoppers World Main Street

Steeles

2011
Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal Main Street 2011
Trinity Common Bovaird Drive 2014
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre TTC subway station Queen Street 2017
Viscount Station (Airport people mover stop) Airport Road 2022

Fares

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Similar to York Region's Viva service, 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 (despite the fact that Viva uses proof-of-payment and Züm does not).

The Presto card fare payment system has been active on Züm since 2011.

Brampton Transit is listed as one of the transit agencies in the GTHA to use Presto contactless payment such as debit, credit, and mobile wallets. This extends to the Züm network as well.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Brampton Züm
  2. ^ http://www.york.ca/NR/rdonlyres/bylu22r66kodibouvu2eliqi7rzynvbzrj7vdxvgwc7a3mgbqgqoenqwjlnjyjte6sx66f25jjyajugf46lplioioc/MR+YRTViva+Potential+Labour+Strike++Oct++20+_2_.pdf [dead link]
  3. ^ "501 Züm Queen". City of Brampton. FAQs: Why is Brampton Transit making this change?. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  4. ^ Beattie, Samantha; Spurr, Ben (December 16, 2017). "After delays, cost overruns, and tragedy, a subway to Vaughan is complete". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on December 17, 2017. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
  5. ^ "Acceleride: Phase 2". City of Brampton, Ontario. Archived from the original on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
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Media related to Brampton Züm at Wikimedia Commons