York University station entrance building prior to the station's opening in November 2017
The official groundbreaking ceremony for the Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension (TYSSE) was held on November 27, 2009;[3] however, tunnelling operations did not commence until June 2011.[4]
The first stage of construction for the station began in May 2011. On October 11, 2011, one of the geostructural drilling rigs on site collapsed and killed Kyle Knox, an operator working for a contractor on the project, Anchor Shoring. The incident injured five other workers.[5]
The project, including York University station, was initially expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2015 but was delayed to the fourth quarter of 2016;[6] ultimately, the station opened on December 17, 2017.[7]
Before the extension opened, more than 1,400 Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) buses served the campus every weekday at the York University Bus Loop, in addition to hundreds more from regional services: GO Transit, York Region Transit (YRT), Brampton Transit's Züm, and Greyhound. The opening of the subway resulted in a greatly reduced number of buses entering campus as the 196 York University Rocket bus route was eliminated and other routes such as the 195 Jane Rocket (now 935 Jane Express) and 199B Finch Rocket (now 939B Finch Express) were altered to terminate at Pioneer Village and Finch West stations instead, leaving only the 41 Keele and 106 Sentinel routes servicing the university grounds directly.[8] Züm buses are the only regional buses still serving the campus today.
This station, along with the five other TYSSE stations, were the first to be opened without collectors, although booths were installed as per original station plans.[9] It was also among the first eight stations to discontinue sales of legacy TTC fare media (tokens and tickets). Presto vending machines were available at its opening to sell Presto cards and to load funds or monthly passes onto them.[10] On May 3, 2019, this station became one of the first ten stations to sell Presto tickets via Presto vending machines.[11]
Description
Artwork Piston Effect produces a lighting display when a train passes.
The station lies at the east end the Harry W. Arthurs Common on the west side of Ian MacDonald Boulevard.[12] The university's main buildings lie to the west; Seneca College's York campus is found to the south, and the Aviva Centre to the west. The station was built underground, lying on a northwest–southeast axis. The line approaches from Finch West station along Keele Street, then bends towards the northwest to meet the station.
Concourse level and faregates
Engineering consultants Arup and architecture firm Foster and Partners designed the station, which has a boomerang shape with entrances at the north and south ends of the structure. The station incorporates themes first explored in underground stations for Canary Wharf in London and the Bilbao Metro in Spain, which were also designed by Foster and Partners. Its design considers the surrounding public space and uses natural light to intuitively guide passengers from the entrance down to the platforms.[13][14]
The north entrance contains stairs and escalators down to the concourse level and then more stairs to the fare gates. Besides stairs, the south entrance provides a barrier-free route consisting of an elevator to the concourse level plus a ramp to the fare gates.[12] Natural light flows through the concourse down to the platform level.[15] The station has a metal cool roof to reflect heat from sun rays.[16] The fare-paid area features a Gateway Newstands kiosk.[17]
Artwork
"Piston Effect" consists of a series of glass panels on the west walls at concourse level and above the northbound track. Behind the panels are liquid crystal displays (LCDs) that detect the passage of a train and then produce a lighting display in various tones of black and white.[18][19] It was designed by British-based Jason Bruges Studio, who specialize in kinetic and light art.[19]
Surface connections
Toronto Transit Commission
To reduce bus traffic on campus, the station has no attached bus terminal and routes still serving the campus make direct connections to the subway at Pioneer Village station on Steeles Avenue at the north end of the university grounds, after being moved from the campus TTC bus loop when the subway opened. Transfers are required to connect to surface routes on-street:
A branch of the Brampton Transit-operated Züm Queen bus route serves the station and university campus from the regional bus loading area (now mostly vacant as it is now the sole non-TTC route to do so (see section below table)) on Ian Macdonald Boulevard, about 200 metres (660 ft) north of the station entrance. When the subway station opened in 2017, there were no free transfers between Züm (or YRT) buses and the TTC. This changed on February 26, 2024, when a GTA-wide fare integration program was implemented, allowing free transfers between TTC and other GTA transit agencies.[20] However, the policy only applies to payment made with Presto, credit, or debit cards.[21]
The York University Vivastation, which has since been removed after YRT moved its bus connections to Pioneer Village station on September 2, 2018
On September 2, 2018, all YRT bus services were moved to Pioneer Village station. On January 7, 2019, GO Transit also ended service to the campus and station, with buses connecting to the more distant Highway 407 station,[22][23] leaving Brampton Transit's route 501 Züm Queen as the last non-TTC service serving the campus. The main branch of the route was cut back to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station in September 2018, leaving only the express A/C branches to serve the campus. These express branches were later discontinued indefinitely in March and April 2020, coinciding with service reductions in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in no regional buses operating to and from the campus for the next two and a half years, until the 501C branch was restored with limited weekday service on September 6, 2022.[24][25]
Between January 2018 and March 2020, there was a $1.50 fare discount for GO Transit riders paying with Presto, transferring to or from the subway (a TTC system-wide policy with GO).[26][27][28]
Prior to the fare-integration policy, there was an inactive proposal to eliminate the double (YRT plus TTC) fare for passengers arriving at the York University campus from Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, Highway 407, or Pioneer Village stations in or bordering York Region who transferred from connecting YRT buses. A memorandum of understanding between the TTC and YRT stated "Upon commencement of revenue services operations of the [TYSSE], York Region agrees not to operate or permit the operation of public transit services directly onto the York University campus." This assumed the elimination of the double fare for those riding a YRT bus to the stations in York Region and continuing by subway to the campus. The plan was to use a third party technology system to reimburse one of the two fares, though such a solution has not yet been implemented.[29][15] Despite the continued lack of fare integration, YRT stopped serving the campus after September 2, 2018, forcing passengers to walk from the Pioneer Village Terminal or pay a TTC fare to take the subway one stop to reach it.[30]
^"Subway ridership, 2019"(PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived(PDF) from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2023. This table shows the typical number of customer-trips made on each subway on an average weekday and the typical number of customers travelling to and from each station platform on an average weekday.
^"Schedule Status Update"(PDF). Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension Project. Toronto Transit Commission. October 24, 2012. Archived from the original(PDF) on December 19, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
^A. Byford, CEO (March 26, 2015). "Toronto–York Spadina Subway Extension – Schedule and Budget Change"(PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. Archived(PDF) from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2015. The TYSSE project is currently 70 per cent complete. However, it has been determined that the publicly stated opening date of the end of 2016 and the approved budget are not achievable. This report recommends that a comprehensive project "reset" involving a new third-party project manager be undertaken to deliver the project by December 31st, 2017
^"TTC Bus Route Changes". Toronto Transit Commission. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
^Toronto, Connecting with; Design, The World of Great. "Station to Station". The York University Magazine. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
