MiWay

A MiWay MiLocal (frequent stop) Orion VII hybrid bus
Founded	1969 (1969)
Headquarters	3484 Semenyk Court
Locale	Mississauga, Canada
Service area	Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Toronto
Service type	Public transit
Routes	56 local 9 express 8 regular school 1 TTC-contracted
Stops	3673[1]
Hubs	28 (8 outside the city)
Depots	2
Fleet	623 buses
Daily ridership	119,152 (2014)
Annual ridership	36.6 million ( 2.2%) (2014)[1] (52.2 million boardings)
Fuel type	Diesel and hybrid electric
Operator	City of Mississauga
Chief executive	Eve Wiggins[2]
Website	www.miway.ca

Former Mississauga Transit logo

Like most other city-owned vehicles, transit buses are also identified by a version of the corporate logo

MiWay bus stop 5304 located at the intersection of Hurontario and Courtneypark. MiWay's 57 Courtneypark services this stop along with Brampton Transit's 7 Kennedy.

MiWay (mai-WEI; stylized miWAY), also known as Mississauga Transit and originally as Mississauga Transit Systems, is the municipal public transport agency serving Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, and is responsible to the city's Transportation and Works Department. MiWay services consist of two types of bus routes: MiLocal, local buses that make frequent stops, and MiExpress, express buses between major destinations. MiWay is the primary operator along the Mississauga Transitway, a dedicated east–west bus-only roadway.

MiWay's routes connect with GO Transit along with Brampton Transit to the north, Oakville Transit to the southwest, Milton Transit to the northwest, Toronto Transit Commission to the east and York Region Transit to the northeast.

MiWay is a member of the Canadian Urban Transit Association. In 2013, MiWay's annual ridership was 35.8 million passengers, with more than 50.9 million boardings.^[1]: H-14

History

Public transit in Mississauga was first operated by Charterways Limited as Mississauga Transit Systems with four buses in 1969. It was acquired by the city's newly formed Mississauga Transit in 1974, incorporating the former towns of Mississauga, Port Credit and Streetsville. Services began on November 1, 1973.

It later acquired routes formerly operated by others, such as;

• The Toronto Transit Commission's (TTC) 74 Port Credit bus, in February 1976, that had operated on Lakeshore Road from Long Branch since 1935. This succeeded a former interurban railway, dating back to 1892 as the Toronto and Mimico Electric Railway and Light Company.
• Gray Coach Lines, and later GO Transit, also served intercity routes on Dundas Street, and Hurontario Street, both being semi-rural provincial highways before the construction of present freeways such as Highways 401, 403, and 410.
• Malton was served by the TTC's contracted 58 Malton bus until 2014, when the route was replaced by the TTC's 52 Lawrence West route. Local services in Malton were provided since 1969 and expanded after 1973.

In the late 1990s, due to a growing number of Mississauga Transit buses using Burnhamthorpe Road in Toronto to reach Islington subway station, which created congestion while not serving local Toronto residents along the route, this led to a resident blockade in an incident known as “the Battle of the Buses”. During the political dispute between Toronto and Mississauga city councils, the TTC commissioners responded by blocking Mississauga Transit buses from using Islington station’s transit terminal from 1998 to 2001 when a compromise was reached.^[3][4]

Mississauga Transit was rebranded MiWay on October 4, 2010. New MiWay-branded hybrid buses entered service, with orange MiLocal buses on local routes and blue MiExpress buses on express routes. Advertisements were placed on buses and shelters in September 2010 to introduce users to the new branding. Older buses using the old logo would continue to be used until they are decommissioned. Service levels did not change with the rebranding.^[5]

The reason for the company's new name is twofold: "Mi" could be interpreted as standing for Mississauga, and it is also a homophone for "My", suggesting possession.

As of December 1, 2011, MiWay's bus fleet is fully low-floor and accessible. As of October 22, 2012, bus stop pads have been put at all MiWay bus stops. This allowed the entire system to become fully accessible.^[6]

On April 29, 2019, 24-hour service was introduced on four bus routes.^[7]

Facilities

Terminals and junctions

All MiWay routes are wheelchair-accessible.

Former MiWay service booth and platforms at Islington station, before MiWay connections were moved to Kipling Station

Location	Routes	Other connections
Brampton Gateway Terminal	103	Brampton Transit (with the terminal), GO Transit (at Main Street)
Churchill Meadows Community Centre	9, 35
City Centre Transit Terminal	2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 28, 34, 61, 66, 68, 76, 99	20, 26, 107, 109, 110 and Brampton Transit (Züm) (at Rathburn Road), GO Transit (at Station Gate)
Credit Valley Hospital	34, 48	35 (at Eglinton Avenue), 46 (at Erin Mills Parkway), GO Transit (at Erin Mills Parkway and Eglinton Avenue)
Dixie Outlet Mall	4, 5
Erin Mills Town Centre Bus Terminal	13, 34, 46, 48, 49	35 (at Eglinton Avenue)
Humber College North Campus	22, 107†	Brampton Transit, TTC, YRT (inside campus)
Islington station	26 (on-street at Islington & Bloor)	TTC buses and Line 2 Bloor–Danforth subway.
Kipling station	1/1C, 3, 11, 20, 26, 35, 70, 71, 76, 101/101A, 108, 109	GO Transit, TTC buses and Line 2 Bloor–Danforth subway. The only major hub outside the city limits.
Meadowvale Town Centre Transit Terminal	10, 13, 38/38A, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45/45A, 46, 48, 87, 90, 104, 109	GO Transit (at Aquitaine Avenue)
Sheridan Centre Bus Terminal	29, 71	13, 45A, 110 (at Erin Mills Parkway)
Sheridan College Brampton Campus	61, 66, 99	18, 57 (at McLaughlin Road), Brampton Transit
Sherway Gardens	4	TTC
South Common Centre Bus Terminal	1C, 13, 26, 29, 36, 48, 101, 110	Oakville Transit
Toronto Pearson International Airport	7, 57 (Infield Cargo Area), 24 & 107 (Viscount LINK Station)	Brampton Transit (Terminal 1), GO Transit (Terminal 1), TTC (Terminals 1 & 3)
Trillium Health Centre Queensway West & Hurontario Street	28, 103	4 (at Queensway), 2 (at Hurontario Street)
University of Toronto at Mississauga	1C, 44, 101/101A, 110
Westdale Mall Dundas Street West & Erindale Station Road	1/1C, 6, 101/101A
Westwood Square Bus Terminal	7, 11, 15, 16/16A, 18, 22, 24, 30, 42, 104, 107	Brampton Transit, TTC
Woodbine Centre	11 & 30 (at Rexdale Boulevard)	TTC & YRT (at Queens Plate Drive)

• †: September to April only

GO Transit stations

All MiWay routes are wheelchair-accessible.

A Mississauga Flyer D800 bus meeting a TTC bus at Long Branch Loop in 1987

Location	Routes	Other connections
Clarkson	13, 14/14A, 23, 29, 45/45A, 110	Oakville Transit
Cooksville	4, 28, 38, 53	2, 103 (at Hurontario Street)
Dixie	no direct bus connection	5 (nearest on-street route)
Erindale	no direct bus connection	6, 26 (at Burnhamthorpe Road) 9, 38/38A (at Creditview Road)
Hurontario & 407 Park and ride	17, 53	Brampton Transit
Kipling	1/1C, 3, 11, 20, 26, 35, 70, 71, 76, 101/101A, 108, 109	TTC connection available at Kipling station
Lisgar	38/38A	Brampton Transit, Milton Transit
Long Branch Long Branch TTC Loop	5, 23	TTC
Malton	30	18, 42 (at Derry Road) Brampton Transit (at Derry Road)
Meadowvale	90	44 (at Aquitaine Avenue)
Port Credit	2, 8, 14/14A, 23
Streetsville	9	44 (at Queen Street)

Operations

Operations are funded by the city's municipal government, which allocates tax revenues to the transit operator. In 2022, the city allocated almost $90 million for Miway's budget.^[9]

Services

TTC-contracted route

Only one Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) route, 52B/52D Lawrence West, is operated by the TTC by contract on behalf of the City of Mississauga. The fare payment method is the same as for regular MiWay buses; via a Presto card, cash, or in some cases, a MiWay special purpose ticket, and transfers to connecting MiWay buses are included. A TTC youth, senior or student ticket or token, depending on the category that the passenger falls into, can also be used, but TTC-only Presto tickets cannot be used to pay the MiWay fare(s). A regular TTC fare is charged if continuing into, and the MiWay fare is charged for passengers riding from Toronto, with Toronto Pearson International Airport set as the boundary.

From 2002 to 2010, another route 32B Eglinton West, operated to Explorer Drive in a similar arrangement.

Route		Direction and termini				Accessible	Operates	Extra fare required
52B	Lawrence West	EB	To Lawrence station via Lawrence West station	WB	To Westwood Mall		Monday through Friday	West of Pearson Airport
52D					To Victory Crescent / McNaughton Avenue		Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays

Rapid transit

Future routes

Map of rapid transit in Mississauga in 2030; showing the existing Mississauga Transitway, and the under-construction Hurontario LRT, which will extend into Brampton. Also shown is the Line 5 Eglinton LRT, which will run primarily underground across Toronto but will have one station in Mississauga connecting to the eastern end of the transitway at Renforth station

Light rail transit

Main article: Hurontario LRT

Construction of the Hurontario LRT in December 2022

Mississauga will be served by a 19 km light rail transit (LRT) route on Hurontario Street, running north from Port Credit GO Station and extending beyond the city limits into Brampton to terminate at Steeles Avenue.^[10] The line will link Port Credit, the City Centre, and the south end of Brampton in response to increasing congestion and anticipated high growth in the corridor.^[11] Construction began in 2020, and the line is projected to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2024.^[12] It will replace MiExpress route 103 Hurontario Express.

The LRT will connect to two GO Transit rail lines (Milton line at Cooksville GO Station and Lakeshore West line at Port Credit GO Station), and other rapid transit lines including Züm Steeles, Züm Main, and the Mississauga Transitway).

Toronto Subway

Main article: Line 5 Eglinton § Eglinton West LRT

In addition to the Hurontario LRT, Toronto's Line 5 Eglinton is being extended to meet the Mississauga Transitway's Renforth station, bringing the Toronto Subway into Mississauga. It is expected to be completed by 2030 or 2031. A later phase will extend the line further to Pearson Airport and a future Airport transit hub.^[13]

Dundas Street BRT

An additional BRT Line is proposed to be built along Dundas Street. The Dundas Street bus rapid transit line is an on-street route that is tentatively proposed to run along the Dundas Street corridor between Kipling Subway Station in Toronto and Ridgeway Drive in west Mississauga and continue west to Waterdown via Oakville and Burlington.^[14]

Accessibility

MiWay operates low-floor, wheelchair-accessible buses. The last high-floor bus was retired on December 1, 2011. A separate transit service for the disabled called Transhelp is operated by the Peel Regional Municipality.

Schedules

Mississauga Transit's paper "Ride Schedules" were discontinued in 2004. From 2005 onward, all timetables were only available from the system's website.

MiWay provides up-to-date bus schedules via their CityLink telephone service. In November 2005 MiWay inaugurated a schedule finder on their website, called Click 'n Ride,^[15] with information specific to each bus stop.

Fares

As of May 2023, MiWay's cash fare is $4.00 for riders aged 13 to 64 and $1.00 for riders aged 65 and older with valid senior photo identification. Customers can also pay their MiWay bus fare by credit card and the current adult cash fare price is deducted.^[16] Presto cards have been accepted throughout the entire MiWay system since May 30, 2011.^[17] Since July 29, 2019, riders can also use their Presto cards to pay both their MiWay and Toronto Transit Commission fares on TTC-operated bus routes 52B and 52D Lawrence West operating between Mississauga (Westwood Mall or McNaughton) and Toronto (Lawrence Station). Credit and debit cards including those loaded on mobile wallets are accepted on the Presto reader as of August 11, 2022. A fare of $4.00 is deducted (regardless of age).^[18] Children ages 0 to 12 can ride all MiWay bus routes fare-free by travelling with a fare-paying customer. Children travelling alone, even though they can ride fare-free, must tap on with their "child" Presto card on the Presto fare device when boarding.

Cash-paying customers can ask the bus driver for a printed paper transfer after depositing a cash fare into the fare box. For customers paying a single-ride fare by Presto card or credit or debit card, an electronic transfer is automatically stored on their card after their initial tap-on.

Transfers are valid for two hours in any direction, including transfers to and from Brampton Transit, Oakville Transit, Milton Transit and York Regional Transit from the time of issue.^[19]

Presto card fares:

Other fares and fees:

Fleet/garages

Transit Enforcement Services

Mississauga Transit Enforcement Officers are members of the City's Corporate Security Team. They are designated as Municipal Law Enforcement Officers and are responsible for:

- Patrolling the MiWay system
- Maintaining the integrity of the fare system by conducting inspections in fare-access areas
- Deterring crime and anti-social behaviour
- Maintaining a presence at City Centre Transit Terminal
- Providing customer service throughout the system
- Providing emergency first aid where applicable
- Enforcing City of Mississauga Transit By-Law 425-03 on Transit properties
- Liaising with other Transit Enforcement Agencies (Metrolinx Special Constables, TTC Special Constables)

Officers can be identified by their dark coloured uniforms that bare the crest of a Mississauga Municipal Law Enforcement Officer. Their fleet consists of Ford Escape Hybrids with the MiWay corporate logo and "TRANSIT ENFORCEMENT" written on all sides.

^[26]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to MiWay.

• Official website
• Peter McLaughlin's Mississauga Bus Drawings
• Drawings and photos of Mississauga Transit buses
• Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1572