Compiled by Jeffrey Kay
With Additional Information by Peter Coulman

Public Transit on Yonge Street

• 1796 - Yonge Street opens between Lake Ontario and Lake Simcoe
• 1800 - 1880s - Stagecoach operations along Yonge Street
• 1849 - Burt Williams' horse-drawn omnibus service begins between St. Lawrence Hall and Yorkville Town Hall.
• 1861 - Yonge streetcar service within Toronto city limits (and Town of Yorkville) begins
• 1862 - Burt Williams' sells/shuts down omnibus service
• 1885 - The Metropolitan Railway (later Toronto & York) begins service on Yonge north of Toronto's City Limits, eventually reaching Lake Simcoe
• 1930 - North Yonge Railways replaces Lake Simcoe line, operates between Toronto's city limits and Richmond Hill
• 1948 - North Yonge Railways "temporarily" switches to bus operation due to power shortages.
• 1949 - North Yonge's "temporary" switch to buses becomes permanent.
• 1954 - Yonge Subway Opens between Eglinton and Union
• 1954 - DOWNTOWN bus, YONGE NIGHT bus and YONGE trolley bus start operations
• 1973 - Yonge subway extends to York Mills
• 1974 - Yonge subway extends to Finch
• 1977 - GO Transit takes over 59 NORTH YONGE bus
• 1989 - 27 DOWNTOWN and 97 YONGE merged into single route.
• 2003 - York Region Transit takes over GO Transit's Yonge 'C' Bus operations
• 2005 - York Region Transit establishes VIVA Bus Rapid Transit Service Between Finch Station and Newmarket
• 2012 - Bus rapid transit construction begins on Yonge in York Region
• 2020 - Rapidways for VIVA Blue service on Yonge open from Highway 7 to Major Mackenzie and Crosby to 19th Street in Richmond Hill, and from Savage-Sawmill to Davis Drive in Newmarket.
• 2031 - Possible opening of Yonge subway extension to Langstaff?

March 31, 1954

A new overnight bus service is launched on Yonge Street, providing transit service when the subway is closed, and replacing overnight service on the Yonge streetcar and Yonge trolley bus. Buses operate from the inner (south) loop at Glen Echo, south on Yonge and then west on Front, looping via north on University, east on Wellington and south on York. On Sunday mornings, buses continue to operate until the subway opens at 9 a.m.

September 1956

Assigned route number 99.

November 30, 1960

The south end loop is reversed with buses going north via York, west via Wellington and south via University.

March 1, 1963

With the demise of the DUPONT streetcar coincident with the opening of the UNIVERSITY subway line, service on 99 YONGE NIGHT is extended to serve the Ferry Docks, operating south on Yonge, west on Front and south on Bay before looping via west on Harbour, south on York and east on Queen’s Quay, returning north on Bay over the reverse routing.

June 20, 1963

The south end loop is revised to loop counter-clockwise through Ferry Loop rather than via Harbour, York and Queen’s Quay.

September 7, 1965

With the closure of the Ferry loop, buses now loop via west on Lakeshore, south on York and east on Queen’s Quay.

April 16, 1972

Buses now loop at the south end via south on Yonge, west on Lake Shore, north on Bay and west on Front.

June 28 to July 26, 1972

Yonge Street is closed between Adelaide and Albert for a temporary pedestrian mall. Southbound buses rerouted via south on Yonge, east on Shuter, south on Victoria, east on Adelaide, south on Church, west on Wellington to Yonge. Northbound buses operate via north on Yonge, east on Adelaide, north on Victoria and west on Shuter to Yonge.

July 27 to August 14, 1972

In addition to the above, a second pedestrian mall is opened on Yonge Street between Dundas and Gerrard, forcing an expanded diversion. Southbound buses now operate via south on Yonge, east on Gerrard, south on Victoria, east on Adelaide, south on Church and west on Wellington to Yonge. Northbound buses operate via north on Yonge, east on Adelaide, north on Victoria and west on Gerrard to Yonge. Note that this diversion includes a section of Victoria between Gerrard and Gould, which is now a pedestrian area inside the Ryerson University campus.

On August 15, the pedestrian mall is closed for the summer and normal operation resumes.

April 12, 1973

Despite the extension of the Yonge subway to York Mills station, 99 YONGE NIGHT buses continue to operate to Glen Echo loop. With the closure of the inner (south) loop at Glen Echo, buses now loop using the north (outer) loop and exiting onto westbound Glen Echo.

June 20 to September 12, 1973

The Yonge Street pedestrian mall is restored, this time between Gerrard and King. Southbound buses are rerouted via south on Yonge, east on Gerrard, south on Church, west on Gould, south on Victoria, east on Adelaide, south on Church, west on Wellington to Yonge. Northbound buses operate via north on Yonge, east on Adelaide, north on Victoria, east on Gould, north on Church and west on Gerrard to Yonge. Normal service resumes on September 13, 1973.

March 30, 1974

Last day of operation. With the extension of the Yonge subway to Finch Avenue, overnight service is now provided as a branch of the daytime 97 YONGE bus route.

Note

As late as February 1984 the southbound bus stop at Yonge and Bishop was marked for routes 97 and 99. When overnight service was extended to this location just north of Finch Avenue, the night bus was numbered 97B, and not 99. Therefore the posted sign was incorrect.

99 Yonge Night Image Archive

	Circa 1965, the TTC places signs up and down Yonge Street, promoting 27 DOWNTOWN and 99 YONGE NIGHT services.
	TTC GM "New Look" bus operates southbound on 99 YONGE NIGHT service, about to cross Bloor Street early Sunday morning in this early 1970s shot. This image is courtesy the Leonard Jacks collection.
	TTC GM New Look bus #3533 heads southbound, approaching Dundas in 99 YONGE NIGHT service on a Sunday morning in the early 1970s. This image is courtesy the Leonard Jacks collection.
	TTC GM "New Look" bus #3541 heads northbound on Yonge at Temperance Street (not Melinda as was reported earlier), approaching Richmond in 99 YONGE NIGHT service. This shot was taken in the early 1970s and is courtesy the Leonard Jacks collection.