The Raleigh Bus Maintenance and Storage Facility has officially opened in Durham Region, supporting more bus rapid transit (BRT) and make commuting faster and more convenient for residents.

The state-of-the-art, 5,770-square-metre maintenance facility replaces the original maintenance area that was built in 1964. The facility, which cost approximately $26 million in total to construct, was entirely funded by the province. It features enough space to maintain and service 85 buses and is on track to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification, recognizing the building’s sustainable and energy-efficient features, including a rainwater collection system.

The Raleigh Bus Maintenance and Storage Facility is part of the Durham Highway 2 BRT project, which also includes road improvements to a 31 kilometre route located between downtown Oshawa and the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, with stops in Whitby, Ajax and Pickering along the way. The new facility will provide essential maintenance and service support to the BRT project.

As part of the Quick Wins program in the 2008 Ontario Budget, the province committed $82.3 million to Durham Region to support this project. In 2016, the province also invested $10 million to move forward on the planning, design and engineering work for the proposed BRT route between Oshawa and Scarborough. BRT service along Regional Highway 2 launched in 2013, with a fleet of 26 new, accessible, clean diesel buses.

“This new state-of-the-art maintenance facility will keep the Region’s buses running safely, efficiently and reliably for years to come,” said Roger Anderson, regional chair and chief executive officer of the Regional Municipality of Durham, in a press release. “Our vehicles travel millions of kilometres a year. This investment is an important step to growing ridership in the Region.”