York Region Transit route 98 'Yonge'

98 Yonge (previously 98 Yonge North) is a base route operated by YRT in Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, and Toronto, ON.

Basic
Routes 98 and 98E mainly serve Yonge St. between Green Lane and Bishop Ave.

This route has 5 branches:
 * 98 Green Lane - Bernard Terminal
 * 98E Finch Terminal - Newmarket Terminal Limited Express (1 trip NB)
 * 98/99 Green Lane - Finch Terminal (Late nights)
 * 98/99 Finch Terminal - Newmarket Terminal (Last 3 trips NB late nights)
 * 98/99 Green Lane - Bernard Terminal (Last trip SB late night weekdays)

Routes 98 and 98E combined serve the northern Newmarket, southern Newmarket, northern Aurora, Downtown Aurora, southern Aurora, Oak Ridges, Inspiration, Downtown Richmond Hill, Bayview Glen, and Thornhill communities. It also serves Green Lane Centre, Dr. J.M. Denison Secondary School, Upper Canada Mall, Regional Headquarters, Sir William Mulock Secondary School, Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School, Oak Ridges Moraine Library, and Bond Lake Arena.

Routes 98 and 98E share much of its length with Viva Blue. Route 98E also shares its length with Viva Pink between Garden Ave. and Finch Station.

History
In September 2005, Viva was introduced. To provide local service along the northern portion of Viva Blue between Newmarket GO Bus Terminal and Bernard Terminal, YRT introduced route 98. It was the first route to operate through both of the new zone boundaries, requiring a 2-zone fare. Even though Viva service would not be extended north of Bernard until November, the 98 service still started operating in September.

In January 2006, service was revised to operate along Eagle St. into Newmarket Terminal, instead of along Davis Dr. in both directions. Also in 2006, late-evening service was revised to be interlined with 99 Yonge South. Route 98 and 99 buses operating after 10:30pm do not service the platforms inside Bernard Terminal, instead service the Viva stops located on Yonge St. This makes the arrangement the longest YRT route, operating 2km further north than Viva Blue.

On September 5, 2010, to prevent confusion, with 'North' suffix was removed from route signs.

On November 15, 2010, route 98E was introduced, operating two trips in the afternoon express north from Finch Station to Industrial Pkwy., then making all stops to Newmarket GO Bus Terminal. During the 2011-2012 YRT/Viva strike, route 98E was adjusted to make all stops north of Major Mackenzie Dr.

On April 23, 2012, route 98E was adjusted to make all stops north of Bernard Ave. July 1, 2012 saw the elimination of the second route 98E trip from Finch due to low ridership.

Route 98E was declared fully accessible in February 2012. Route 98 was declared fully accessible in December 2012.

Operations for route 98E were transferred from Southwest Division to Southeast Division on August 31, 2014.

Vehicles
Route 98 is primarily a 40ft route, and uses New Flyer D40LF. Rarely, Orion VI may be on a rush hour only run. Routes 98E and 98/99 are primarily 40ft routes operated by Southeast Division, and use New Flyer D40LF/D40LFR and New Flyer XD40.

Major Stops

 * Green Lane: Northern terminus for routes 98 and 98/99. Connections to routes 44, 52.
 * Newmarket Terminal: Northern terminus for route 98E. Serves Bay 6. Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 22A, 44, 50, 52, 55/55B, 56, 57/57A, 58, 520/521.
 * Mulock Dr.: Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 22A, 57/57A.
 * Wellington St.: Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 22A, 31, 32, 33/33A, 54.
 * Henderson Dr.: Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 22A, 31, 32.
 * Bloomington Rd.: Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 22/22A, 84A.
 * King Rd.: Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 22/22A, 84A/84C, 91B.
 * Bernard Terminal: Southern terminus for route 98. Serves Bay 5. Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 81, 83, 86, 99.
 * Major Mackenzie Dr.: Served by route 98/99. Connections to Viva Blue and routes 4/4A, 99.
 * Richmond Hill Centre Terminal: Served by route 98/99. Serves Bay 7 southbound and Bay 8 northbound. Connections to Viva Blue, Viva Pink, Viva Purple, and routes 1, 99.
 * Steeles Ave.: Served by route 98/99. Connections to Viva Blue and routes 2, 5, 77, 88, 91/91A, 99.
 * Finch Terminal: Southern terminus for routes 98E and 98/99. Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A, Viva Pink, and routes 2, 5, 23, 77/77A, 88/88A, 91/91A, 99, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 760.