York Region Transit route 105 'Dufferin North'

105 Dufferin North is a base route operated by the TTC under contract to YRT in Vaughan, ON.

Basic
Routes 105A, 105B, and 105D combined serve Dufferin St. between Steeles Ave. and Major Mackenzie Dr.

This route has 3 branches:
 * 105A Downsview Stn - Rutherford
 * 105B Downsview Stn - Major Mackenzie (Weekday rush hours only)
 * 105D Wilson Stn - Rutherford (Early AM trips only)

These routes combined serve the Concord and Thornhill Woods communities. They also serve North Thornhill Community Centre and Stephen Lewis Secondary School.

Routes 105A, 105B, and 105D all connect to Viva Orange at Downsview Station and Viva Purple at Centre St.

History
Service was contracted out to the TTC by Vaughan Transit. This involved TTC operating the buses and collecting the fares, but Vaughan Transit paying for any losses in running the service. A TTC fare was required for passengers travelling south of Steeles Ave., but only a Vaughan fare was required if the entire trip was north of Steeles. When Vaughan Transit was acquired by YRT, the contract was picked up as well, with similar conditions.

Route 105 Wilson Heights first started operating from Wilson Station when the Spadina Subway first opened to Wilson. In 1980, it was extended north of Steeles to Glen Shields as route 105A. Peak and midday service was offered at this time. Saturday and evening service was added in 1984 and 1987 respectively, while Sunday service was not implemented until 2001.

In 1992, the northern terminus was extended to an off-street loop at Highway 7. 4 years later, the southern terminus was moved to the newly opened Downsview Station.

The route name was changed to 105 Dufferin North in 2000, because most of the route now served Dufferin St. instead of Wilson Heights. It was also extended north to a large on-street loop at Rutherford.

2002 marked the addition of late-evening service. This made it the first TTC route operating north of Steeles to have full service.

April 2008 saw a new branch operating: Route 105B. It is a rush-hour branch extending 105's looping up north to Major Mackenzie. Service alternated between routes 105 and 105B during rush hours.

Routes 105 and 105B were declared fully accessible in February 2012.

Routes 105 was rebranched to routes 105A and 105D on June 22, 2014 as part of the TTC initiative to make branch and destination information more clear and consistent for customers.

The Spadina Subway Transit Strategy will modify route 105's routing in 2016. Service will be transferred from TTC to YRT operation and will be renumbered route 75. In addition, service will operate out of Pioneer Village Station and will no longer operate south of Steeles Ave.

Vehicles
Routes 105A, 105B, and 105D are 40ft routes from Wilson Division, and use Orion VII NG/NG HEV/EPA10. Occasionally, Orion V may provide service.

Major Stops

 * Wilson Station: Southern terminus for early AM route 105D trips (usually trips before the subway opens).
 * Downsview Station: Southern terminus for most trips. Connection to Viva Orange.
 * Steeles Ave.: Start/end of York Region fare zone. Connection to route 3.
 * Glen Shields Av.: Connection to route 5.
 * Centre St.: Connections to Viva Purple and route 77.
 * Confederation Pkwy.
 * Confederation/Rutherford: Connections to routes 85/85C, 87.
 * Rutherford Rd.: Northern terminus for route 105A and 105D. Connection to route 85/85C.
 * Major Mackenzie Dr. Northern terminus for route 105B. Connection to route 4/4A.