Busy Mississauga bus route back in service to take riders from City Centre to subway

Mississauga | Ontario | Latest News | Transit |

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Published February 1, 2022 at 10:45 am

MiWay service changes in Mississauga
(Photo: City of Mississauga)

One of MiWay’s busiest routes will once again accept passengers after being temporarily taken off the road two weeks ago due to a shortage of bus drivers.

Officials with Mississauga’s public transit provider say Route 76 City Centre-Subway will be back in service next Monday (Feb. 7). The route provides a direct east-west connection along the Burnhamthorpe Rd. corridor between the City Centre Transit Terminal and Kipling bus/subway terminals in Toronto, at the border with Mississauga.

The route had been shut down temporarily on Jan. 17 due to a shortage of MiWay bus drivers. Large numbers of drivers were absent from the job due to COVID-19 and self-isolation requirements, transit officials say.

Meanwhile, service is also being restored on another busy route in the city.

Route 110 University Express will also begin taking passengers once again on Feb. 7. It’s a much-needed service for students at University of Toronto Mississauga, where in-person learning and work activities have resumed.

“We’re pleased to restore service on these routes,” said Mississauga’s transit director Geoff Marinoff. “As our staffing levels stabilize, MiWay will continue to restore services that were temporarily suspended.”

At one point, several weeks ago, about 16 per cent of MiWay drivers were off work due to COVID-19, City officials said.

Moving forward, MiWay officials add that they’ll also continue to implement temporary service changes in response to COVID-19-related staff shortages and restore services based on staffing levels and customer demand.

Before suspending a route, MiWay staff say they consider alternative scenarios to lessen the impact of service reductions on customers. These include:

  • monitoring ridership levels on each route to ensure MiWay is adapting to changes in demand, while balancing daily service delivery challenges resulting from staff shortages
  • allocating longer 60-foot articulated buses on routes where ridership is higher to reduce potential overcrowding
  • ensuring alternate routes are available so customers can access other service options
  • updating customers about service changes in advance so they can plan ahead
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