Metrolinx yesterday announced it has completed the planning and design work for the Durham-Scarborough Bus Rapid Transit (DSBRT) project.
This work included environmental studies and the completion of two business cases — an Initial Business Case (IBC) and the Preliminary Design Business Case (PDBC) — which evaluated the preferred design and project benefits.
In 2021, Durham Region secured funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) to advance the construction and delivery of certain segments of the BRT in Pickering and Ajax. This funding was cost-shared between the federal, provincial, and regional governments, said a Metrolinx statement.
While there is currently no additional funding for the remaining sections of the Durham-Scarborough BRT, the planning and preliminary design work may be used to seek further funding to advance the project, it added.
The purpose of the estimated $585 million Durham-Scarborough BRT project (DSBRT) is to create seamless connections with local transit networks along the high-demand Highway 2-Ellesmere corridor, providing residents of Durham Region and City of Toronto more flexibility and choice to get where they need to go faster and more reliably in an area with significant anticipated population and employment growth.
The Preliminary Design Business Case (PDBC) evaluates Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) options along the Highway 2-Ellesmere corridor, spanning 36 km between Downtown Oshawa and Scarborough Centre Station at the Line 2 Scarborough Subway Extension (SSE). The project links multiple municipalities, including Oshawa, Whitby, Ajax, and Pickering, and Toronto.
The Highway 2-Ellesmere corridor is currently served by DRT PULSE 900 bus service, connecting across municipal boundaries between Downtown Oshawa and the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC) at Morningside Avenue. The TTC operates bus service along Ellesmere Road between Scarborough Centre and Sheppard Avenue East, within the limits of the City of Toronto. Transit customers wishing to travel between Durham Region and destinations further west than UTSC/Centennial College, such as Scarborough Centre Station, must transfer at UTSC, leading to longer travel times.
GO Bus Route 92 provides a one-seat ride between Downtown Oshawa and Scarborough Centre, operating approximately every hour on weekdays and weekends. The DSBRT
ES-2 provides increased frequency and increased catchment due to dedicated lanes and additional stops in comparison to the GO Bus service. DRT Route 920 connects Scarborough Centre and Harmony Terminal (north Oshawa), operating along the segment of the corridor between Salem Street (Ajax) and Sheppard Avenue. The route does not serve UTSC/Centennial College or Downtown Oshawa like Route 900 does. As of 2024, Route 920 only operates on weekdays.
To view the PDBC, click here.
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