FAQs

Rapid transit is a form of transit service with a dedicated space for transit vehicles to operate. It allows us to move more people on busy routes.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is designed to deliver fast, efficient, and reliable service through dedicated bus lanes traffic system signals. These are separate from general traffic.

The purpose of this project is to increase ridership demand, increase revenues, reduce operations and maintenance costs, reduce congestion and infiltration, increase development investment along the corridor and reduce GHG emissions.

Simcoe Street was chosen because it is a key corridor in Oshawa, with 42 per cent of the city's population and 51 per cent of its jobs located within one kilometre of the street. It connects key destinations such as Ontario Tech University/Durham College, Lakeridge Health Oshawa, downtown Oshawa, the Windfields growth area, the future Central Oshawa GO Station and Lakeview Park. It also connects several priority neighbourhoods that experience higher unemployment, lower household incomes, and greater health challenges. 

The Region conducted four rounds of Public Information Centres between September 2022 and November 2023. These events were promoted through an extensive communications strategy, resulting in over 500 in-person attendees, 7,000 unique website visitors, and 400 completed surveys.

The evaluated options included Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), Light Rail Transit (LRT), Aerial Cable Car Transit (ACCT), monorail, subway, and high-frequency bus service. Based on the feedback received through the public consultations and further assessments, the BRT and ACCT options were carried forward for further evaluations through feasibility studies.

• High-Frequency Bus Service: Approximately 4.4 million riders per year.
• Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): Approximately 8.9 million riders per year.
• Aerial Cable Car Transit (ACCT): Approximately 9.7 million riders per year. 

The High-Frequency Bus Service was eliminated because, despite improvements, buses operating in mixed traffic are still subject to delays caused by congestion. This impacts both speed and reliability, limiting the number of riders willing to take transit.

Also, bus bunching is a common problem on high-frequency bus routes, where two or more buses arrive at the same stop at the same time, leading to overcrowding on the first bus and long wait times for passengers on the following buses.

High-level estimates completed to date indicate:

• High-Frequency Bus Service: Total net loss of approximately $558 million.
• Bus Rapid Transit (BRT): Total net loss of approximately $132 million.
• Aerial Cable Car Transit (ACCT): Total net profit of $828 million.

Unlike the capital costs, which may receive external funding, the operating and maintenance costs are typically not funded by senior government and are anticipated to be borne by the Region.

The implementation of the Simcoe Street Rapid Transit Project will require future funding from senior government sources. Through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, Durham Region received $6.4 million in funding, with the Region contributing $1.7 million, to evaluate and study transit priority along the Simcoe Street corridor. 

If the project moves forward additional senior government funding will be necessary to cover the significant costs associated with building the rapid transit infrastructure.

The cost of implementing the ACCT system in the future would likely involve multiple funding sources. The expectation is that senior government funding would be required to advance any of the transit options, including ACCT. Additionally, the Region would evaluate the overall financial impact based on various funding and procurement scenarios available at the time. This could include exploring opportunities to offset some construction costs through collaborations with adjacent developments and potentially procuring the project through a design/build/operate and maintain procurement model.

In summary, the cost would likely be shared among senior government funding, regional funding, and possibly private sector contributions through innovative procurement and funding strategies.

By 2051, without rapid transit, traffic volumes along the Simcoe Street corridor are expected to nearly double.

Based on our high-level modelling, service reductions are anticipated to our major bus routes, which is anticipated to save about $6.6 million per year in O&M. As part next phase of modelling, we will be look at what local improvements could be further made, which would be minor in nature and would anticipate that any increase in costs could be offset with increased ridership revenues.

The BRT option would take approximately 10 years to complete, requiring full road closures during construction. In contrast, the ACCT system would take around six to seven years to construct, with only localized closures during the construction of ACCT stations.

The next steps include conducting further studies on the ACCT option through an Impact Assessment and the Transit Project Assessment Process. The project team will continue to engage with councils, stakeholders, and the public and report back with a recommendation in late 2027.