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(07-15-2021, 02:20 PM)goggolor Wrote: I didn't realize we couldn't get to Toronto on the weekend now... I see now the weekend #31 to Toronto originates from Guelph, not Kitchener and the only way to get there is the 3+ hour trip via Square One.
This is going to be a problem when schools open up in-person again - the Greyhound from Toronto to Kitchener was always packed on Sunday nights but the powers-that-be have consistently ignored any need for weekend service. It is not true that you can't get to Toronto on the Weekend. The #25 may not be as fast as the #30 to Bramalea, but there are several GO bus connections at Square One to Finch, Yorkdale, Scarborough Town Centre, Richmond Hill and beyond. Even taking the #30 during the week requires a transfer to the train or another bus.
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(07-15-2021, 02:20 PM)goggolor Wrote: I didn't realize we couldn't get to Toronto on the weekend now... I see now the weekend #31 to Toronto originates from Guelph, not Kitchener and the only way to get there is the 3+ hour trip via Square One.
This is going to be a problem when schools open up in-person again - the Greyhound from Toronto to Kitchener was always packed on Sunday nights but the powers-that-be have consistently ignored any need for weekend service.
It looks like Via Rail has a single trip, but it doesn't get *TO* Toronto until 7:15 (scheduled to anyway). Otherwise, 25 via Square One.
God I fucking hate Ontario sometimes. How is it possible to be this pathetic?! Before the pandemic, it was embarrassing...now...forget about it.
I'd like to go visit some friends in Toronto. But the idea of renting a car and driving to downtown makes me want to scream. But that's pretty much the only option.
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07-15-2021, 03:12 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-15-2021, 03:12 PM by danbrotherston.)
(07-15-2021, 02:56 PM)Acitta Wrote: (07-15-2021, 02:20 PM)goggolor Wrote: I didn't realize we couldn't get to Toronto on the weekend now... I see now the weekend #31 to Toronto originates from Guelph, not Kitchener and the only way to get there is the 3+ hour trip via Square One.
This is going to be a problem when schools open up in-person again - the Greyhound from Toronto to Kitchener was always packed on Sunday nights but the powers-that-be have consistently ignored any need for weekend service. It is not true that you can't get to Toronto on the Weekend. The #25 may not be as fast as the #30 to Bramalea, but there are several GO bus connections at Square One to Finch, Yorkdale, Scarborough Town Centre, Richmond Hill and beyond. Even taking the #30 during the week requires a transfer to the train or another bus.
The 25 takes much longer than the 30. So yes, while possible...it is not feasible. I can also take megabus to London from Toronto now (new route), but I would never do so because they decided to service the Flying J by the 401, so I'm not going to walk up the shoulder of a dangerous highway with my 19 month old daughter.
The 30 transfer to the train is annoying, but ultimately not totally inconvenient.
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It's the same story with going to Guelph.
Yes, technically possible, but despite loving the city of Guelph, I have never bothered to go there because it's infeasible without a car.
This isn't rocket science...we're just making bad choices and bad priorities.
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I can't wait to hear all the grand proposals regarding transit over the next few months since it's an election year. I'm sure each party will be promising us all day train service, high speed rail, intercity bus plans and all sorts of money and promises. Then they'll all vanish as they usually do with the exception of all day GO that barely makes any progression. One more reason I'm going to move back to Germany...because this country is a joke.
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(07-15-2021, 03:12 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: (07-15-2021, 02:56 PM)Acitta Wrote: It is not true that you can't get to Toronto on the Weekend. The #25 may not be as fast as the #30 to Bramalea, but there are several GO bus connections at Square One to Finch, Yorkdale, Scarborough Town Centre, Richmond Hill and beyond. Even taking the #30 during the week requires a transfer to the train or another bus.
The 25 takes much longer than the 30. So yes, while possible...it is not feasible. I can also take megabus to London from Toronto now (new route), but I would never do so because they decided to service the Flying J by the 401, so I'm not going to walk up the shoulder of a dangerous highway with my 19 month old daughter.
The 30 transfer to the train is annoying, but ultimately not totally inconvenient. It is true that the 25 takes longer than the 30 because it makes more stops, but calling it infeasible is a bit of an exaggeration. I have taken it with no problems. I would prefer, however if the #30 ran at least a few times on the weekend.
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07-15-2021, 06:32 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-15-2021, 06:33 PM by danbrotherston.)
(07-15-2021, 04:52 PM)Acitta Wrote: (07-15-2021, 03:12 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: The 25 takes much longer than the 30. So yes, while possible...it is not feasible. I can also take megabus to London from Toronto now (new route), but I would never do so because they decided to service the Flying J by the 401, so I'm not going to walk up the shoulder of a dangerous highway with my 19 month old daughter.
The 30 transfer to the train is annoying, but ultimately not totally inconvenient. It is true that the 25 takes longer than the 30 because it makes more stops, but calling it infeasible is a bit of an exaggeration. I have taken it with no problems. I would prefer, however if the #30 ran at least a few times on the weekend.
I have taken it as well...many times. When single, or a couple, it's possible to sit through the extra time. When I have the privilege of time and flexibility.
But no, it isn't feasible, it's incredibly inconvenient and now that I have a family to travel with, it simply is not an option. Sadly I won't be going to Toronto until we have better options.
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With the complete departure of Greyhound, does that crack open the door for the province removing the restrictions on intercity bus routes? My understanding was that the reason that GO buses don't travel direct from Kitchener to Toronto is because Greyhound had that route. The workaround was the connecting bus at Square One.
I hope that one day intercity transit will not assume that every passenger wants to terminate their train trip at Union Station in Toronto. I'm sure that some people would accept a transfer at Georgetown if it meant more frequent service with smaller trains between the cities west of Georgetown. The same could be said for the other outlying stops on the other GO routes.
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(07-20-2021, 11:06 PM)nms Wrote: With the complete departure of Greyhound, does that crack open the door for the province removing the restrictions on intercity bus routes? My understanding was that the reason that GO buses don't travel direct from Kitchener to Toronto is because Greyhound had that route. The workaround was the connecting bus at Square One.
Technically GO has always been exempt from those rules, they only applied to private operators. In practice, GO did try to avoid causing too many problems with Greyhound, but I don't think it was the sole (or even largest) factor in why we didn't have more service to Toronto. I think GO likely considers route 30 adequate, though maybe we'll see it extended up to the university area.
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(07-20-2021, 11:08 PM)taylortbb Wrote: (07-20-2021, 11:06 PM)nms Wrote: With the complete departure of Greyhound, does that crack open the door for the province removing the restrictions on intercity bus routes? My understanding was that the reason that GO buses don't travel direct from Kitchener to Toronto is because Greyhound had that route. The workaround was the connecting bus at Square One.
Technically GO has always been exempt from those rules, they only applied to private operators. In practice, GO did try to avoid causing too many problems with Greyhound, but I don't think it was the sole (or even largest) factor in why we didn't have more service to Toronto. I think GO likely considers route 30 adequate, though maybe we'll see it extended up to the university area.
Route 30...which doesn't operate on weekends, and involves a connection in Bramalea.
Yeah, no you're right, that's exactly the kind of thing GO would consider adequate.
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GO is extremely Toronto-centric. If you're not a commuter travelling into Toronto during the week, or a Torontonian travelling out of Toronto on the weekend, you simply don't exist.
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07-30-2021, 06:56 PM
(This post was last modified: 07-30-2021, 06:56 PM by ac3r.)
Evening trains to return to Kitchener GO line: https://www.kitchenertoday.com/local-new...ne-4182524
Quote:On weekday evenings, Kitchener line customers travelling between Mount Pleasant GO and Union will have two additional westbound trips, departing Union at 7:34 p.m. and 8:34 p.m., and an additional eastbound trip to Union, at 8:40 p.m. Customers travelling between Kitchener GO and Union will have one additional eastbound trip to Union, departing at 8:39 p.m., and an additional westbound trip to Kitchener GO, departing at 9:34 p.m.
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A GO train appeared in London today, there's still no official explanation. Trial run, or something less ambitious?
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(07-31-2021, 05:28 PM)KevinL Wrote: A GO train appeared in London today, there's still no official explanation. Trial run, or something less ambitious? "Conducting some testing" : https://twitter.com/MetrolinxSpox/status...3035483144
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(07-31-2021, 07:18 PM)timio Wrote: (07-31-2021, 05:28 PM)KevinL Wrote: A GO train appeared in London today, there's still no official explanation. Trial run, or something less ambitious? "Conducting some testing" : https://twitter.com/MetrolinxSpox/status...3035483144 That would be great! With the demise of Greyhound, it is nearly impossible to get to London. VIA is useless since they don't have two-way service on the same day. I would be happy if they just had one mid-morning train and one coming back in the evening. I had to get a friend to drive me to London recently to visit my 100-year-old mother, who I hadn't seen since before the pandemic started.
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