VIDEO: Nostalgic look at 1990s bus terminal as area slated for big changes in Mississauga
Published April 22, 2024 at 1:01 pm
A video posted to social media recently captured a Mississauga bus terminal in an area that is about to see more change.
Ray Neilson captured Mississauga buses at the Square One Shopping Centre terminal in 1992.
The footage, below, shows the old-style white buses with an orange M strip logo across the sides. The video shows the discount retail chain store Woolco, soon to become a Walmart, in the background.
In those days, the bus terminal was on the southeast side of the mall, near the current-day Walmart.
In 1996, the City Centre Transit Terminal was built just north of Square One, and in 2020 underwent a complete interior renovation, according to the City of Mississauga.
At that time, pre-COVID-19, the terminal saw over 40,000 customers and 900 buses pass through per day.
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These days, the area is about to undergo a transformative change with the addition of the Hazel McCallion Line and a recently re-added “downtown loop.”
The loop was removed but then put back in the plans after an outcry from city councillors and former mayor, Bonnie Crombie. The loop will shoot off from the main line on Hurontario Street and circle through the many highrise condos and businesses in Mississauga’s downtown core.
The loop is expected to add several stops to the Hazel McCallion Line, which currently features 19 stops from south Mississauga to Brampton.
While the Hazel McCallion Line is expected to open in 2025, the timeline for the loop is part of the “future phases” of the project as outlined in the 2041 Regional Transportation Plan, a Metrolinx spokesperson told insauga.com.
“Timelines and costs will be determined through the planning and development process,” the spokesperson said.
Public transit in Mississauga has come a long way since it began with only a handful of buses operated by Charterways Limited in 1969.
Charterways launched a small system of seven buses operating on three bus routes in southern Mississauga, according to an online history. Meanwhile, Georgetown Transportation Company operated a single route in Malton.
It was known as Mississauga Transit in 1974, incorporating the former towns of Mississauga, Port Credit and Streetsville.
Mississauga Transit was rebranded MiWay on October 4, 2010.
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Lead photo: A Mississauga Transit bus in 1987 by Steve Morgan
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