Canada’s fastest-growing transit system is in the Greater Toronto Area, according to the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA).

This GTA transit agency welcomed its 10-millionth rider in December 2006, and also in 2006 led all other Canadian transit systems by increasing its ridership by 12.4 per cent more than 2005. (The national average was 3.4 per cent in the first half of 2006, making this agency’s growth four times the national average.) The 12.4 per cent increase followed 30-per-cent increases in service hours in 2004 and 2005.

If you haven’t guessed, we’re talking about Brampton Transit.

In 2005, Brampton Transit increased service by about 25 per cent through a new grid-based route system. The service change altered 22 of the existing 30 routes and added more routes to serve riders better. Brampton Transit added a total of 51 buses to its fleet since 2004 to introduce these service increases. New low-floor buses resulted in Brampton Transit increasing its accessible service to 58 per cent of its total trips.

CUTA’s 2006 National Transit Corporate Recognition Award recognized Brampton Transit’s customer-service focus when it enhanced its service in 2005.