Students travelling to school using Mississauga transit will benefit from improved bus services and connections as part of the city’s “MiWay Five Transit Service Plan (2016-2020).”
The five-year plan aims to move Mississauga’s transit system from its current design, which relies on the City Centre as a focal point, to a grid network with more frequent and direct service along main corridor routes.
Planned improvements will revolve around revised bus routes, more frequent buses, greater service hours, and better network connectivity. The proposed changes also include improved service to colleges and universities in Mississauga.
In 2019, MiWay’s current grid network will mainly focus on creating stronger corridors by consolidating, streamlining, and extending certain routes in September and October.
The completed 2020 MiWay service envisions a grid network that eliminates winding trips and long wait times with frequent buses. To make this plan a reality, MiWay warns transit users that a longer walk to your stop may be required.
The MiWay Five plan will deliver these improvements through planned service changes occurring every six to eight weeks.
UTM students can benefit from such changes like frequent service on main corridors and non-weekday rush hour service. MiWay will also roll-out increased GO Station connections and more express service between key destinations.
Another planned transit service adjustment means GO Transit will begin travelling on the east part of the transitway from Skymark Hub (Airport Corporate Centre). The route will stop at Dixie Station and then continue to the Square One GO Bus Terminal.
In a statement to InSauga news, MiWay credited the transit service improvements to the goal of creating a transit-oriented city.
“These changes continue to provide customers with better connections to transit hubs across Mississauga and will enhance the customer service experience as part of the MiWay Five Transit Service Plan,” said a MiWay media representative.
Students, faculty, and staff are also reminded of MiWay trip options to help make travel both convenient and safe.
MiWay provides customers with two types of travel services: MiExpress and MiLocal. MiExpress, for express travel, is offered on blue buses servicing limited-stop routes, while MiLocal buses offer local travel along regular routes.
UTM’s U-Pass provides students with unlimited rides on all MiWay routes during applicable academic terms, September 1 through April 30 for the Fall and Winter semesters.
Under the Ontario government’s Student Choice Initiative (SCI), students do not currently have the option of opting-out of the MiWay transit U-Pass.
The five bus routes available to and from U of T Mississauga using MiWay are: 1C Dundas-Collegeway, 44 Mississauga Road, 101-Dundas Express, 101A Dundas Express, and 110 University Express.
MiWay’s service changes, effective September 2, that concern UTM transit users include: revised weekday schedules for 44 Mississauga Road (northbound and southbound) to improve GO Train connections, and revised weekday schedules for buses 101 Dundas Express (eastbound and westbound) and 110 University Express (northbound and southbound) for the academic term.
Students can plan their trip, find stop schedules, and obtain up-to-the-minute schedule information using MiWay’s online Trip Planner.
The MiWay Trip Planner is now also accessible through the new UTM Engage app, an interactive application where all UTM services and student organizations’ information is gathered.
Students are encouraged to prevent fraud by refraining from sharing or selling U-Passes, and reporting fraud to UTM Campus Police or calling MiWay Transit Enforcement at 905-896-5040.
UTM is the only post-secondary institution in Mississauga offering its students a U-Pass. In 2007, the UTMSU collaborated with MiWay to launch the transit pass as an economical option for students. The UTM Summer U-Pass was created in 2011 for students taking courses during the summer, May 1 through August 31.
Stops along Mississauga’s transitway will also be included in Metrolinx’s Light-Rail Transit (LRT) plan. The 2022 plan boasts an 18-km route that will run from Port Credit GO in the south, to Brampton Gateway Terminal in the north.
