What's blue and empty in York Region?

The Sunday Toronto Star bemoaned the fact (their fact) that suburbs like York Region attracted more new residents than the City of Toronto, and in the same breath, that areas like York Region were un-sustainable (their words) because there was not enough transit. And quoted the local governments as saying they will start investing in transit. But why do people move to the suburbs in the first place? Surely to escape the high costs of things like transit. To escape the rat-warren like population density of Toronto's waterfront condos. Markham and Stouffville have sustained themselves for years without mass transit. Without high-rises. Without city-style rental housing. What person in their right mind would even think of living there without a car, or two? The folly of running empty busses across a 700 square mile area of farms and small towns is highlighted by two empty VIVA busses on Highway 7 in the morning.