Mayor Hazel McCallion Awarded For Excellence by Canadian Urban Transit Association

Today, Mayor Hazel McCallion received the Canadian Urban Transit Association’s (CUTA) Excellence Award for improving transit in Mississauga.

“This award is a great honour and I am very proud of the progress we have made with transit in Mississauga,” said Mayor Hazel McCallion. “It takes many years and a great deal of support to build a good transit system. The Mississauga Transitway, our first rapid transit project, opened this month.  The transitway is changing the way people travel in our city. Our Hurontario-Main Light Rail Transit project is another example of what is to come. This north/south rail line will work with the transitway and connect Mississauga and Brampton.”

Background

Mayor Hazel McCallion – Transit Development
As head of Council for 36 years Mayor McCallion together with Council:

• Oversaw the growth of MiWay (formerly Mississauga Transit) to the third largest municipal transit system in Ontario.
• Advocated for transit funding as mayor and as former president and vice president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. Today, both federal and provincial gas tax programs are permanent for municipal transit.
• Ensured the majority of federal gas tax went to grow MiWay’s maintenance and storage facilities, transit fleet and a fully accessible bus fleet.
• Helped create the “Big Move”- the 25 year plan to improve how the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area moves as a member of the Metrolinx Board of Directors in 2007.
• Supported the City’s first rapid transit project. The first phase of the Mississauga Transitway opened on November 10, 2014 and service began on November 17, 2014.
• Supported the Hurontario/Main Light Rail Transit project – one of Metrolinx’s “Next Wave” of projects. The project will connect Mississauga from Port Credit into Brampton. It will also connect three GO Transit rail lines in the Region of Peel.
• Advocated for consistent fares and services in the GTA.
• Continues to promote regional transit to support business and to provide more transit options.

MiWay Facts

• MiWay operates 84 routes with 463 buses.
• Customers board a MiWay bus over 50 million times per year. In 1974 eight routes operated with 54 buses and carried over four million customers.
• MiWay serves a growing population of 752,000 in an area close to 179 square kilometers.
• MiWay operates a total of 84 routes: six MiExpress, 64 MiLocal and 14 school routes. There are approximately 3,673 MiWay bus stops and 980 bus shelters.
• Weekday passenger boardings increased from 156,000 in 2010 to 175,000 in 2013.
• MiWay is the third largest municipal transit service in Ontario. During peak periods, a maximum of 351 buses are on-street. At off peak periods, a minimum of 178 are servicing routes.
• In November 2014 MiWay opened the first four stations of the Mississauga Transitway, a rapid transit project. When fully complete in 2017 the transitway will be part of a 100 km transit corridor eventually connecting municipalities from Oakville to Pickering. The Mississauga Transitway will complement and connect with local bus services, inter-regional transit and subway systems, linking high-density development and employment centres across the city.

Canadian Urban Transit Association

CUTA is a member-based association that links the transit industry from coast-to-coast as the collective voice of public transit in Canada. Our members include transit systems, businesses, government agencies and affiliate members who benefit from our training, research, data, advocacy, events, technical services and more.
CUTA’s extensive network of national and international associations and stakeholders builds active partnerships designed to strengthen the industry and build support for public transit and integrated urban mobility.