Greater Sudbury Transit - Overview

Overview

Greater Sudbury Transit features over 90 buses on 41 routes servicing the city centre and outlying neighbourhoods such as Capreol, Chelmsford, Lively and Falconbridge. The average yearly ridership is approximately 3.7 million passengers. Greater Sudbury Transit also provides door-to-door services for persons with physical disabilities known as Handi-Transit.

The bus fleet consists of 40' low floor buses from Orion with the Orion VI, NovaBus LFS and New Flyer D40LF buses that are in active service. 60' articulating buses will soon arrive in the Greater Sudbury Transit fleet soon after the new larger bus garage is constructed. The articulated buses would be primarily used during rush hour periods only and help ease congestion on the city's busiest routes. Routes 301, 401, 500 & 703 are the routes that would see the use of these buses. they may even be used for Shuttle service between the Transit Terminal and Science North for the Canada Day and New Year's Eve celebrations.

As of August 2010, the Greater Sudbury Transit bus fleet is compromised entirely of low floor "wheelchair accessible" buses - making Greater Sudbury Transit the first Transit Authority in Northern Ontario and all of Ontario to have an "Easier Access" bus fleet.

In 2006 Greater Sudbury Transit introduced five 40' coach-style buses from Nova Bus into its fleet. These buses service the city's longest routes, such as routes 701-Lively, 702-Azilda/Chelmsford, and 703-Val Caron/Hanmer/Capreol, providing increased comfort for those riders travelling long distances. These buses, which are described as having a "suburban-style interior", luggage racks, LED reading lights above each seat, and comfortable bucket seats with added cushioning.

Most routes meet at the Transit Centre in downtown Sudbury (the 103-Coniston and 303-Garson/Falconbridge depart from the New Sudbury Centre Monday to Saturday), and service is provided from 6:15 am to 12:30 am 7 days a week 363 days a year. Bus service is limited to 6:15 pm on Christmas Eve. There is no bus service on Christmas Day. Private charters can also be arranged.

Greater Sudbury Transit also operates a Trans-Cab service for any outlying area which does not receive bus service (including Long Lake, Richard Lake, Radar Base, Skead, Wahnapitae, Whitefish & Dowling which provides a taxi from the individual's home to a transit bus stop.

As of December 1, 2009, Greater Sudbury Transit buses feature a fully operational Audio/Visual Stop Announcement System for passengers who are Hearing and or Visually impaired. The Stop Announcement System also helps nondisabled passengers who are not familiar with a bus route of the transit system if they are not sure where it is they need to get off at to reach their destination.

As of April 12, 2012, Great Sudbury Transit has guaranteed seven bus routes (101, 182, 301, 501, 701, 702, 703) that will always be equipped with bike racks. Cyclists wishing to bring their bikes on other routes are permitted to bring their bike on-board according to the driver's digression (e.g. not during rush-hour etc.). City staff have indicated that following the construction to the new transit garage there will theoretically be sufficient space within to equip the whole fleet with bike racks. There is not enough space within the current garage to accommodate the additional 0.8 m required per bus with a bike rack.