TORONTO, September 12, 2005 -- Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar visited York University today to experience firsthand what the Ontario government’s investment in transit means to the university and its students.

The university welcomed Minister Takhar, who announced that GO Transit has expanded its Highway 407 service between the Pickering GO Station and York University. The improved service means buses now run every half hour for most of the day, so that students will spend less time waiting for buses.

Located at the centre of the GTA, York University is already the largest bus node in the City of Toronto. Currently serviced by GO Transit, the TTC, York Region Transit and York’s new Viva rapid transit service, York attracts more than 1,200 buses a day. One-third of these are GO buses from the Highway 407 corridor.

Gary Brewer, Vice-President Finance and Administration at York, said the university is encouraged by the Ontario government’s ongoing efforts to improve transit to York. 

Right:Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar, Shamini Selvaratnam, Vice-President Education of the York Federation of Students, and Gary Brewer, York Vice-President Finance and Administration.

“While there is serious gridlock on the major roads in the northwest quadrant of the city, half of our 50,000 students ride public transit to York,” said Brewer. “We continue to work with all three levels of government to see the extension of the Spadina subway through York University and into York Region, which will provide a lasting solution.” He added, “We look forward, Minister, to your return to York to announce the subway extension.”

Shamini Selvaratnam, Vice-President Education of the York Federation of Students, told the Minister when she first started taking GO Transit to York several years ago, the bus left only once an hour. Increasing the service to every half hour has meant a great deal to her and to many other York students, she said. 

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city.  The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as 180,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 10 faculties and 21 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries.  This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation. 

-30-

For more information, contact:
Janice Walls, Media Relations, York University, 416-736-2100 x22101 / wallsj@yorku.ca