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+--- Thread: Grand River Transit (/showthread.php?tid=13)
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RE: Grand River Transit - dunkalunk - 06-10-2023
Organization takes work and dedication. I think getting the LRT built was a great lighting rod of a mission to attract dedicated people outside of transit fans to it and give TriTAG a purpose for being. We accomplished that mission and while there still seems like there is more to do, and I would like to get involved again, I don't see as large of a big-ticket item to attract those outside of fellow transit nerds and students. I, personally would have a hard time selling LRT in Cambridge, not being from Cambridge, Cambridge city council being hostile to parts of it, and that horizon for funding is over 6 years away. What would a new organization look like? A rider's organization fighting for better fares and service coverage? Fighting for better land-use? Density? Bike lanes? CycleWR already has that covered. Who knows.
RE: Grand River Transit - danbrotherston - 06-10-2023
(06-10-2023, 08:41 AM)dunkalunk Wrote: Organization takes work and dedication. I think getting the LRT built was a great lighting rod of a mission to attract dedicated people outside of transit fans to it and give TriTAG a purpose for being. We accomplished that mission and while there still seems like there is more to do, and I would like to get involved again, I don't see as large of a big-ticket item to attract those outside of fellow transit nerds and students. I, personally would have a hard time selling LRT in Cambridge, not being from Cambridge, Cambridge city council being hostile to parts of it, and that horizon for funding is over 6 years away. What would a new organization look like? A rider's organization fighting for better fares and service coverage? Fighting for better land-use? Density? Bike lanes? CycleWR already has that covered. Who knows.
I think pushing for better bike lanes is probably worthy. I don't know how active CycleWR is doing these days...
The problem is that the next step of LRT is controversial that I don't even support it in it's current form...
We're in some right shit here folks.
RE: Grand River Transit - nms - 06-11-2023
How and when did TTC Riders start? They seem to be the go-to group whenever a media story needs a passenger perspective. They also seem to be good at mobilizing lobbying when necessary to protect and promote TTC service.
Would there be enough appetite in Waterloo Region to start something similar?
RE: Grand River Transit - jeffster - 06-12-2023
(06-09-2023, 11:25 AM)taylortbb Wrote:(06-09-2023, 09:59 AM)tomh009 Wrote: Is TriTAG dead?
Effectively yes. It was sustained on a core (and largely unchanging) group of volunteers, who a decade ago were young and didn't have a lot of obligations. Now people have families, careers, etc, but we were never successful enough in bringing in new people.
There is currently some discussion about what could be done to revive it, had our first meeting in years last week. But it's still not clear if there's enough people with the time.
This sort of gives you the answer on why transit sucks so bad in this region. People have family. People have careers. Transit can't be part of that because how badly mismanaged it is. It's run by a bunch of clowns.
My son couldn't finish his high school because the GRT cancelled routes due to road construction (affected him for 2 years). The walk was 3,196 meters, just 4 meters short of eligibility of 3.2 km and it is a hard cutoff with STSWR.
Recently, my car broke down (long story short, the last oil change I had, dealership put too much oil in, being this car is a Plug-In Hybrid, I hadn't used the engine until a longer trip that I took), and realized quickly that a bus was not an option - involving about 30 minutes of walk, and 60 minutes of bus, for a relatively short distance. So I took my kids scooter. Also took the scooter to the dealership, as that was going to be a 2 hour affair, but took 20 minutes on the scooter.
Years ago, when transit was more centralized, most trips could be done within 60 minutes or so. Now it's disorganized and takes a lot long longer, making it useless for day-to-day life.
RE: Grand River Transit - danbrotherston - 06-12-2023
(06-12-2023, 11:35 AM)jeffster Wrote:(06-09-2023, 11:25 AM)taylortbb Wrote: Effectively yes. It was sustained on a core (and largely unchanging) group of volunteers, who a decade ago were young and didn't have a lot of obligations. Now people have families, careers, etc, but we were never successful enough in bringing in new people.
There is currently some discussion about what could be done to revive it, had our first meeting in years last week. But it's still not clear if there's enough people with the time.
This sort of gives you the answer on why transit sucks so bad in this region. People have family. People have careers. Transit can't be part of that because how badly mismanaged it is. It's run by a bunch of clowns.
My son couldn't finish his high school because the GRT cancelled routes due to road construction (affected him for 2 years). The walk was 3,196 meters, just 4 meters short of eligibility of 3.2 km and it is a hard cutoff with STSWR.
Recently, my car broke down (long story short, the last oil change I had, dealership put too much oil in, being this car is a Plug-In Hybrid, I hadn't used the engine until a longer trip that I took), and realized quickly that a bus was not an option - involving about 30 minutes of walk, and 60 minutes of bus, for a relatively short distance. So I took my kids scooter. Also took the scooter to the dealership, as that was going to be a 2 hour affair, but took 20 minutes on the scooter.
Years ago, when transit was more centralized, most trips could be done within 60 minutes or so. Now it's disorganized and takes a lot long longer, making it useless for day-to-day life.
I mean, GRT definitely has it's problems, but I think it's worth pointing out that our bad land use planning makes it very difficult and very expensive to run effective transit.
Always important to remember that these are linked.
And as it's me, I'll always reiterate, cycling (or scooters, skateboards, or whatever your favourite micromobility tool is) is the last mile solution that will save our suburbs...if only we choose to make our roads safe for cycling.
But I really do wonder why GRT was completely unable to manage a reasonable detour for the route, I know there are reasonable detours for Stirling/Greenbrook except for through Lakeside/Meinzinger parks. If there was no feasible detour for that, then region should have facilitated transit access through that area during their construction. This is the whole value of having our transit agency integrated with the regional gov instead of running it as a separate commission, and honestly I almost never see them capitalize on this.
RE: Grand River Transit - ac3r - 06-12-2023
Both can be bad. The planning sucks here, but it has always sucked and that isn't going to change for a long time. The Region of Waterloo - should be and always have been considering how to improve transit now rather than later...and I mean actual transit. Buses are fast, safe, sheltered and attract a very wide range of demographics which is important. 65+ year old women aren't going to be cycling or scootering around the city like a child, they want a bus and that's what needs the most drastic improvement. They can allow a young office worker to work dry and warm, rather than wet or sweaty. They allow you to carry home your groceries or haul on a stroller. There's so much more versatility and I wish we would see more money put into that instead of bullshit like downtown cycling grids and other novelties for the extremely tiny minority of Lycra wearing dorks who make cycling their entire personality.
That they didn't really improve anything after the launch of the LRT is a real shame. But I guess that whole project just showed how little our leaders understand what they're doing. Trip times for buses barely changed. Routes were cut. They pivoted away from the central terminal which I suppose is mostly fine, but they didn't really improve the rest of the bus network...I mean good luck finding a bench or trash can at many bus stops or knowing when the next bus will come unless you happen to have enough money for a smartphone and data connection.
The RoW also did nothing with this new transit hub, which although it wouldn't have had much to do with buses (or even the LRT since the station is outside...on a sidewalk...it's not even possible to integrate into the building lmao, like why? If you knew you had plans for an amazing new station why the hell not make it so the LRT could actually be part of it?!?). They should have forgot that whole nonsensical idea because the estimated cost was something like 100 or 150 million dollars, put that money into GRT improvements and simply let Metrolinx handle the construction and operation of the entire station. Unfortunately the region was selfish and wanted to create a centerpiece downtown with this project. Metrolinx stations are usually just a basic platform, building, the usual station things (bike racks, machines, shelters) and that's all they really need although some of the newer ones are larger - Mont Dennis, St. Clair-Old Weston etc. It was the region who decided that they wanted this new grand "transit hub". Only it has been a grass lot for how many years now? That they had to put metal fences around to prevent it from becoming a homeless encampment.
The decision makers here are just awful.
RE: Grand River Transit - KevinL - 06-12-2023
I think the Region's approach had some merit, pre-pandemic, but given how things are going now it's probably best for a rethink. We'd probably get a decent station from Metrolinx alone, on the stipulation they put it in a minimal footprint to allow surrounding development. Then, we get the incoming developer to ensure there's public access to the various transit platforms and that those are connected to commercial space. Job done.
RE: Grand River Transit - Bytor - 06-12-2023
(06-12-2023, 11:35 AM)jeffster Wrote: Recently, my car broke down (long story short, the last oil change I had, dealership put too much oil in, being this car is a Plug-In Hybrid, I hadn't used the engine until a longer trip that I took), and realized quickly that a bus was not an option - involving about 30 minutes of walk, and 60 minutes of bus, for a relatively short distance. So I took my kids scooter. Also took the scooter to the dealership, as that was going to be a 2 hour affair, but took 20 minutes on the scooter.
Two hour trips on GRT are the anomaly, not the regular.
White I hear people talking about how trips on GRT take two hours, in my experience they generally fall into three groups:
This first are the people who live on the edge of town and are going to another place 180° around the other side, like Doon South to RIM Park. And also on a Sunday, because even Doon South to RIM Park still only takes about an hour thirty to an hour forty during peak times, depending on how many transfers you want to bother with.
The second group is the people who relate a 20 year old experience and assume that nothing has changed.
The third group are the people who it turns out have never actually bothered so see what their trip would be like via GRT and just assumed.
(06-12-2023, 11:35 AM)jeffster Wrote: Years ago, when transit was more centralized, most trips could be done within 60 minutes or so. Now it's disorganized and takes a lot long longer, making it useless for day-to-day life.
The opposite, actually. First iXpress routes then ION have reduced average trip times on GRT noticeably over the past 15 years.
For example, Williamsburg to DTK is now 5 minutes faster than it was before ION service, even though there was no transfer before ION.
RE: Grand River Transit - ijmorlan - 06-12-2023
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: Both can be bad. The planning sucks here, but it has always sucked and that isn't going to change for a long time. The Region of Waterloo - should be and always have been considering how to improve transit now rather than later...and I mean actual transit. Buses are fast, safe, sheltered and attract a very wide range of demographics which is important. 65+ year old women aren't going to be cycling or scootering around the city like a child, they want a bus and that's what needs the most drastic improvement. They can allow a young office worker to work dry and warm, rather than wet or sweaty. They allow you to carry home your groceries or haul on a stroller. There's so much more versatility and I wish we would see more money put into that instead of bullshit like downtown cycling grids and other novelties for the extremely tiny minority of Lycra wearing dorks who make cycling their entire personality.
This is mostly just a bunch of BS stereotypes. “like a child”? “Lycra wearing dorks”?
This is the kind of stuff that makes it hard to take some people seriously.
RE: Grand River Transit - danbrotherston - 06-13-2023
(06-12-2023, 10:16 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: Both can be bad. The planning sucks here, but it has always sucked and that isn't going to change for a long time. The Region of Waterloo - should be and always have been considering how to improve transit now rather than later...and I mean actual transit. Buses are fast, safe, sheltered and attract a very wide range of demographics which is important. 65+ year old women aren't going to be cycling or scootering around the city like a child, they want a bus and that's what needs the most drastic improvement. They can allow a young office worker to work dry and warm, rather than wet or sweaty. They allow you to carry home your groceries or haul on a stroller. There's so much more versatility and I wish we would see more money put into that instead of bullshit like downtown cycling grids and other novelties for the extremely tiny minority of Lycra wearing dorks who make cycling their entire personality.
This is mostly just a bunch of BS stereotypes. “like a child”? “Lycra wearing dorks”?
This is the kind of stuff that makes it hard to take some people seriously.
*sigh* yeah, this is a tired old trope from ac3r. I can tell you every example he gives is directly contradicted by the Netherlands. 65 year olds riding their bikes, check, young office workers, obviously check, people with groceries, kids, check check.
Bikes are much more versatile for the same reason cars are versatile. Buses here are not…underinvested (see my article) but they have low frequency and low ridership compared with other European nations.
The only difference is our infrastructure. 65 year olds, people with kids, people getting groceries, they don’t mind biking, they do mind having their lives threatened. Sadly people with an attitude like ac3r are all too common.
RE: Grand River Transit - bravado - 06-13-2023
If there’s anything to say about the “Lycra dorks”, it’s that the bike infrastructure that they advocate for in council is usually the sort of thing that regular people who just want to bike for groceries don’t want to use - but those are exactly the kind of car trips we would like to replace.
RE: Grand River Transit - Bytor - 06-13-2023
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: 65+ year old women aren't going to be cycling or scootering around the city like a child, they want a bus and that's what needs the most drastic improvement.
You show your contempt of cycling with this ignorant use of stereotypes.
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: They can allow a young office worker to work dry and warm, rather than wet or sweaty.
It is perfectly possoble to cycle to work without getting sweaty.
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: They allow you to carry home your groceries or haul on a stroller.
You do know what panniers and bike baskets are? Or bike trailers? Or maybe not, as that ignorant statement suggests.
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: There's so much more versatility and I wish we would see more money put into that instead of bullshit like downtown cycling grids and other novelties for the extremely tiny minority of Lycra wearing dorks who make cycling their entire personality.
Ah yes, the insults of the confidently ignorant who can't argue with facts and logic.
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: That they didn't really improve anything after the launch of the LRT is a real shame.
Somehow you were blind to the whole realignment of routes once ION service started? Because how else would you make that ignorant statement?
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: But I guess that whole project just showed how little our leaders understand what they're doing. Trip times for buses barely changed.
Average trip times dropped. The example I always give is Williamsburg to Downtown. Even with a transfer at Block Line station the trip to DTK is five minute shorter than it used to be with no transfer.
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: Routes were cut.
Which ones?
(06-12-2023, 02:26 PM)ac3r Wrote: or knowing when the next bus will come unless you happen to have enough money for a smartphone and data connection.
Because you and only you know how to solve the age-old problem of transit scheduling with chaotic variables like traffic congestion and boardings such that busses always arrive when a paper schedule says they will. LOL.
What a bunch of horse puckey.
RE: Grand River Transit - ijmorlan - 06-13-2023
(06-13-2023, 09:57 AM)Bytor Wrote: […]
What a bunch of horse puckey.
Thanks for the detailed refutation, followed by the terse summary. I’m glad somebody felt up to it.
RE: Grand River Transit - ac3r - 06-14-2023
Fares are going up...again. No service improvements of course. This is the sort of crap that makes people just buy a car.
Details here as of July 1st: https://www.grt.ca/en/fares-passes/fares.aspx
RE: Grand River Transit - tomh009 - 06-14-2023
(06-14-2023, 04:37 PM)ac3r Wrote: Fares are going up...again. No service improvements of course. This is the sort of crap that makes people just buy a car.
Details here as of July 1st: https://www.grt.ca/en/fares-passes/fares.aspx
About a 2% increase to both monthly passes and EasyGO fare payments, well below inflation.
Have you noticed how much car, car insurance and gasoline prices have gone up in the past few years?