University students want cancelled ‘lifeline’ bus route back in Brampton

Students and transit riders are calling on the city to bring back a scrapped express bus route from Brampton to York University and say the cancellation cut off a “lifeline” for commuters.

Brampton made a number of changes to transit and bus routes across the city in June, including removing service on the 501c Züm Queen route to York University from Highway 407.

The 501 still runs on part of Highway 7 to the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, but doing away with service to the school “threatens the academic success of York University’s students,” according to a new petition started by students Anjali Sachdeva, Manpreet Rooprai and Sahib Khela.

“As a student who depended on the 501c bus route to York University, I have witnessed the devastating impacts of its discontinuation,” the students wrote in the online petition which already has 165 signatures. “It was a lifeline for not just myself but hundreds of students, who now face prolonged commutes and disrupted schedules – a drastic change when there was a simpler and quicker way to reach our university in the first place.”

The Change.org petition demands that the city reinstate the 501c bus route to York University, which would mean “less travel time for students, more time for academic success, and a return to the efficient transportation system that once made York University a more accessible place to study.”

“This isn’t just about convenience, it’s about providing the best conditions possible for the success of Ontario’s future scholars,”

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While some municipalities have seen a decline in transit use, Brampton Transit has seen ridership spike approximately 40 per cent since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brampton has set its sights on becoming the first city in Canada with a fully electric bus fleet, and the city recently received a $12.7 million funding boost from the federal and provincial governments to help meet the city’s transit electrification efforts including 15 made-in-Canada buses, new fare payment systems, two new electric TransHelp buses, new charging stations, and 23 new accessible buses to replace existing specialized transit vehicles.