GOVA

GOVA

A GOVA bus in its previous livery.
Founded	1972 (as Sudbury Transit) 2000 (as Greater Sudbury Transit) 2019 (relaunched as GOVA)
Headquarters	200 Brady Street
Locale	City of Greater Sudbury
Service area	Azilda, Blezard Valley, Capreol, Chelmsford, Coniston, Copper Cliff, Downtown Sudbury, Elmview, Falconbridge, Garson, Hanmer, Laurentian University, Lively, Minnow Lake, New Sudbury, Val Caron, Val Thérèse.
Service type	Bus service, Paratransit
Routes	25
Stops	1,098
Hubs	New Sudbury Hub (at New Sudbury Centre) Downtown Transit Hub South End Transit Hub (at Wal-Mart)
Depots	City of Greater Sudbury Transit and Fleet Centre, 1160 Lorne St, Sudbury, ON
Fleet	59 Buses
Annual ridership	5,200,000 (2023)
Operator	Growth & Development Dept.
Website	www.greatersudbury.ca/gova [1]

GOVA, formerly known as Greater Sudbury Transit, is a public transport authority that is responsible for serving bus routes in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada and area. The network is the largest in Northern Ontario, comprising 25 routes operating between the hours of 5:30am to 1:00am. Due to the increase in ridership the service has been approved for articulating buses primarily used for the largest routes and during rush-hour times. The annual ridership for the year of 2014 was recorded at 5 million passengers at an estimate of 16,000 daily.

The service rebranded as GOVA in August 2019. The new name was selected to work bilingually, by pairing the English verb "go" with its French equivalent "va".

Overview

Greater Sudbury Transit features 59 buses on 25 routes servicing the city centre and outlying neighbourhoods such as Capreol, Chelmsford, Lively and Falconbridge. GOVA saw a record breaking 5.2 million rides in 2023. Ridership for 2024 is estimated to be more than 6 million rides. GOVA Transit also provides door-to-door services for persons with physical disabilities known as GOVA Plus.

The bus fleet consists entirely of low-floor 40' NovaBus LFS.

History

Transit services in Sudbury began with the Sudbury & Copper Cliff Suburban Electric Railway (11 November 1915 - Fall 1951). The SCCSER acquired a secondary system, City Bus Lines (1947–1950), in 1950. In the fall of 1951, the company reorganized as Sudbury Bus Lines Limited (1951–1966). This later became an umbrella corporation, Laurentian Transit (Sudbury) Limited (1966–1972), for the joint operation of transit in Sudbury by Nickel Belt Coach Lines, Local Lines Limited, and DeLongchamp Cartage Company. Until 1972 the system was privately operated, but in that year it was taken over by the City of Sudbury Community Services Department under the name of Sudbury Transit (1972–2000). Sudbury Transit served an area population of 92,000 with a vehicle fleet of 33 buses and employed 103 workers (1991).

The original Sudbury Transit logo was designed by renowned designer Stuart Ash in 1972. The agency later used the municipal logo of Greater Sudbury on its vehicles rather than a distinct transit-specific logo.

Sudbury Transit logo, 1972

The transit system in and around Sudbury today was formed in 2000 during the amalgamation of the cities and towns of the Regional Municipality of Sudbury by combining the existing Sudbury bus service with the surrounding commuter bus lines of Rayside-Balfour, Valley East, and Walden. Thus, Greater Sudbury Transit has an enormous service area for its fleet.

In 2006, Greater Sudbury Transit introduced five 40' coach-style buses from Nova Bus into its fleet. These buses service the city's longest routes, such as routes 701-Lively, 702-Azilda/Chelmsford, and 703-Val Caron/Hanmer/Capreol, providing increased comfort for those riders travelling long distances. These buses, which are described as having a "suburban-style interior", luggage racks, LED reading lights above each seat, and comfortable bucket seats with added cushioning.

As of December 1, 2009, Greater Sudbury Transit buses feature a fully operational audio/visual stop announcement system for passengers who are hearing and/or visually impaired. The stop announcement system also helps non-disabled passengers who are not familiar with a bus route of the transit system if they are not sure where it is they need to get off at to reach their destination.

As of August 2010, the Greater Sudbury Transit bus fleet is compromised entirely of low floor "wheelchair accessible" buses - making Greater Sudbury Transit the first transit authority in all of Ontario to have an "Easier Access" bus fleet.

Before rebranding as GOVA, most routes met at the Transit Centre in downtown Sudbury (the 103-Coniston and 303-Garson/Falconbridge departed from the New Sudbury Centre Monday to Saturday), and service was provided from 6:15 am to 12:30 am 7 days a week, 363 days a year. Bus service was limited to 6:15 pm on Christmas Eve. There is no bus service on Christmas Day. Private charters can also be arranged.

Greater Sudbury Transit also operated a trans-cab service for any outlying area which does not receive bus service (including Long Lake, Richard Lake, Radar Base, Skead, Wahnapitae, Whitefish and Dowling) which provides a taxi from the individual's home to a transit bus stop. Currently this service is branded as GOVA Zone.

As of April 12, 2012, Greater Sudbury Transit guaranteed seven bus routes (101, 182, 301, 501, 701, 702, 703) that would always be equipped with bike racks. Cyclists wishing to bring their bikes on other routes are permitted to bring their bike on-board according to the driver's discretion (e.g. not during rush-hour etc.). City staff have indicated that following the construction to the new transit garage there will theoretically be sufficient space within to equip the whole fleet with bike racks. There is not enough space within the current garage to accommodate the additional 0.8 m required per bus with a bike rack.

In 2018, it was announced that the City of Greater Sudbury had created a $99 million transit stimulus fund to be spent over a period of 10 years, $72 million of which was contributed by the federal and provincial governments, with the remainder being contributed by the city itself. Some ideas which were considered included a switch to electric buses (which would make Greater Sudbury Transit one of the first transit agencies in Canada to do so), improvements to cycling-transit integration, adoption of "smart" fare card technology, and a renewal of the existing diesel bus fleet.

In February 2019, major changes were announced for the service to be supported by the $99 million fund, which would see the creation of a new bus route, more frequent service (especially on Sundays), more early morning service, fare reductions, and a restructuring of the entire local transit system around three major hubs, rather than the single downtown terminal. These hubs would include the existing terminal as well as one in New Sudbury and another at the south end of the city.

In 2019, the service rebranded as GOVA. Alongside the rebranding, the routes were reorganized to increase efficiency of travel; instead of the former model where all bus routes travelled to and from downtown, the new model features a number of selected high-frequency bus lines along major arterial routes, paired with collector buses that interchange with the high-frequency routes at one of several transit hubs in the city rather than directly travelling downtown.

Past names

• Sudbury & Copper Cliff Suburban Electric Railway (1915–1951)
• Sudbury Bus Lines, Ltd. (1951–1966)
• Laurentian Transit (Sudbury) Ltd. (1966–1972)
• Sudbury Transit (Sudbury) Ltd. (1972–2000)
• Greater Sudbury Transit (2000–2019)

Facilities

Sudbury Terminals

• Sudbury Ontario Northland Bus Terminal
  • Indirectly via Routes 12, 23, and 103
  • Connects with:
    • Ontario Northland services to Toronto, Barrie, Parry Sound, North Bay, Timmins, Hearst, Cochrane and Ottawa.
    • Flixbus services to Toronto
• Sudbury Station
  • Via Routes 3, 4, 10, and 14
  • Connects with Via Rail service to Chapleau and White River

Routes

Regular Routes

Route		Direction & Terminus			Availability	Via	Notable Stops	Notes
1N	Main Line (New Sudbury)	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	New Sudbury Transit Hub	All-week	Notre Dame Avenue and Lasalle Boulevard		Formerly conjoined as Route 1.
1S	Main Line (South End)			South End Transit Hub		Paris Street and Long Lake	Health Sciences North
2	Barry Downe / Cambrian	Downtown Transit Hub	↔	Cambrian College	All-week	the Kingsway and Barry Downe Road	Silver Hills Centre, Marcus Drive
3	Laurentian University via Regent	Downtown Transit Hub	↔	Laurentian University	All-week	Elgin Street, Brady Street, Riverside Drive, Regent Street, Ramsey View Court and Walford Road	Extendicare York and Sudbury Outpatient Centre, Larch Street Medical Centre (return trips only)
4	Laurentian University via Paris	Downtown Transit Hub	↔	Laurentian University	Weekdays Only	Elgin Street, Paris Street	Larch Street Medical Centre (return trips only)	Operates during Fall & Winter only.
10	Minnow Lake	Downtown Transit Hub	↔ ↺	Bancroft / Second	All-week	Van Horne Street, Howey Drive and Bancroft Drive	Finlandia Village, Moonlight Beach (summer only)	Travels to Moonlight Beach during summer.
11	Donovan / Collège Boréal	Downtown Transit Hub	↔	New Sudbury Centre	All-week	the Kingsway, Bancroft Drive, Second Avenue, Auger Avenue and Barry Downe Road	Downtown Sudbury, Collège Boréal, Sudbury Tax Centre, New Sudbury Transit Hub
12	Second Avenue	Downtown Transit Hub	↔	New Sudbury Transit Hub	All-week	the Kingsway, Bancroft Drive, Second Avenue, Auger Avenue and Barry Downe Road	Downtown Sudbury, SilverCity Cinemas, Costco Sudbury, New Sudbury Centre
13	Copper Cliff	Downtown Transit Hub	↔	Copper Cliff Mobility Hub	All-week	Lorne Street	Downtown Sudbury, Lorne Street, Copper Cliff
14	Four Corners	Downtown Transit Hub	↔	South End Transit Hub	All-week	Wembley Drive, Hyland  Drive and Regent Street	Downtown Sudbury, Walmart, Southview Drive and Kelly Lake Road (connections to GOVA Zone partner taxi companies)
20	Graywood / Madison Local	New Sudbury Centre/New Sudbury Transit Hub	↺	Old Falconbridge / Grenoble	All-week	LaSalle Boulevard, Falconbridge Highway, Old Falconbridge Road, Graywood Drive and Lansing Avenue	New Sudbury Centre & New Sudbury Transit Hub
22	Grandview Local	New Sudbury Transit Hub	↺	Woodbine / Abigail	All-week	Holland Road, Woodbine Avenue and Rideau Street	New Sudbury Centre, Holland, Woodbine, Rideau
23	New Sudbury Local	New Sudbury Transit Hub	↺	Barry Downe / Westmount	All-week	Hawthorne Drive, Barry Downe Road, Marcus Drive, Falconbridge Road and LaSalle Boulevard	New Sudbury Centre, Costco, Hawthorne, Westmount
24	Cambrian Heights Local	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	Bruce / Dell	All-week	Kathleen Street, Melvin Avenue, Bruce Avenue and Cambrian Heights	Downtown Sudbury, Sudbury Tax Centre, Kathleen Street, Bruce Street
25	West End Local	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	Victoria / Albinson	All-week	Regent Street (south of Elm), Isabel Street, Willard Avenue, Victoria Street, Spruce Street and Elm Street	Downtown Sudbury, Elm Street, Whittaker Street, Willard, Victoria Street
26	McKim Local	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	McKim / Granite	All-week	Kathleen Street, Frood Road, McKim Street, McNeil Boulevard and Elm Street	Downtown Sudbury, Kathleen Street, Frood Road, Ethelbert, Elm Street
27	Flour Mill	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	King / Laforest	All-week	Cochrane St. to Mont Adam St., Murray St., Bond St., Percy, King St., Mabel Ave., MacKenzie St. and Ste. Anne Rd	Downtown Sudbury, Ste. Anne Road, MacKenzie, Morin, Percy, Murray	No Louis Street service during summers. Route varies depending on season due to steep hills.
28	South End Local	South End Transit Hub	↺	Southridge Mall & Cam /  Highway 69	All-week	Long Lake Road, MacIsaac Drive, Loach's Road, Oriole Drive, Cam Street, Algonquin  Road and Countryside Drive	South End Walmart, Loach's Road, Oriole, Algonquin Road, Countryside Drive
29	Martindale Local	South End Transit Hub	↺	Martindale, Health Sciences North, and Plaza 69	All-week	Countryside Drive, Long Lake Road, Regent Street, Bouchard Street, Southview Drive, Martindale Road, Walford Road, Ramsey View Court, Centennial Drive, and Paris Street	Health Sciences North, Plaza 69, and Walmart
101	Lively	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	Naughton Mobility Hub	All-week	Lorne Street and Copper Cliff	Copper Cliff, Downtown Sudbury, Lively, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Naughton, Whitefish, and Little Creighton	GOVA Zone connections via partner taxi companies to and from Naughton and Whitefish.
102	Garson	New Sudbury Transit Hub	↺	Garson	All-week	Church Street and Orell Street to Garson Falconbridge Highway and LaSalle Boulevard to New Sudbury Centre	Garson Mobility Hub	GOVA Zone connections via partner taxi companies to and from Falconbridge and Skead.
103	Coniston	New Sudbury Transit Hub	↺	Caruso	All-week	Highway 17 the Kingsway, Second Avenue, Bancroft Drive, Marcus Drive and Barry Downe Road	Silver Hills Centre, Marcus Drive, Coniston Mobility Hub, and New Sudbury Centre	GOVA Zone connections via partner taxi companies to and from Wahnapitae.
104	Azilda / Chelmsford	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	St. Onge /  Highway 144	All-week	Elm Street, Notre Dame East, St. Agnes Street, St. Onge Street, Brookside Road, Errington Street, Main Street, and Edward Avenue	Downtown Sudbury, Chelmsford Mobility Hub, and Place Bonaventure (GOVA Zone connections to Dowling, Onaping, Levack and Blezard Valley)	GOVA Zone connections via partner taxi companies to and from Dowling, Levack, and Blezard Valley.
105	Valley Capreol / Blezard	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	Randolph	All-week		Downtown Sudbury, Chelmsford Mobility Hub, and Place Bonaventure (GOVA Zone connections to Dowling, Onaping, Levack and Blezard Valley)	GOVA Zone connections via partner taxi companies to and from Chelmsford, Skead, and Garson.
106	Valley Dominion	Downtown Transit Hub	↺	Hammer Mall	Weekdays Only		Downtown Sudbury, Chelmsford Mobility Hub, and Place Bonaventure (GOVA Zone connections to Dowling, Onaping, Levack and Blezard Valley)

See also

• Public transport in Canada

External links

• Greater Sudbury Transit
• Transit History of Sudbury, Ontario
• Greater Sudbury Transit at Tomsbuspage
• Drawings and photos of Greater Sudbury Transit buses