Viva Blue

Viva Blue, or the Finch/Richmond Hill/Newmarket line, is a line on the Viva bus rapid transit system in York Region, north of Toronto, Canada. It is operated by Connex Transportation, under contract from the Region of York.

List of all stations

There are twenty-three stations on the Viva Blue line (from north to south):

Name		Opening Date	City / Town	Zone	Major Connections
Viva Blue
Newmarket Bus Terminal		November 20, 2005	Newmarket, Ontario	North	GO Transit
Eagle		November 20, 2005	Newmarket, Ontario	North
Mulock		November 20, 2005	Newmarket, Ontario	North
Orchard Heights		November 20, 2005	Newmarket, Ontario	North
Wellington		November 20, 2005	Aurora, Ontario	North
Golf Links		November 20, 2005	Aurora, Ontario	North
Henderson		November 20, 2005	Aurora, Ontario	North
Bloomington		November 20, 2005	Aurora/Richmond Hill, Ontario	Fare-Change
King		November 20, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	Fare-Change
"Jefferson"		TBA	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
19th-Gamble		November 20, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
Bernard		September 4, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
Elgin Mills		September 4, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
Crosby		September 4, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
Major Mackenzie		September 4, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
Weldrick		September 4, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
16th-Carrville		September 4, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
Bantry-Scott		September 4, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South
Richmond Hill Centre		September 4, 2005	Richmond Hill, Ontario	South	Viva Purple, Viva Pink, GO Transit (Langstaff)
Royal Orchard		September 4, 2005	Markham/Vaughan, Ontario	South	Viva Pink
Centre St.		September 4, 2005	Markham/Vaughan, Ontario	South	Viva Pink
Clark		September 4, 2005	Markham/Vaughan, Ontario	South	Viva Pink
Steeles		September 4, 2005	Markham/Vaughan, Ontario	South	Viva Pink
Finch Station		September 4, 2005	Toronto, Ontario	South	Viva Pink, Yonge-University-Spadina (Finch), GO Transit

* "proposed Vivastations for 2007-2008"

Service from Finch Station to Bernard began on September 4, 2005. Service north of Bernard to Newmarket Terminal began November 20, 2005.

Passengers travelling between north of Bloomington and south of King must pay a two-zone fare; all others, including those starting or stopping at one of those stations, only pay for one zone. Jefferson Vivastation will open at a future date.

There is also a Viva Blue Short Turn route operating from Finch Station to Bernard, operating entirely at peak periods only. According to the original environmental assessments, it is also known as the Finch-Richmond Hill line.

vivaNext

In the future, the Viva Blue line, as the Yonge Street transit corridor, will soon have its own subway from Richmond Hill Centre south to Finch Station, as part of the Toronto Transit Commission's Yonge subway extension, and its own dedicated transitway for most of the route from Richmond Hill Centre north to 19th Avenue, enabling VIVA buses to quickly pass through traffic. Simulatneously, transitways in Newmarket along Yonge Street, and along Davis Drive and Green Lane east from Yonge Street to Highway 404 and East Gwillimbury GO Station, respectively, will also be implemented. Later, the transitway portion will be extended north from 19th Avenue/Gamble Road to St. John's Sideroad, amalgamating these two transitway portions together. Eventually, this entire portion of transitway will also be upgraded to allow light rail transit on this corridor.

Originally, the transitway was to be implemented from 19th Avenue to Finch Station, but after the announcement of MoveOntario 2020 by the Ontario provincial government, proposals of the transitway from Richmond Hill Centre to Finch Station have been shelved and replaced with proposals of a subway extension on Yonge Street north.

The list of stations are as follows, from north to south:

Along the transitway (Yonge Street between 19th Avenue/Gamble Road and Richmond Hill Centre)

* 19th Avenue/Gamble Road
* Bernard Avenue/Canyon Hill Avenue
* Elgin Mills Road
* Crosby Avenue/Wright Street
* Major Mackenzie Drive
* Weldrick Road
* 16th Avenue/Carrville Road
* Bantry Avenue/Scott Drive
* Richmond Hill Centre

Along the subway

* Richmond Hill Centre
* Bunker
* Royal Orchard
* Clark
* Steeles
* Cummer/Drewry
* Finch (existing)

An online survey asked riders what stations they would like built along this portion of the subway. The station at Royal Orchard Boulevard was picked out of two possible locations serving the Thornhill's historic district, the other one being at Centre Street. This was because the station would have a decreased impact on the historic district.

ervice frequency

As of September 3, 2006:

*Newmarket Terminal to Bernard: every 10 minutes on peak periods
*Bernard to Richmond Hill Centre: every 5 minutes on peak periods
*Richmond Hill Centre to Finch Station (combined with Viva Pink): every 3-4 minutes on peak periods

Service frequency on off-peak periods is every 15 minutes or less on all corridors. These results will vary depending on the traffic volume, weather, and the period of the day.

Travel times

As of September 3, 2006:

*Newmarket Terminal to Bernard: 33 minutes on peak periods, 28 minutes on off-peak periods
*Bernard to Richmond Hill Centre: 20 minutes on peak periods, 15 minutes on off-peak periods
*Richmond Hill Centre to Finch Station: 18 minutes on peak periods, 16 minutes on off-peak periods

These results will vary depending on the traffic volume and weather.