Viva Blue, or the Finch/Richmond Hill/Newmarket line, is a line on the Viva

Viva (bus rapid transit)

Viva is a bus rapid transit service operating in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Viva service is integrated with York Region Transit's local bus service to operate as one regional transit system providing seamless transit service across York Region and connections to northern Toronto.Viva was...

 bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit

Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...

 system in York Region, north of Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It is operated by Connex Transportation, under contract from the Region of York.

List of all stations

There are twenty-five stations on the Viva Blue line (from north to south):

Viva Blue
Name	Opening Date	City / Town	Zone	Major Connections
Newmarket Terminal	November 20, 2005	Newmarket Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...	North	GO Transit GO Transit GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...
Eagle
Mulock
Savage	September 6, 2009
Orchard Heights	November 20, 2005	Aurora Aurora, Ontario Aurora is an affluent town in York Region, approximately 20 km north of Toronto. It is partially situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario.Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto and surrounding communities.In the...
Wellington
Golf Links
Henderson
Bloomington		Aurora Aurora, Ontario Aurora is an affluent town in York Region, approximately 20 km north of Toronto. It is partially situated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, and is a part of the Greater Toronto Area and Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario.Many Aurora residents commute to Toronto and surrounding communities.In the... /Richmond Hill Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...	Fare-Change
King		Richmond Hill Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...
Jefferson	November 16, 2008		South
19th-Gamble	November 20, 2005
Bernard	September 4, 2005
Elgin Mills
Crosby
Major Mackenzie
Weldrick
16th-Carrville
Bantry-Scott
Richmond Hill Centre				Viva Pink Viva Pink Viva Pink, or the Finch-Richmond Hill-Unionville line, is a bus rapid transit line in York Region, north of Toronto, Canada.There are eighteen stations on the Viva Pink line, plus one proposed :... , Viva Purple Viva Purple Viva Purple, or the York University/Richmond Hill/Cornell line, is a line on the Viva bus rapid transit system in York Region, north of Toronto, Canada... , GO Transit
Royal Orchard		Markham Markham, Ontario Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census... /Vaughan Vaughan, Ontario Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...		Viva Pink Viva Pink Viva Pink, or the Finch-Richmond Hill-Unionville line, is a bus rapid transit line in York Region, north of Toronto, Canada.There are eighteen stations on the Viva Pink line, plus one proposed :...
Centre				Viva Pink Viva Pink Viva Pink, or the Finch-Richmond Hill-Unionville line, is a bus rapid transit line in York Region, north of Toronto, Canada.There are eighteen stations on the Viva Pink line, plus one proposed :...
Clark				Viva Pink Viva Pink Viva Pink, or the Finch-Richmond Hill-Unionville line, is a bus rapid transit line in York Region, north of Toronto, Canada.There are eighteen stations on the Viva Pink line, plus one proposed :...
Steeles				Viva Pink Viva Pink Viva Pink, or the Finch-Richmond Hill-Unionville line, is a bus rapid transit line in York Region, north of Toronto, Canada.There are eighteen stations on the Viva Pink line, plus one proposed :...
Finch Station		Toronto Toronto Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...		Viva Pink Viva Pink Viva Pink, or the Finch-Richmond Hill-Unionville line, is a bus rapid transit line in York Region, north of Toronto, Canada.There are eighteen stations on the Viva Pink line, plus one proposed :... , Yonge subway Finch (TTC) Finch is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 5714 Yonge Street between Finch Avenue East and West... , GO Transit, Brampton Transit Brampton Transit Brampton Transit is public transport bus operator for the City of Brampton in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and within the Greater Toronto Area in Ontario, Canada. Brampton Transit began operations in 1974....

Service from Finch Station to Bernard began on September 4, 2005. Service north of Bernard to Newmarket Terminal began November 20, 2005.

Passengers travelling between north of Bloomington and south of King must pay a two-zone fare; all others, including those starting or stopping at one of those stations, only pay for one zone.

There is also a Viva Blue Short Turn route operating from Finch Station to Bernard, operating entirely at peak periods only. According to the original environmental assessments, it is also known as the Finch

Finch (TTC)

Finch is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 5714 Yonge Street between Finch Avenue East and West...

-Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill, Ontario

Richmond Hill is a town located in Southern Ontario, Canada in the central portion of York Region, Ontario. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, being located about halfway between Toronto and Lake Simcoe...

 line.

vivaNext

In the future, the Viva Blue line, as the Yonge Street transit corridor, may have its own subway from Richmond Hill Centre south to Finch Station

Finch (TTC)

Finch is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 5714 Yonge Street between Finch Avenue East and West...

, as part of the Toronto Transit Commission

Toronto Transit Commission

-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...

's Yonge subway extension. North of Richmond Hill Centre, Viva Blue will have its own dedicated rapidway for most of the route from Richmond Hill Centre north to Green Lane, and along Davis Drive and Green Lane east from Yonge Street to Highway 404 and East Gwillimbury GO Station, respectively, enabling VIVA buses to quickly pass through traffic. Eventually, the entire portion of rapidway will also be upgraded to allow light rail transit

Light rail

Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...

 on this corridor.

Originally, the southern portion of the Yonge Street rapidway was to be implemented from 19th Avenue to Finch Station, but since the announcement of MoveOntario 2020

MoveOntario 2020

MoveOntario 2020 is a plan proposed by the Government of Ontario that would fund 52 rapid-transit projects throughout the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in Ontario, Canada.-History:...

 by the Ontario provincial government, proposals of the portion of rapidway from Richmond Hill Centre to Finch Station have been shelved for the subway extension on Yonge Street. While ridership on the Richmond Hill portion of Viva Blue is high for a suburban transit system, capacity constraints on the existing subway system prevent the Yonge Subway line from being extended into York Region. Alternatively (or concurrently), GO Transit plans to run express trains between Union Station in downtown Toronto, and its Langstaff train station adjacent to YRT's Richmond Hill Centre terminal daily.

The initial phase of vivaNext brings a rapidway along the portion of Viva Blue from Richmond Hill Centre to 19th Avenue/Gamble Road and from Mulock Drive to Davis Drive on Yonge Street, as well as one along Davis Drive east from Yonge Street to Highway 404. Stations along the rapidway will be lengthened and include heated shelters protected from the elements. Later phases will amalgamate the two separate rapidways into one continuous rapidway along Yonge Street from Richmond Hill Centre newly extended to Green Lane, bring a rapidway along Green Lane east from Yonge Street to East Gwillimbury GO Station, as well as extend the Yonge subway from Finch Station to Richmond Hill Centre. Stations along the subway would conform to the pre-existing subway system.

The list of stations are as follows, from north to south (on Yonge Street), and from west to east (on Davis Drive and Green Lane):

Along the Davis Drive rapidway (from Yonge Street)

• Parkside Drive/Longford Drive
• Main Street
• Southlake Regional Health Centre
  Southlake Regional Health Centre
  Southlake Regional Health Centre is a hospital located in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada.A private hospital was founded in 1932 and on August 22 the province granted a Charter of Incorporation for the York County Hospital Corporation. In 1924, it became a public hospital. In 1946, the Margaret...
  
  
• Huron Heights Drive
• Leslie Street
• Highway 404

Along the Yonge Street rapidway

• Green Lane
• London Road
• Newmarket Terminal (Davis Drive)
• Eagle Street
• Mulock Drive
• Savage Road South (opened ahead of rapidway in September 2009)
• Orchard Heights Drive
• Wellington Street
• Golf Links Road
• Henderson Drive
• Bloomington Road
  York Regional Road 40
  King's Highway 47, also known as Highway 47 and locally as Stouffville Road, Toronto Street and Brock Street was a provincial highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The mostly rural route travelled through the towns of Whitchurch-Stouffville, Goodwood, and Uxbridge on its east–west path...
  
  
• Regatta Avenue
• King Road
• Jefferson Sideroad
• 19th Avenue/Gamble Road
• Bernard Avenue
• Elgin Mills Road
• Crosby Avenue
• Major Mackenzie Drive
• Weldrick Road
• 16th Avenue/Carrville Road
• Bantry Avenue/Scott Drive
• Richmond Hill Centre

Along the Yonge Street subway

• Richmond Hill Centre
• Langstaff/Longbridge
• Royal Orchard
• Clark
• Steeles
  Steeles Avenue
  Steeles Avenue is an east-west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of York Region, Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western Greater Toronto Area from Milborough Townline in Halton Region east to the Scarborough-Pickering limit. It runs for within...
  
  
• Cummer/Drewry
• Finch
  Finch (TTC)
  Finch is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the subway system of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 5714 Yonge Street between Finch Avenue East and West...
  
  

• Newly Introduced Stations
• Stations to Be Upgraded in Future Phases

An online survey asked riders what stations they would like built along this portion of the subway. The station at Royal Orchard Boulevard was picked out of two possible locations serving the Thornhill's historic district, the other location being at Centre Street. This was because the station would have a decreased impact on the historic district.

Service frequency

As of February 27, 2011:

• Newmarket Terminal to Bernard: every 8 minutes on peak periods
• Bernard to Finch Station: every 5 minutes on peak periods

In 2010, YRT introduced a new service during peak hours that bypasses the Richmond Hill Centre terminal to save up to 10 minutes of travel time, intended to replace GO Transit's cancelled limited-stop express service. Buses signed "VIVA Blue A" run southbound in the morning rush hour and northbound in the afternoon rush hour, approximately every 12 minutes.

At rush hour from Richmond Hill Centre to Finch Station, Viva Blue interlines with Viva Pink, providing even higher frequencies (YRT advertises 3.5 minute average)

Saturday service- every 10 minutes
Sunday service- every 14 minutes

Travel times

As of September 3, 2006:

• Newmarket Terminal to Bernard: 33 minutes on peak periods, 28 minutes on off-peak periods
• Bernard to Richmond Hill Centre: 20 minutes on peak periods, 15 minutes on off-peak periods
• Richmond Hill Centre to Finch Station: 18 minutes on peak periods, 16 minutes on off-peak periods

These results will vary depending on the traffic volume and weather.