Yield to Bus

Ottawa - Yield to Bus is a new law designed to improve transit flow and make transit service more reliable and efficient.  The new law requires drivers to yield the right-of-way to buses leaving bus bays to merge with the traffic.  Effective January 2, 2004, every driver of a vehicle (e.g. car, taxi, truck, motorcycle, bicycle) will be required to yield the right of way to buses leaving bus bays. This is required by Section 142.1 of the Highway Traffic Act (HTA). 

A number of transit systems (OC Transpo, TTC, Mississauga Transit, etc.) currently have a voluntary program whereby drivers are encouraged to let the bus back in as a courtesy. The new law will make it mandatory.   

When a bus displaying this sign is signaling its intention to leave a bus bay by activating the left turn signal, drivers approaching from the rear in the lane adjacent to the bus bay, will be required to slow down or stop to allow the bus to re-enter the lane unless it is unsafe to do so.    

The new law will apply to all Ontario municipalities that have public transit service displaying the YIELD/CÉDEZ decal on the left rear portion of the bus. The law will also apply to other buses that display the decal. 

The new law will apply to all Ontario municipalities that have public transit service displaying the YIELD/CÉDEZ decal on the left rear portion of the bus. The law will also apply to other buses that display the decal. 

The new law was enacted by the Province of Ontario in response to recommendations by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), The Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA), and municipal transit systems to improve transit flow in urban areas. This law will make it easier for buses to merge back into traffic and will help keep transit on schedule. Transit service reliability, especially during rush hours, will be improved. 

For the purpose of this law a bus bay is a bus stop that requires buses to exit from and re-enter an adjacent lane of traffic. It includes mid-block indented bays, the indentation in the sidewalk immediately before and after intersections, and bus stops between legally parked cars.  The Yield to Bus law states “‘bus bay’ means that portion of the highway beside a bus stop sign that is used by buses for the boarding and alighting of passengers, the use of which portion of the highway requires buses to exit from and subsequently re-enter an adjacent lane of traffic.” 

Yield to Bus legislation has been implemented in a number of jurisdictions in North America.  In Canada, it has been the law in Quebec since 1982 and in British Columbia since 1999.  In the United States, it has been implemented in a number of areas including Washington State (since 1993), Oregon (since 1998) and Florida (since 1999).  

The current requirement for stopping for school buses is unchanged and will not be affected by the new law.

Yield to Bus News Release  

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