York Region Transit route 85 'Rutherford'

85 Rutherford is a base route operated by YRT in Vaughan and Richmond Hill, ON.

Basic
Routes 85 and 85C combined mainly serve Rutherford Rd. and Carrville Rd.

This route has 3 main branches:
 * 85 Napa Valley Ave. - Leslie St. (Monday to Saturday)
 * 85C Vaughan Mills Mall - Leslie St. (Weekdays)
 * 85 Al Palladini C.C. - Leslie St. (Sundays)

This route serves the Woodbridge, Vellore Woods, Concord, Maple, Thornhill Woods, Richvale, and Bayview Hill communities. It also serves Emily Carr Secondary School, Vaughan Mills Terminal, and Hillcrest Mall. Some trips also serve Rutherford GO Station.

Routes 85 and 85C both connect to Viva Blue at Yonge St.

History
Route 85 used to be 2 separate routes (Vaughan Transit route 9 and Richmond Hill Transit route 5). Together, they serviced between Islington Ave. and Rodick Rd. When YRT took over the service in 2001, route 85 only operated during peak periods east of Mural St. and west of Bathurst St., and six days a week between Bathurst St. and Mural St. However, eventually, service was provided daily in 2004, between Vaughan Mills and Warden Ave. (this new branch, route 85C, was not used in schedules, but was used in destination signs). Eventually, demand pushed it to expand it west to Islington and east to Markham-Stouffville Hospital, therefore covering the whole route.

June 2008 brought more major changes to this route. The old route 85A (Bathurst - Beaver Creek) was scrapped, and the portion through Beaver Creek was replaced by the new route 244. Route 85 was also cut back to Vaughan Mills. A new route 85A was created, providing overlapping service along the busy portion between Yonge and Vaughan Mills, while replacing route 85 service west of Vaughan Mills. On weekends, route 85A operates as a shuttle between Napa Valley/Islington and Vaughan Mills only, connecting to route 85 there. These changes are meant to solve the reliability issues surrounding the long route 85 trips and provide extra service. Route 85's frequency was also increased during rush hours, providing a much-needed solution to overcrowding east of Beaver Creek.

Routes 85, 85A, and 85B were one of the first routes declared fully accessible in September 2009.

In September 2011, the Whites Hill diversion in Markham and the Fossil Hill/Maria Antonia diversion in Vaughan were cut from this route.

The 2013 Annual Service Plan restructured the route again. The east half of route 85 was renumbered to route 16, providing service between Lebovic Village Community Centre and Markham-Stouffville Hospital. Route 85A became the new route 85, providing service between Napa Valley and Yonge St., with service operated by Southwest Division. It was also renamed "Rutherford". Route 85B was discontinued, and service in the Vellore Woods community was replaced by new route 21. Service in the Beaver Creek Business Park was replaced by the reinstated route 244. This arrangement was slightly modified a month later, with route 85 service extended east to Leslie, with extra service east of Vaughan Mills.

Vehicles
Route 85 and 85C are both primarily 40ft routes, and use New Flyer D40LF/D40LFR. Occasionally Van Hool A330 or New Flyer XD40 may provide service.

Major Stops

 * Napa Valley Ave.: Western terminus for route 85 from Monday to Saturday. Connections to routes 7, 13.
 * Islington Ave. (Al Palladini C.C.): Western terminus for route 85 on Sundays/Holidays. Connection to route 13.
 * Weston Rd.: Served by route 85. Connection to route 165A/165D/165F.
 * Vaughan Mills Terminal: Western terminus for route 85C. Serves Bay 2 westbound and Bay 7 eastbound. Connections to routes 4, 12, 20, 21, 26, 87, 360, 760.
 * Keele St.: Connections to routes 87, 107C/107D.
 * Rutherford GO Station: Served during GO Train meets. Connections to routes 87, 107B.
 * Bathurst St.: Connections to routes 16, 23, 88/88A.
 * Yonge St.: Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 16, 86, 99.
 * Leslie St.: Connections to routes 16, 90/90B.
 * Orlando/Brodie: Eastern terminus. Connection to route 90B.