GO Transit opens the door to the ‘home of the double decker bus’ and first green transit facility in the GTA

TORONTO, March 3, 2009 /CNW/ – GO Transit has opened a new environmentally friendly, state-of-the-art bus facility in Streetsville that will benefit not only the environment but also GO’s bus customers. The Streetsville GO Bus Facility houses and services over 200 buses, including GO’s double decker bus fleet. It opened for service on Saturday, February 28.

"The new Streetsville facility will have a great benefit to GO’s bus operations, with very little impact on the environment," said GO Transit Managing Director Gary McNeil. "Building smart, green facilities that can grow with us is integral to our success and part of our future plans."

With the opening of the Streetsville facility, GO is now able to store and service hundreds of buses in the west region. By limiting the distance buses travel to get to the west region, GO will save on fuel and fleet mileage, and minimize maintenance requirements. Storing buses in multiple locations also helps improve operations for delivering reliable service to customers. As GO ridership continues to grow, the Streetsville Bus Facility has the capability to expand to meet demand.

"Expanding our bus facilities to the west gives us more space, more flexibility, and more control of our operations," said Paul Finnerty, Director of Bus Services. "As GO’s ridership and reach grows, GO customers can continue to expect convenient, reliable GO Bus service."

This facility was designed and built to silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, as recognized by the Canada Green
Building Council, and will be the first LEED transit building in the GTA. Balancing human and environmental health, the development of this facility took sustainable site development, water efficiency, energy efficiency, material selection, and indoor environmental quality all into consideration.

For GO information, the public can call 416.869.3200, 1.888.GET ON GO (438.6646), or 1.800.387.3652 TTY.

GO Transit is the Province of Ontario’s interregional public transit system linking Toronto with the surrounding regions of the Greater Toronto
Area (GTA). GO carries nearly 55 million passengers a year in an extensive network of train and bus services that spans over 8,000 square kilometres.

Photos from Flickr

Editor’s note: Sorry Robin for the delay in returning your call.