York Region Transit route 82 'Valleymede'

82 Valleymede is a local route operated by YRT in Richmond Hill and Markham, ON.

Basic
Route 82 serves mainly Shirley Dr., Spadina Rd., and Valleymede Dr.

This route has 1 main branch:
 * 82 Elgin Mills - Beaver Creek (Weekday rush hours only)

This route serves the Redstone and Bayview Hill communities. It also serves Richmond Green Sports Centre, Rouge Woods Community Centre, Smart!Centres Richmond Hill, Bayview Hill Community Centre, Ed Sackfield Arena, and Beaver Creek Business Park. One trip in the morning and one in the afternoon also serve Richmond Green Secondary School and Richmond Green Library. One trip in the morning also serves Bernard Terminal and Richmond Hill High School. Some trips also serve Richmond Hill GO Station. One trip in the morning and one in the afternoon also serve St. Robert Catholic High School.

Route 82 connects to Viva Pink and Viva Purple at Highway 7. The one trip serving Bernard Terminal and Richmond Hill High School connects to Viva Blue at Yonge/Elgin Mills and Bernard Terminal.

History
The precursor to route 82 was Richmond Hill Transit route 2. It followed almost the same route as today's route 82, but running on Newkirk Rd. to Bernard Terminal, as the area north of Major Mackenzie was not developed yet. When YRT took over operations from Richmond Hill Transit, it renumbered route 2 into route 82. The same routing was used after amalgamation.

In 2004, a general rerouting in the Richmond Hill area brought around major changes to this route. Service on Newkirk Rd. ended, being replaced by a modified route 86. Route 82 was extended north along Farmstead Rd. and Shirley Dr. to Richmond Green, near Elgin Mills Rd. and Leslie St. Limited service was operated along Farmstead Rd. to Richmond Hill GO Station, having lost that direct connection while operating along Newkirk Rd. Full service was offered to St. Robert Catholic High School. Limited service was operated to Richmond Green Secondary School, meeting bell times until September 2007, when Monday to Saturday service looped at the school.

In September 2011, Saturday service was eliminated due to low ridership.

On April 23, 2012, route 82 was heavily revised. The northern end of the route was truncated to ending at Elgin Mills/Redstone, looping via Shirley, Elgin Mills, and Redstone to head back south. Trips only serve Richmond Green to meet bell times. The southern end of the route was truncated to ending at Commerce Valley/Leslie at all times, with service extended to St. Robert only during bell times. Service was also modified to use Minthorn Blvd. instead of Highway 7 to minimize delays from rapidway construction.

Route 82 was declared fully accessible in December 2012.

Weekday midday service was discontinued on route 82 on July 2, 2013. Also, the route name was changed from "Valleymede-Spadina" to "Valleymede", although destination signs have shown "Valleymede" for a long time.

Vehicles
Route 82 sees a mix of 30ft service provided by E-Z Rider II/BRT/MAX and 40ft service provided by New Flyer D40LF/D40LFR, New Flyer XD40, or occasionally Orion V.

Major Stops

 * Elgin Mills/Redstone: Northern terminus. Connections to routes 80, 83A.
 * Richmond Hill GO Station: Served during GO Train meets. Serves Bay 6. Connections to routes 86, 240, 241, 242, 243.
 * Walmart Plaza: Connections to routes 4/4A, 25, 243, 589/590.
 * 16th Avenue: Connection to route 16, 85/85C.
 * Highway 7: Connections to Viva Pink, Viva Purple, and route 1.
 * Minthorn/Commerce Valley: Connections to routes 90B, 244.
 * Leslie/Commerce Valley: Southern terminus. Connections to routes 90/90B, 244, 300.