York Region Transit route 44 'Bristol'

44 Bristol is a local route operated by YRT in Newmarket, ON.

Basic
Route 44 serves Upper Canada Ring Rd., Woodspring Ave., Bristol Rd., and Main St..

This route has 1 main branch:
 * 44 Newmarket GO Bus Terminal - Main via Upper Canada Mall (Monday to Saturday)

This route serves the northwest and northern Newmarket communities. It also serves Green Lane Centre, Dr. J.M. Denison Secondary School, and Newmarket GO Station. One trip in the morning and one in the afternoon also serve Southlake Hospital and Sacred Heart High School.

Route 44 connects with Viva Blue at Newmarket GO Bus Terminal.

History
Newmarket Transit operated another route in this area before amalgamation. YRT took over operations in 2001 and numbered it route 44. Strangely, it was not numbered in the 5x series, like most other Newmarket-based routes, and instead into the 4x series, which is for Markham/Unionville routes. The only other route to do so was 66 Glenway-Summerhill, which was amalgamated into route 57A.

In 2005, buses were diverted from operating through Upper Canada Mall during peak periods due to heavy traffic. Instead, buses went along Yonge St. to Bristol.

Starting in September 2007, service was eliminated during evenings, 6 days a week, and replaced with a trial 'Dial-a-Ride' service. A taxi van was chartered during these times, and any passengers wanting to ride could either board at the bay in Newmarket GO Bus Terminal, or call a number for the taxi to pick them up at any stop along the normal route. The Dial-a-Ride service is somewhat flexible; it is not strictly tied to route 44, but it will only stop at bus stops served by route 44, and still follows the timed schedule.

On September 5, 2010, route 44 began to service Sacred Heart High School for school runs only. This is the first time this route has had a routing change since 2007.

Route 44 was renamed from Bristol-London to Woodspring-Bristol on July 1, 2012, with service being extended to cover the north half of the former route 53.

Route 44 was declared fully accessible in December 2012.

The 2013 Annual Service Plan had Dial-a-Ride service on route 44 expanded to cover routes 52 and 58A. Also, the route was renamed from "Woodspring-Bristol" to "Bristol" on July 2, 2013.

The 2014 Annual Service Plan initially had midday and Saturday service operated by Dial-a-Ride, but this was cancelled due to increased passenger demand.

Vehicles
Route 44 is primarily a 30ft route, and uses E-Z Rider II/BRT/MAX. Rarely New Flyer D40LF may provide service.

Major Stops

 * Newmarket GO Bus Terminal: Western terminus. Serves Bay 7. Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 22A, 50, 52, 55/55B, 56, 57/57A, 58, 98, 520/521.
 * Upper Canada Mall: Connections to routes 52, 55, 56, 520/521.
 * Bathurst St.
 * Green Lane
 * McIntyre Ct.
 * London/Yorkshire: Served by two trips eastbound and all trips westbound.
 * Davis/Main: Eastern terminus. Stop for Newmarket GO Station. Connections to routes 50, 54, 55/55B, 58, 223.
 * Sacred Heart High School: Served by two trips weekdays. Connection to route 56.