GO buses have a new home, here's what it's like

By: Jamie Kauri

The New Terminal

GO buses got a new terminal at Union Station on Dec. 5, 2020. The terminal is located on the ground and second floors of the new CIBC Square building (the south tower) which is still under construction.

Because of the construction and lack of signage, I saw that several passengers were getting

lost making wrong turns and going in loops trying to find the terminal. I also had a very challenging time finding my way to the entrance. I’m certain that within a month, riders will be able to find their way. Nitish Bissonauth, a spokesperson for Metrolinx, told me that installation of signage is still underway and that GO transit staff will be on site for the next little while to help customers find their way However, once inside, whether you’re on the first or second floor of the terminal, getting around is quite easy, as is finding information on bus departures displayed on the 60 plus screens inside the terminal. Although there were a number of benches at the old Union Station Bus Terminal (USBT), most of them were outside where passengers were exposed to the weather. The new terminal is fully indoors, providing a better waiting experience for riders.

The new terminal also features an expensive system called Terminal Management System, or TMS for short. TMS tells drivers which gate to go to upon entering the terminal. Bissonauth said that USBT is the only bus terminal in North America to use the system. He also told me that even though the system is expensive, Metrolinx feels it is worth the investment.

Metrolinx has also been talking about how the new terminal is designed to be similar to an airport where there are zones and gates that will only open when a bus is ready to pick up or drop off passengers.

Interior of the new terminal Credit: Metrolinx

I found the zones to be a good way of describing my location. Access to the platform is strictly restricted to people boarding and unboarding the bus. The bus platforms are separated from the waiting area by floor-to-ceiling glass walls spanning the length of the whole platform. Approximately six feet of the glass walls are frosted at the bottom. It’s too bad both riders and transit enthusiasts won’t be able to watch buses go by.

Each gate has sliding doors that can be controlled by the drivers. If a driver is ready for passengers to board, they unlock the door making a red light on the gate in the waiting area turn green and letting riders know the door is unlocked. If the door is locked, the gate displays a red light and the sliding doors won’t open even if you walk toward them.

Some of the amenities at the station are information desks on both the first and second levels, charging stations with rechargeable batteries that plug directly into your phone/tablet without a cable and Presto Card machines. Bissonauth also told me they are looking at plans to add food and beverage retailers in the future. An interesting fact about this terminal is that all buses are guided through the station by marshalls, or traffic controllers, once again similar to an airport.

The Old Bus Terminal

The old terminal off of Front St. opened to the public on March 17, 2003, four years before I

Old Union Station Bus Terminal Credit: Metrolinx

was born. It had seven platforms with an overhead canopy style roof to protect riders from rain and snow. The terminal also had an indoor waiting area that held a few benches, information desks, Ticket/Presto machines and a concession stand. The old terminal was much harder to access from the rest of Union Station than the new one. Riders had two choices to access the old terminal. They could go from the rail concourse up to platform 3, along platform 3 and back down again, out onto the bus platform. The other option was to go south from the intersection of Front and Bay streets on the east side.

Seventeen years later, in the early hours of Dec. 5, 2020, the last GO bus departed the old terminal. Demolition of the old terminal is expected to start shortly to advance construction of a new CIBC Tower that will connect to the new terminal via a park over the train platforms.

Video of capturing the last night of service at the old terminal.

What Would Be Nice Additions to the New Station

Some features that would be nice to see are more information screens that are at eye-level since a lot of them are extremely high up, forcing passengers to crane their necks. Bissonauth told me that not all the information screens have been installed. So hopefully, there will be more screens at a lower height over the next couple of weeks. Another addition would be softer seating similar to the seats in the renovated York Concourse at Union Station.