A brand new state of the art GO bus transit hub opened to the public today.
The two-level terminal is located next to Union Station.
"It's fully indoors [...] but something that's unique - it is the only station of its kind in Canada, perhaps in North America that uses the system we're going to use to get people moving as quickly as possible. They are going to use - very similar to an airport: You go to a zone and then when the bus arrives, they pick a gate - the first gate that's available; then they let you in through that gate," said Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins.
Heather Seaman
The entrance is located on the northeast corner of Bay and Lakeshore.
If you're coming from the subway, you can take the indoor pedestrian bridge over Bay Street that connects to the bus terminal from Scotiabank Arena.
Construction on the terminal started in June 2017. It's part of the CIBC Square develepment.
"131 million [dollars] and on budget. We spent a further 20-odd million [dollars] on customization of the facility and creating an automated vehicle-calling system, that allows the buses to come in and automatically dock in bays. All of it is on budget. There's always the challenges - a little bit of a quirk and a wrinkle here and there - but we've delivered it [...] and we're very excited about this facility," said Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster.
The old bus terminal, located near the southeast corner of Bay and Front is blocked off and will be demolished.
Heather Seaman