York Region Transit route 99 'Yonge'
99 Yonge
| ||
Number of Branches | 3 | |
Types of buses used | New Flyer D40LF, D40LFR, XD40; Nova Bus LFS | |
Division | Southeast (Miller Transit) | |
Related routes | Viva Blue |
99 Yonge (previously known as 99 Yonge 'C' and 99 Yonge South) is a local route operated by York Region Transit in Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Markham, and Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Route Details
Route 99 serves Yonge Street between Finch Avenue and Bernard Avenue.
Route 99 serves the Downtown Richmond Hill, Bayview Glen, and Thornhill communities. It also serves Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, Richmond Hill Central Library, Hillcrest Mall, Richmond Hill Centre Terminal, Thornhill Village, Thornhill Secondary School, and Centerpoint Mall.
Route 99 shares its entire length with Viva Blue and Viva Pink between Richmond Hill Centre Terminal and Finch Station.
Branches
This route has 3 branches:
- 99 Bernard Terminal - Finch Terminal
- 98/99 Green Lane - Finch Terminal (Late nights)
- 98/99 Finch Station - Newmarket Terminal (Last 3 trips NB late nights)
Historical Branches
History
Transit service on Yonge Street in York Region first appeared as radial service. A suburban streetcar line ran along Yonge Street between Glen Echo (in Toronto) and the shores of Lake Simcoe. This was abandoned and replaced by a bus service operating to Richmond Hill, possibly to Bernard Avenue, like service today. The TTC operated this service as 59 North Yonge, and there were many zonal boundaries to be crossed (Richmond Hill was boundary 4). GO Transit later started operating local and express service along Yonge Street from its York Mills Terminal. Express service ran to Newmarket (Newmarket 'B'), while local service mostly ran to Bernard Terminal (Yonge 'C'). There were numerous short turns on the local service, which changed often, and the route at one time had as many as 4 short turns.
- August 30, 2003 - YRT took over operations from GO Transit in 2003, 2 years after amalgamation. It also acquired a number of Orion Vs from the takeover. The route had the number 99 added. Only one short turn remained, at Major Mackenzie Drive. Service was very frequent, with a bus arriving every 3-4 minutes. Service was also boosted by a number of routes using Yonge Street to access Finch Station, including high-frequency routes 1 and 77.
- September 5, 2004 - The weekday peak-period short turn branch to Harding Boulevard and Major Mackenzie Drive is denoted by the branch 99A.
- September 4, 2005 - A number of changes to this route occurred. Peak-period short turn 99A branch is discontinued due to increased service along Yonge Street with the introduction of Viva Blue service operating between Finch Station and Bernard Terminal. This severely cut route 99 into a local-orientated route. Also, Richmond Hill Centre Terminal was opened at Yonge Street and Highway 7, with buses now diverting into the terminal from both directions. With the introduction of Viva, GO Transit's express service Newmarket 'B' was reduced to rush hours only. Select weekday trips will also divert to Langstaff GO Station via High Tech Road and Red Maple Road. All service on this route is now accessible.
- November 20, 2005 - Weekday select trips to Langstaff GO Station is eliminated due to low ridership. Service continues to operate to Richmond Hill Centre Terminal. New 98/99 interlined late night service provides a transfer-free trip along Yonge Street north of Bernard Terminal to Newmarket.
- April 30, 2006 - Late-night 98/99 interlined service was extended north along Yonge Street from Newmarket GO Bus Terminal to Green Lane.
- September 3, 2006 - Route is renamed from Yonge 'C' to Yonge South. This, and similar changes to routes 91 Bayview and 90 Leslie, promoted the area of the region it served better, and so as to not cause confusion between similar services running in Newmarket (98 Yonge North, 54 Bayview North and 58 Leslie North, respectively). Also, late-night service is run integrated with route 98, so buses on route 99 also run on route 98 up to Green Lane in Newmarket, and vice-versa.
- November 6, 2008 - Route 99 was indirectly affected by the York University strike between November 6, 2008 and January 29, 2009 due to a high proportion of riders living along the route who commute to York University.
- September 2009 - Route 99 was one of the first routes declared fully low-floor accessible.
- September 5, 2010 - To prevent confusion, the 'South' suffix was removed from route signs.
- August 31, 2014 - Operations for route 99 and 98/99 late night were transferred from Southwest Division to Southeast Division.
Vehicles
Route 99 is primarily a 40ft route, and uses New Flyer D40LF, D40LFR, XD40, and Nova Bus LFS buses.
Route Maps
Daytime Service
-
Route 99
November 2005 - 2010 -
Route 99/99A
September 2004 - September 2005 -
Route 99
August 2003 - September 2004 -
Routes 98/98E/99
April 2012 - Present -
Routes 98/98E/99
November 2010 - April 2012
Late-Night Service
-
Route 98/99
April 2006 - Present
Summary
Major Stops
Major Stop | Branches | Notes |
99 | ||
Finch GO Bus Terminal | 99 | |
Yonge St. @ Steeles Ave. | 99 | |
Yonge St. @ Royal Orchard Blvd. | 99 | |
Richmond Hill Centre Terminal | 99 | |
Yonge St. @ Major Mackenzie Dr. | 99 | |
Bernard Terminal | 99 |
Historical Stops
Major Stop | Branches | Notes | |
99 | 99A | ||
Finch GO Bus Terminal | 99 | 99A | |
Yonge St. @ Steeles Ave. | 99 | 99A | |
Yonge St. @ Royal Orchard Blvd. | 99 | 99A | |
Yonge St. @ Major Mackenzie Dr. | 99 | 99A | |
Bernard Terminal | 99 |
Service Summary
Period | Branch | Weekdays | Saturday | Sunday | ||||||||||
AM Peak | Midday | PM Peak | Evening | Late Night | Early AM | Day | Evening | Early AM | Day | Evening | ||||
Sept 2020-Present | 99 | 25 | 35 | 23 | 35 | See 98/99 | 39 | 50 | 36 | 40 | 45 | 40 | ||
Early 2020 | 99 | 19 | 32 | 22 | See 98/99 | 39 | 50 | 36 | 40 | 45 | 40 | |||
2019 | 99 | |||||||||||||
2018 | 99 | |||||||||||||
2017 | 99 | |||||||||||||
2016 | 99 | |||||||||||||
2015 | 99 | |||||||||||||
2014 | 99 | |||||||||||||
2013 | 99 | 19-22 | 22 | 12 | 22 | 30 | 35 | 32 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 35 | ||
2012 | 99 | 19-22 | 22 | 12 | 22 | 30 | 35 | 32 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 35 | ||
2011 | 99 | 19-22 | 22 | 12 | 22 | 30 | 35 | 32 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 35 | ||
2010 | 99 | 4-22 | 22 | 11 | 22 | 30 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 30 | 35 | ||
2009 | 99 | |||||||||||||
2008 | 99 | |||||||||||||
2007 | 99 | 9 | 30 | 9 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | ||
2006 | 99 | 9 | 30 | 9 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | ||
2005 | 99 | 9 | 30 | 9 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | ||
2004 | 99 | 4-15 | 15 | 4-15 | 20 | 30 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 30 | 30 | ||
2003 | 99 | 4-15 | 15 | 4-15 | 20 | 30 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 30 | 30 |