As part of the multibillion-dollar expansion of the transit network across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, Metrolinx has embarked on the development of many Transit Oriented Communities (TOCs) at new and existing GO Train stations. Access was contracted to identify opportunities to better integrate bus facilities at TOCs, and to guide Metrolinx on planning approaches that address bus and TOC integration at complex sites.

In close collaboration with Metrolinx staff, our team defined the goals, identified constraints, and explored opportunities associated with integrated bus terminals. We developed a toolkit of concepts for bus terminal integration, based on an international review of best practices and our own extensive experience in programming, scoping, planning, and designing terminals.

We tested the toolkit by applying it to a representative station from Metrolinx’s portfolio, engaging with GO Bus operations staff to confirm the operational and physical requirements for the concepts.

In another project, Access supported the Metrolinx Sponsors office to ‘re-boot’ the design process for a major bus terminal that will be part of a new subway station and TOC. Access planned and facilitated a series of progressive integrated design workshops between Metrolinx teams, municipal stakeholders and the Metrolinx design contractors to arrive at shared project outcomes and an improved design concept that better supported the outcomes.    

Through these efforts, Access has provided Metrolinx with a toolkit to develop integrated bus facilities to better deliver transit and TOC outcomes, and an integrated planning process model that can be applied to other challenging stations across the transit network.