Read the daily “on schedule” posts to find news and other information that affects your daily commute. You’ll learn about public meetings, special events and construction projects that affect transit services today.

A new carpool parking zone will be opening at Clarkson GO on Monday, May 14th.

To get a carpool permit, you and your carpool partners must create Carpool Zone accounts at www.CarpoolZone.ca and form a carpool through the online system. Then complete a carpool parking permit application form. (.pdf)

If you’re already sharing a ride to your GO station, you can still apply for a carpool parking permit. You and your carpool partners must create Carpool Zone accounts at www.CarpoolZone.ca and form a carpool. Then submit your carpool parking permit application form. (.pdf)

Often, demand for parking spaces at many GO stations exceeds supply. While GO continues to expand parking at some stations, many stations have little or no room for expansion.

The carpool zone does not reduce the number of parking spaces at Clarkson, but allows more GO passengers to access the station with the same number of spaces. Anyone can use the spaces after 9 a.m. By encouraging people to share rides, GO hopes to decrease the number of cars traveling to its lots and increase the available parking for those who can’t carpool.

The station will have at least 10 spaces for carpoolers, although GO may add more, if enough people decide to use the carpool priority spaces.

GO launched a pilot carpool parking-priority project last August at Burlington, East Gwillimbury, Oakville and Whitby GO Stations.

Durham Region Transit plans to add service and improve routes in Ajax, starting Sunday, July 2.

Among other changes, you can expect:

• 222 Audley South: DRT plans to reroute buses from Ajax GO Station: eastward along Fairall and Station Streets and then southward along Salem Road to Bayly Street East. It will also increase the frequency of service to every 20 minutes Mondays to Fridays during rush hours and ever 30 minutes from about 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
• 923 Bayly: DRT is operating a new route linking the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus with Pickering and Ajax GO Stations.
• 218 Beach: DRT plans to reroute buses from Ajax GO Station: eastward along Fairall and Stations Streets, then southward along Harwood Avenue South to Kings Crescent North. It will also increase the frequency of service to every 20 minutes Mondays to Fridays during rush hours and ever 30 minutes from about 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

DRT also hopes to improve service along the 225 / 225A Audley North route — but not until September.

Drop by and find out what is happening during an open house next week:

Tuesday, May 22
from 1 until 7 p.m.
Ajax Library, Rotary Room
55 Harwood Avenue South.

Getting there by public transit:

• Ride DRT buses operating along the 218 Beach, 224 Harwood, 291 / 292 Ajax community bus or 916 Rossland routes or GO Transit buses operating along the 94 Oshawa / Yorkdale route to Ajax Plaza Terminal. Cross Harwood Avenue South at the signal and walk one block north.

You can now use PRESTO fare cards at GO Transit bus terminals or ticket vendors in Guelph, Orangeville and the Sutton community of Georgina, as the sites all become PRESTO “agencies”.

At a PRESTO agency, you can

• buy a PRESTO card,
• “load” value onto your card,
• check your balance and
• make various other transactions.

Guelph Transit’s new affordable bus pass program helps you get around Guelph on public transportation, at a cost that fits your budget.

The lower-cost bus pass program aims to make getting around and connecting with the community more affordable for you.

The City of Guelph is encouraging young people, adults and seniors living in low-income households to apply for this pilot program before Thursday, May 31. After you have applied for the program and the City has approved your application, you can buy your first affordable bus passes in mid-June. You can show the drivers your affordable passes when boarding buses, starting Canada Day, Sunday, July 1.

Pick up an application form at:

• City Hall, 1 Carden Street;
• the West End Community Centre, 21 Imperial Road South;
• the Victoria Road Recreation Centre, 151 Victoria Road North; and
• the Evergreen Seniors Community Centre, 683 Woolwich Street.

You can also find an application form on line here. (.pdf)

Or, call one of these numbers to ask City staff to mail you an application form:

Agency inquiries: 519-822-1260 x 2670
TTY (Teletype for Deaf): 519-826-9771
General inquiries: 519-837-5618

Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area media report on public transit issues today.

Greater Toronto Area

• Metro Toronto’s Ford for Toronto post, “City Manager: There isn’t $100M in service efficiencies left in Toronto’s budget”, here.
• Mississauga.com article, “Get dough when GO is slow”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “Group will try to place second poster in TTC stations”, here.
• YorkRegion.com article, “Rapid transit system taking shape”, here.
• YorkRegion.com article, “Declare transit essential service: chambers”, here.
• YorkRegion.com article, “GO Barrie line gets weekend service”, here.

Elsewhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe

• Orillia Packet and Times article, “New toonie flat fare ‘just right’”, here.

The City of Toronto is closing:

• Bay Street between Adelaide and King Streets West

all day today, Saturday, May 19 and tomorrow, Sunday, May 20 to accommodate crane operations.

The TTC is detouring buses operating along the 6 Bay route, while the road is closed.

Greater Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area media report on public transit issues today.

Greater Toronto Area

• CTV News Toronto report, “Nine injured after abrupt stop on Bay Street bus”, here.
• Globe and Mail article, “TTC bus driver charged with careless driving”, here.
• Globe and Mail column, “How Toronto’s transit plan takes taxpayers for a ride”, here.
• National Post article, “TTC driver faces careless driving charges after 9 injured”, here.
• OpenFile Toronto post, “Is the TTC’s expansion plan absurdly expensive? Depends on who you ask”, here.
• Ride This Crazy Train post, “Presto validation: Doing it right”, here.
• Ride This Crazy Train post, “Epic”, here.
• Steve Munro post, “The High Cost of Going Underground (Updated)”, here.
• Torontoist post, “Building Storeys: TTC Yards”, here.
• Toronto Star article, “TTC driver charged after riders hurt in sudden stop”, here.
• Toronto Sun article, “TTC driver charged after riders hurt”, here.
• TTCriders.ca post, “Metrolinx Responds to our Letter Regarding the Toronto Transit Expansion Plans”, here.

Elsewhere in the Greater Golden Horseshoe

• Cambridge Times article, “Council approves bus fare increases”, here.
• CTV News Kitchener report, “Region’s LRT plan gets the green light from the provincial government”, here.
• gokw.org post, “GO summer programs to expand: Barrie to get weekend summertime service, Niagara weekend service to resume”, here.
• gokw.org post, “Guelph Central Terminal now in service for Guelph City transit users”, here.
• gokw.org post, “Ontario Northland Railway — Vital transportation link and freight railway being sold from under our noses, yet massive highway projects continue”, here.
• Guelph Tribune article, “Riders rate new Guelph Central Station”, here.
• Guelph Tribune article, “Some confusion at new transit hub”, here.
• Guelph Tribune editorial, “Guelph Transit’s tough road almost over”, here.
• Guelph Tribune article, “Gimme shelter might be cry of transit users until mid-July”, here.
• Guelph Tribune editorial, “Guelph Central Station up and running”, here.
• Guelph Tribune article, “Guelph history on the move”, here.
• Guelph Tribune article, “Pedestrians beware: Changes in St. George’s Square”, here.
• Kitchener Post article, “GRT fares rising July 1”, here.
• TriTag.ca post, “Ottawa / Borden LRT alignment”, here.
• Waterloo Chronicle article, “Unlocking opportunities”, here.
• Waterloo Region Record article, “Rail transit gets green light, again”, here.
• Waterloo Region Record article, “GRT bus, car collide in Kitchener”, here.

GO Transit operates express buses to and from Canada’s Wonderland seven days a week, starting today, Thursday, May 17.

Express buses continue to operate seven days a week until Labour Day, Monday, September 3.

MiWay resumes its regular seasonal express bus service linking the City Centre Terminal with Canada’s Wonderland, starting this Saturday, May 19.

Buses operating along the 88 Wonderland route Saturdays, Sundays and holidays until Canada Day, Sunday, July 1. Starting Monday, July 2, buses operate seven days a week.

Transit agencies throughout the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton and the Golden Horseshoe are adjusting their service and schedules Victoria Day, Monday, May 21.