New GO bus route, other changes will benefit Mississauga, Hamilton and Oakville riders

GO bus riders in Mississauga, Hamilton and Oakville in addition to other parts of the GTA and beyond will benefit from a new bus route and other service improvements to be unveiled in April.

The most noteworthy enhancement is a new hourly bus route that will offer passengers Hamilton-to-Waterloo service on weekdays starting April 10, Metrolinx officials said in an online service update today (March 24).

Metrolinx, the provincial agency that oversees GO Transit, said the new weekday service, Go Bus Route 17, will run from Waterloo to Hamilton via Kitchener and Guelph.

“The new route will reduce current travel times between Hamilton and Kitchener, Waterloo and Guelph by more than an hour in each direction,” officials say.

Route 17 service will operate hourly in both directions and reach three GO stations, the ION light rail transit line in Waterloo, and four universities (Waterloo, Laurier, Guelph and McMaster).

Meanwhile, Mississauga and Oakville passengers will see improvements to service as well.

A new and expanded Route 94 will be combined with much of the current Route 34, officials say, to deliver bus service along Hwy. 401 to offer “better connections between Pickering, Mississauga and Pearson Airport.”

Additionally, adjustments to Route 21 will change how riders travel to and from downtown Toronto in several areas, including Mississauga and Oakville.

“Instead of going to Union Station Bus Terminal (in Toronto), Route 21 variants will connect directly with Lakeshore West Line GO train service at Oakville, Clarkson and Port Credit GO stations,” officials said in their service update.

“This provides customers with a more reliable and consistent service in and out of the city as it will be less dependent on traffic in and out of Toronto.”

Officials add the new routing will also provide more connections to GO bus services that run along Hwy. 407.

Of the entire package of improvements slated to take hold in April, Metrolinx officials say that GO “is transforming its bus network to provide more frequent trips on core bus routes for customers and better connect them to major destinations like transit hubs, business parks, post-secondary institutions and shopping centres.”