Viva Green

Viva Green is a Viva Bus Rapid Transit line in Vandehogan, Gravenhurst. The line is a suburb residential - to - industrial park express bus route, providing a convenient route for residents in Downtown Vandehogan to the suburb industrial park.

The proposal of Viva Green's routing will mostly follow the current routing for GRT route 106, with phase 1 spanning from Vandehogan Terminal through the Vandehogan Industrial Park to Maverick Vivastation. This phase was opened on February 17, 2010, provided that the ridership report of Route 106 shows a suitability for Viva Green.

Phase 2 is proposed to link the route all the way into the Mayos Industrial Park area. This phase was originally planned to open up in Spring 2011, shortly after Viva Green has completed its phase 1. It has since been deferred to Spring 2013.

The current version of Viva Green suggests the line to be ran during rush hours only. During off-peak hours, the line will be substituted with Gravenhurst Regional Transit's Route 106, on a 30-minute frequency. During peak hours when Viva Green is operating, Route 106 will serve as a shuttle bus serving helping commuters to transfer to Viva Green. It will operate between Meadows Valley GO Station to Vandehogan Terminal, mostly keeping its current alignment. There will also be Route 106A, also serving as a shuttle bus, connecting commuters from Meadows Valley GO Station to Maverick Vivastation via Vandehogan Airport Terminal.

Phase 1 of the route was proposed to be opened on February 14, 2010. This was noted on all official documents of Viva Green. However, since February 14, 15, and 16 were Chinese New Year holidays, the actual day when Viva Green began its operation on February 17, 2010.

There are 8 stations that are currently under construction, or exisiting stations that will serve Viva Green:


 * Bolded stops imply major stop; italicized stops imply stop under construction.

Frequency
Vehicles on the  Viva Green  line operate on a 15-minute frequency during weekday rush hours only (that is, 7AM - 10AM and 3PM - 7PM).

Controversy
Viva Green has been in the plans for over 5 years, but did not officially been approved due to many rejection voice by residents in the Korean Town area. They dislike that Viva Green's routing passes through Kim Way and Kathryn Gate, bringing traffic to the area. The public transit planning board had responded by rerouting the route around sensative areas, and use a conventional transit route to test the routings. As well, the board had also requested road widening for Kim Way and Kathryn Gate. A questionnaire is sent to the affected residents about the opinion in Spring 2009 after these steps had been taken. The outcome was 57% accepting Viva Green's routing, and 32% disagreeing (with 11% voids, discrepancies, or unreturned questionnaire). The routing was finally published in the Summer 2009 route map, announcing Viva Green's opening in Winter 2009/2010.