York Region Transit route 23 'Thornhill Woods'

23 Thornhill Woods is a local route operated by YRT in Vaughan and Toronto, ON.

Basic
Route 23 serves a number of residential streets in the Thornhill Woods area, namely Bathurst St., Thornhill Woods Dr. and Hilda Ave.

This route has 2 branches:
 * 23 Lebovic Campus Dr. - Promenade Terminal (Weekday midday and last 2 trips)
 * 23 Teston Road - Finch Terminal (Weekday rush hours and evenings)

This route serves the communities of Upper Thornhill Village, Thornhill Woods, and Thornhill. It also serves Lebovic Campus, Stephen Lewis Secondary School, North Thornhill Community Centre, Vaughan City Playhouse, Westmount Collegiate Institute, Promenade Terminal, Garnet A. Williams Arena, and Centerpoint Mall.

Route 23 connects to Viva Purple at Bathurst/Atkinson and Promenade Terminal. During weekday rush hours and evenings route 23 also connects to Viva Blue and Viva Pink at Yonge/Steeles and Finch Station. A small portion of the route is shared with Viva Purple, between Bathurst/Highway 7 and Promenade Terminal.

History
Buses first started running on route 23 in September 2005. A new development in the Bathurst/Rutherford area needed to be served, and the east-west route 87 did not adequately serve this area. Route 23 provided the north-south connection to that area and also allowed route 88 to be rerouted along Bathurst St. to Steeles Ave. instead of using Hilda Ave.

On November 16, 2008, this route was extended north (during rush hours) from Rutherford to serve the residents of the Upper Thornhill Village community, near Bathurst and Major Mackenzie. On June 2, 2010, all midday trips were extended north from Rutherford to Lebovic Campus Dr. due to operational issues in the surrounding residential area.

Route 23 was indirectly affected by the York University strike between November 6, 2008 and January 29, 2009 due to a high proportion of riders living along the route who commute to York University.

Route 23 was declared fully accessible in December 2012.

April 21, 2014 saw midday and late evening service truncated south of Promenade Terminal.

Vehicles
Route 23 sees a mix of 30ft service provided by E-Z Rider II and 40ft service provided by New Flyer D40LF/D40LFR or occasionally New Flyer XD40, Orion V or Van Hool A330.

Major Stops

 * Teston/Via Romano: Northern terminus during peak periods and evenings.
 * Bathurst/Major Mackenzie: Served during peak periods and evenings. Connections to routes 4/4A, 88/88A.
 * Lebovic Campus/Bathurst: Northern terminus during off-peak periods. Connections to routes 16, 88/88A, 242.
 * Bathurst/Rutherford: Served during off-peak periods. Connections to routes 16, 85/85C, 88/88A.
 * Thornhill Woods/Rutherford: Connection to route 85/85C.
 * Highway 7/Thornhill Woods
 * Bathurst/Atkinson: Connections to Viva Purple and routes 3, 88/88A, 160.
 * Promenade Terminal: Southern terminus during off-peak periods. Serves Bay 3 southbound and Bay 8 northbound. Connections to Viva Purple and routes 3, 77, 88/88A, 160.
 * Clark/Atkinson: Served during peak periods and evenings. Connection to route 5.
 * Yonge/Steeles: Served during peak periods and evenings. Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A, Viva Pink, and routes 2, 5, 77/77A, 88/88A, 91/91A, 99, 760.
 * Finch Terminal - Southern terminus during peak periods and evenings. Serves Bay 16. Connections to Viva Blue/Blue A, Viva Pink, and routes 2, 5, 77/77A, 88/88A, 91/91A, 99, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 760.