Waterloo Region Connected
Grand River Transit - Printable Version

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RE: Grand River Transit - Markster - 06-08-2016

(06-08-2016, 12:41 PM)Elmira Guy Wrote: Does anyone know where the stop for #21 (Elmira) is at the mall?
According to GRT EasyGo app (only GRT app that works on my BB10), there is no service from stop 3798 (I assume because of LRT station construction) but I can't find where I would catch that bus.

I'd just go to the bus mall, and look.  It's probably sharing an existing platform with another bus.

(06-08-2016, 12:50 PM)dunkalunk Wrote: GRT is on detour around Queen between Joseph and Courtland due to sewer repair work. Odd, since they just had pavers out on an overnight shift to finish off this street 5 days ago.

http://www.grt.ca/en/routesSchedules/Route-8.asp
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGZkyxWgeBa/

The buses going down Queen were an absolute wreck.  At 9:30, I ended up waiting almost half an hour for a #8 University at Belmont/Highland. By the time I got to University/Philip and got off, I saw that the next #8 had caught up to us.

The detour has the #8 taking King St a lot. That is not a fast road.
   

And this is why, last week, they did the paving in the middle of the night.


RE: Grand River Transit - Elmira Guy - 06-08-2016

Thanks to those who replied, but what I want to know is how to tell when the 21 is leaving the mall. The pdf schedule is not accurate, and since EasyGo is not recognising that stop, there seems no way to find out the times it is running short of going to the mall and waiting anywhere from 5 to 55 minutes.


RE: Grand River Transit - Markster - 06-08-2016

(06-08-2016, 02:33 PM)Elmira Guy Wrote: Thanks to those who replied, but what I want to know is how to tell when the 21 is leaving the mall. The pdf schedule is not accurate, and since EasyGo is not recognising that stop, there seems no way to find out the times it is running short of going to the mall and waiting anywhere from 5 to 55 minutes.

Well, if you're really not able to trust the pdf schedule (which, for an hourly bus, is tantamount to no service at all), you can check out the realtime map, and see where the bus literally is right now!

http://realtimemap.grt.ca/Map/


RE: Grand River Transit - timc - 06-08-2016

(06-08-2016, 02:37 PM)Markster Wrote:
(06-08-2016, 02:33 PM)Elmira Guy Wrote: Thanks to those who replied, but what I want to know is how to tell when the 21 is leaving the mall. The pdf schedule is not accurate, and since EasyGo is not recognising that stop, there seems no way to find out the times it is running short of going to the mall and waiting anywhere from 5 to 55 minutes.

Well, if you're really not able to trust the pdf schedule (which, for an hourly bus, is tantamount to no service at all), you can check out the realtime map, and see where the bus literally is right now!

http://realtimemap.grt.ca/Map/

And from looking at that map, it seems that Route 21 leaves from stop 1126. It looks like it is sharing the stop with Route 6 Bridge, directly across from the usual Route 21 stop.


RE: Grand River Transit - Elmira Guy - 06-08-2016

Cheers for the info, people.

And yes Markster, the 21 can be that off of schedule, especially given construction of late.


RE: Grand River Transit - Pheidippides - 06-10-2016

Update on the electronic fare management system:
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/resources/PW/PA2016-0614.pdf#page=215
"This transition will be complete before the fare equipment is installed on ION platforms in late 2017."
Phase 2 begins in September 2016 with
 Smart Card payment capability
 Web portal commissioned
 Customer service terminals
 Field testing/ pilot
 Retail transition
 Card rollout
 Fare media transition for customers

"Unlimited use Monthly Passes will be able to be stored on the EasyGO Fare Card. When the card is issued to the customer, it is given access to a set of fares that would be available to that customer. For example, a card issued to a senior would have access to the Reduced Pass, and a card issued to someone using the TRIP program would have access to the TRIP pass."

"The EasyGO Fare Card will carry a declining balance of value to be used for fare payment. This Stored Value will replace the current paper tickets. When a customer presents a card containing Stored Value to a reader the price of a ticket ride is deducted from the card and a 90 minute transfer is written to the card memory. The price of Stored Value rides will correspond to the price of current tickets."

"The EFMS will also include a non-reloadable paper smart card for occasional users. This card will be available from Ticket Vending Machines on ION platforms Paper smart cards will be able to be purchased with between 5 and 15 E-rides and will not be able to be re-used. Unused E-rides remain valid as long as they are stored on the card however, the card has a limited usable life."

"It is possible that some EasyGO card holders may choose to share their cards with others. There is no mechanism to quickly identify that a person using the card is not its owner. As with today, customers using concession or discounted fare products must be prepared to provide proof of eligibility if asked by an operator, or in future, by a fare inspector."

"EFMS Cards can be registered to an account in the EFMS database. The account records the holder’s name and contact information, for customer service use. If the customer wishes, the account can be configured for web access to allow the customer to load the card remotely."

"Registration provides customers with a number of advantages including balance protection, negative balance and automated loading. If a registered card is reported lost or stolen, GRT will be able to prevent it from being used and transfer any balance on the card to a replacement. A registered card also can go into a negative balance of one ride before it will stop being usable. The registered customer would repay the value of this ride when reloading the card. Finally, registered users can configure their card via the web to automatically reload Stored Value once a pre-set balance is reached, or to load next months pass automatically."

"While EFMS may collect customers’ personal data, this will be stored separately from travel data. Personal information will only be stored for customer service purposes and to allow customers to manage their own cards using the web portal. Fare purchase rates and travel data will be made available for analysis, but will not be able to be associated with any personal information."

"U-Pass programs will be implemented via a list of valid cards. Using this list, student access to transit service under the U-Pass program can be granted or revoked within 24 hours. Validation of the U-Pass will be automated based on the card’s presence on the list. The process will eliminate any ambiguity associated with U-Pass usage by eliminating the need for a transit operator to manually verify eligibility and by providing rapid updating of valid card lists. Automated U-Pass validation will be implemented in stages during Phase 2, based on the availability of card technology at the universities and the developing capability of the system."

"Reported transit ridership may be affected by the change to the electronic fare management system since it will provide a more accurate number of rides based on actual usage. Currently, GRT currently reports ridership for bus passes based on an expected average number of riders for each pass sold. This is an industry standard process and is based on customer surveys. For GRT monthly pass ridership is currently estimated at 55 rides per month. EFMS will precisely monitor the number of rides each pass holder takes, and the actual figure is expected to be different than the estimated figure. In addition, some customers may choose to share their EasyGO Fare Card, and the effect of this may be a small reduction in pass sales. More precise validation of UPass eligibility may also cause a reduction in ridership. Conversely, the improved accuracy of the 90 minute transfer validation should cause ridership to increase as there will be no ambiguity around when a transfer expires. Not enough data is available on any of the above to say with a degree of certainty exactly what their cumulative effect will be, although some systems have experienced a 10 to 15 % ridership reduction based on tracking actual ridership data through EFMS."

Table of how different fare types will work in the new system:
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/resources/PW/PA2016-0614.pdf#page=229


And the route options for the new bus plus route for the hayward area:
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/resources/PW/PA2016-0614.pdf#page=231


RE: Grand River Transit - chutten - 06-11-2016

Quote:Fare purchase rates and travel data will be made available for analysis, but will not be able to be associated with any personal information.

Analysis by whom? Come on, Open Data!


RE: Grand River Transit - tomh009 - 06-11-2016

(06-10-2016, 10:55 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: "The EasyGO Fare Card will carry a declining balance of value to be used for fare payment. This Stored Value will replace the current paper tickets. When a customer presents a card containing Stored Value to a reader the price of a ticket ride is deducted from the card and a 90 minute transfer is written to the card memory. The price of Stored Value rides will correspond to the price of current tickets."

90-minute transfer?  So I can take the LRT to uptown, do a quick shop at LCBO and head back to Kitchener, all for a single fare? Big Grin  Unless, of course, returning on the LRT is not a valid transfer.


RE: Grand River Transit - mpd618 - 06-11-2016

(06-11-2016, 09:48 PM)tomh009 Wrote: 90-minute transfer?  So I can take the LRT to uptown, do a quick shop at LCBO and head back to Kitchener, all for a single fare? Big Grin  Unless, of course, returning on the LRT is not a valid transfer.

Yep, and that's also the current policy with GRT.


RE: Grand River Transit - D40LF - 06-12-2016

(06-10-2016, 10:55 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: And the route options for the new bus plus route for the hayward area:
http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/regionalGovernment/resources/PW/PA2016-0614.pdf#page=231
Oh look, one way loops. Beautiful.

/s


RE: Grand River Transit - mpd618 - 06-12-2016

(06-12-2016, 01:00 AM)D40LF Wrote: Oh look, one way loops. Beautiful.

/s

It is probably cheaper for the Region to directly subsidize the rent of the Family Centre in a more on-the-way location than to run this single-purpose transit service.


RE: Grand River Transit - KevinL - 06-13-2016

Seems the Pattandon/Borden jog is just too much to keep the 22 on schedule. It will now skip Mill entirely, taking Stirling to Homer Watson and rejoining Ottawa.

The 3 continues to go Mill-Borden-Pattandon-Ottawa.


RE: Grand River Transit - Pheidippides - 06-18-2016

Any word if GRT will have service along Columbia/Hagey for July 1st?


RE: Grand River Transit - Markster - 06-18-2016

The 200 will be running as usual.
If past behaviour predicts future performance, then the 13, 31, and 201 will be detoured up to Bearinger.


RE: Grand River Transit - MidTowner - 06-21-2016

Does anyone know how soon-to-be old GRT tickets are going to be handled after July 1? Will they be accepted for a period of time, or will GRT expect riders to go in with nine cents and trade them in for new ones?