York Region Transit route 522 'Markham Community Bus'

Basic
522 Markham Community Bus is a community route operated by YRT in Markham, ON. It serves Church St., Bullock Dr. and Kennedy Rd.

This route has 1 main branch:
 * 522 Markham Community Bus (6 days a week)

522 serves Markham-Stouffville Hospital, Markham Village, Centennial Community Centre, Markville Mall, Old Unionville, and Hagerman's Corners.

522 serves all Viva Purple and Viva Green stops along Highway 7 east of Kennedy.

History
YRT operated an unnumbered Markham Connector between The Shoppes at 404 and Steeles and Markham-Stouffville Hospital, connecting various retirement homes, shopping plazas and the hospital. The connector required pre-booking but had a set schedule, and passengers must also be Mobility Plus eligible.

In 2006, YRT decided to turn the connector into a full Community Bus route, with the Newmarket bus proving to be a success. The section west of Kennedy was cut, to be provided by Mobility Plus, while the section on and east of Kennedy was turned into a Community Bus route, with fixed schedule, regular fare and no pre-booking required.

Interestingly, although the normal numbering scheme for specials in the Markham area is x0x, route 522 was numbered right after the Newmarket buses (520 and 521), in the Newmarket numbering (x2x).

2007 proved to be a successful year for route 522, after transfering to full community service, route ridership increased by 771.3%.

In order to cut on fuel costs, operations were transferred from Southwest Division to Southeast Division in July 2012.

Future Recommendations

 * Review route structure and schedules for possible route re-configuration.
 * Reintroduce St. Luke's shuttle, which was part of the former Markham Connector.

Vehicles
Back when this route was operated by Mobility Plus, ELFs and E-Z Rider II MAXs were the common buses on the route. With the transfer from Southwest to Southeast Division in July 2012, this route is operated exclusively by ElDorado buses of all kinds.