Brampton Transit Tops 10 Million Riders, Leads Canada In Transit Growth

Brampton – Brampton Transit has broken all previous records; welcoming its 10 millionth rider in December 2006 and leading growth in transit use across Canada with a 12.4 per cent increase over 2005.

"Citizens from across Brampton have worked actively with the City of Brampton to place a greater emphasis on public transportation," said Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell. "Our growth in ridership is a result of council's commitment and investment in Brampton Transit with new buses, greater accessibility, increased service and a stronger customer focus."

Brampton Transit ridership growth is about four times the national average, according to statistics from the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA). Last year, there were 10,139,107 Brampton Transit riders, a 12.4 per cent increase over 2005. The national increase is 3.4 per cent for the first half of 2006. This 12.4 per cent increase in ridership follows a 30-per-cent increase in service hours in 2004 and 2005.

Suzanne Bass, the City's Director of Transit, said the City has responded to customer feedback and has made significant service changes. "The community has requested increase levels of transit service, and the City has reacted to these requests over the past two years," she said.

In 2005, Brampton Transit increased service by about 25 per cent through a new grid-based route system. The service change altered 22 of the existing 30 routes with additional routes added to serve riders better. A total of 51 growth buses have been added to the Brampton Transit fleet since 2004 that have been utilized to introduce these service increases and the new low-floor buses has resulted in Brampton Transit being able to increase its accessible service to 58 per cent of its total trips.

Brampton Transit's customer service focus has been recognized by CUTA through the Association's 2006 National Transit Corporate Recognition Award for the service enhancements that were introduced in 2005.

"Brampton Transit provides customers with excellence in service and connections with such services as GO Transit, the TTC, York Region and Mississauga Transit," said Tom Mulligan, Commissioner of Works and Transportation with the City of Brampton."We are thrilled to reach the 10 millionth rider milestone, and will continue to enhance Brampton Transit service to meet customer needs for the next 10 million riders."