York Region Transit route 31 'Aurora North'

31 Aurora North is a local route operated by YRT in Aurora, ON.

Basic
Route 31 serves Yonge St., Wellington St., Aurora Heights Dr., Orchard Heights Blvd, and Industrial Pkwy.

This route has 1 main branch:
 * 31 Clockwise (Weekday rush hours only)

This route serves the northern Aurora communities. It also serves the Aurora Chamber of Commerce, Dr. G.W. Williams Secondary School, Aurora Public Library, Downtown Aurora, Aurora Community Centre, Aurora Leisure Complex, and Sir Maximillian Kolve Catholic High School. One trip in the morning and one in the afternoon also serve Aurora High School.

Route 31 connects to Viva Blue at Yonge/Henderson, Yonge/Golf Links, Yonge/Wellington, and Yonge/Orchard Heights. A portion of the route is shared with Viva Blue, between Yonge/Henderson and Yonge/Wellington, as well as between Yonge/Orchard Heights and Yonge/St. John's Sdrd.

History
Aurora Transit first operated a 'Aurora North' route. It was later taken over by Newmarket Transit, and the route was named A1 Western Produce. A1 was later taken over in 2001 by YRT, which was when they renumbered it to 31 Aurora North. It was more of a north-south route than today's east-west route, operating from Mulock Dr. south on Yonge and Old Yonge, along Orchard Heights and Aurora Heights back to Yonge, and heading down Murray to loop at Edward and Yonge.

In September 2005, with the looming introduction of Viva Blue and route 33, YRT rerouted both routes 31 and 32 to operate primarily along Wellington. This also replaced the Aurora GO Shuttles.

In January 2008, YRT incorporated the current eastern looping into the new branch of 33 Wellington, route 33A. This reduced the remaining portion of route 31 to a rush-hour only route. 31 ends at Aurora GO Station in the east now.

In September 2011, service to and from the Aurora GO Station was modified to serve Mary St.

Route 31 was merged with route 34 in 2012, and began serving the newly opened bus loop at Aurora GO Station in September 2012. It was renamed from "Aurora North" to "Aurora North-Industrial Parkway", but was reverted back on July 2, 2013.

Route 31 was declared fully accessible in December 2012.

The 2014 Annual Service Plan will have the first morning trip start at Wellington St. and Yonge St. instead of Aurora GO Station and will have the 7:05pm trip terminate at Orchard Heights Blvd. and Yonge St.

Vehicles
Route 31 is primarily a 30ft route, and uses E-Z Rider II/BRT/MAX. Occasionally New Flyer D40LF or Orion VI may provide service.

Major Stops

 * Aurora GO Station: Terminus. Connections to routes 32, 33A, 222.
 * Yonge/Industrial Pkwy.: Connections to routes 22A, 98/98E.
 * Yonge/Edward: Connections to routes 22A, 32, 98/98E.
 * Yonge/Wellington: Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A and routes 22A, 32, 33/33A, 54, 98/98E.
 * Aurora High School: Served by two trips weekdays. Connections to routes 32, 33/33A.
 * Bathurst/Orchard Heights
 * Yonge/Orchard Heights: Connections to Viva Blue and routes 22A, 98/98E.
 * Yonge/St. John's Sdrd.: Connections to routes 22A, 98/98E.
 * Industrial Pkwy./Wellington: Connections to routes 32, 33/33A, 54.
 * Sir Maximillian Kolve Catholic High School: Served by one trip weekdays. Connections to routes 32, 33/33A, 54.