ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[MidTowner]

Get a fare card (for no charge!) and, for $2.76, you can take the 59 from practically the Cambridge city limits, connect to the 302 at Ainslie, connect to the 301 at Fairway, and ride it to Conestoga. That would take just about exactly 90 minutes, so if you are exceedingly lucky, with the same fare you can catch the 21 to Elmira.

Elmira to Ainslie would be no problem on a single fare.

[Spokes]

I am really surprised that a portion of the Conestoga parking lot was not set a side as a park and ride.
Seems like an oversight.

Are there any other park and ride spots besides Fairview?

I was under the impression that they tried to work out a deal with the mall, but the mall was not receptive to that

[jamincan]

I was thinking last night about how psychologically the various parts of the line feel far more connected now with LRT than with the bus. I'm not entirely sure why. I was going to a late movie at the Cineplex on Fairway with some friends and was early and considering options for food. With the bus, I would have only considered the options around the mall and theatre. Last night, I was running through all the options all along the line. Did I have time to run up to Vincenzo's? It's been awhile since I've grabbed a sandwich there.

I think the level-boarding trains and station infrastructure have a part in that. Physically there are few barriers (although the pedestrian infrastructure around the mall is horrendous right now, particularly with the construction there). The free fares is definitely another factor too, probably the largest. It makes me wonder if it is worthwhile for the region and municipalities to subsidize transit specifically to remove the mental barrier that the fare payment creates. Would free bus routes create the same sense of connection? It certainly doesn't seem that way, seeing as the bus system is free right now too.

Has anyone else noticed a radical change in their mental map of the city with the advent of ION service?

[danbrotherston]

I was thinking last night about how psychologically the various parts of the line feel far more connected now with LRT than with the bus. I'm not entirely sure why. I was going to a late movie at the Cineplex on Fairway with some friends and was early and considering options for food. With the bus, I would have only considered the options around the mall and theatre. Last night, I was running through all the options all along the line. Did I have time to run up to Vincenzo's? It's been awhile since I've grabbed a sandwich there.

I think the level-boarding trains and station infrastructure have a part in that. Physically there are few barriers (although the pedestrian infrastructure around the mall is horrendous right now, particularly with the construction there). The free fares is definitely another factor too, probably the largest. It makes me wonder if it is worthwhile for the region and municipalities to subsidize transit specifically to remove the mental barrier that the fare payment creates. Would free bus routes create the same sense of connection? It certainly doesn't seem that way, seeing as the bus system is free right now too.

Has anyone else noticed a radical change in their mental map of the city with the advent of ION service?

I know exactly what you mean.  The ION line just feels closer.  I do find it unfortunate, because the busses can be reasonably convenient, but often they don't feel that way.

Given that I bike most of the time, my feel of access to the city changes depending on the bike infra that gets built, as well as the weather. In winter, I feel very trapped, even walking outside DTK is dangerous feeling. I imagine the ION will help with this in the next winter.

[EdM]

I was thinking last night about how psychologically the various parts of the line feel far more connected now with LRT than with the bus.

Exactly this - I used to work in suburban Waterloo and would often tag along with a colleague who'd drive to Vincenzo's to pick up lunch. I've now been working in DTK for several years, and hadn't been back to Vincenzo's until this week - somehow it seems much more readily accessible with the LRT.

[ac3r]

Exactly. I don't understand why someone would drive their vehicle, just to park it in order to take public transit? Why not just take public transit to begin with - or drive? It's not like there are many neighbourhoods in the city without adequate service, including north Waterloo.

On Sunday we drove to Fairview park to hop on the iON for the multicultural festival to avoid the hassle of parking downtown. We live in a Sunday transit desert. The 33 doesn’t run on Sunday's and the nearest walk to another stop is over 40 minutes away. I can see a use case for people say in Conestogo or other north end exurbs using a park and ride.

Fair enough. For a one-off day out that makes sense. I guess I'm so used to transit, that I would not consider driving somewhere, just to finish a trip in a bus/tram.

That said, downtown parking is never really a problem here. There are so many parking spaces and many go under utilized. I believe that garage on Benton is rarely ever half full.

[ijmorlan]

I’m not sure you guys realize how many people not in KW are trying out the ION this week.  I know a bunch of people from Guelph that have come out and a few people from London as well. 

Good to hear. One of the many reasons I long hoped that our system would be built is that it would be an example. A lot of the anti-LRT rhetoric has been based on incorrect facts. While many are just denialists, I believe there are many people who could go either way and seeing what LRT is actually like will help people to realize that it is a good thing. If the debate can be on issues like where it makes sense to take traffic lanes for LRT and what is affordable rather than on bogus nonsense like how horrible it would (n’t) be to have a train drive past the patio of a restaurant or how dangerous it is (n’t) to board from the middle of the street, we will all be better served.

The restaurant patio example is straight from a ridiculous deputation given by a former mayor of Waterloo to Regional Council. She suggested that restaurant patios on King St. would be useless with a train right next to them. Absurd, of course, given the implication that it would be A-OK to have a regular traffic lane full of cars, trucks, and buses roaring by constantly, some of them driven by random idiots, but an electric LRV every few minutes would destroy the ambience. But there it is. You can probably still find it in the Region’s video archive from 2011.

I also remember an exchange in the Record letters. Somebody claimed people would have to load dangerously from the middle of the street like a streetcar. Leaving aside the question of whether streetcar loading practices are dangerous, as everybody knows Ion loads from a platform. So another person replied to the first letter pointing out that Ion would load from a platform. Then the first person doubled down! Apparently they thought their preconceptions, not derived from actual knowledge, took precedence over true facts. I don’t know how such a person gets through the day: what if they get it in their head that Zehr’s is poisoning them or something?

I don’t blame Conestoga Mall for not giving up their parking spots for free.  Although I think a better business decision would have been to embrace the free week.  Advertise to people they could come and park this week only and then make it clear that once regular service starts they aren’t a park and ride. 

That would have been a great idea. Avoid the negative headlines now but maintain control over parking longer term.

[ac3r]

Has anyone else noticed a radical change in their mental map of the city with the advent of ION service?

Absolutely. So many things will be much easier/faster to get to. Before, our transit system operated using hubs. We had Charles and Ainsle Terminals as well as some minor hubs in malls. Certain places in the city would require you to take a bus to one of these places and then transfer to another bus and perhaps to yet another one, if you had somewhere specific to go. Now one has the option of taking a fairly arterial/linear tram route, jump off at a stop closest to where you wish to go, and then catch a bus to where your destination is. It feels much faster and logistically easier now.

Someone I know who lives here has been in the process of looking for work. She felt quite limited in regards to where she could apply, because to get from Fairview to Conestoga took well over an hour. Now she is able to apply to jobs as far as Conestoga and won't have to worry about getting up so early, because it's now a 40~ minute trip to get there.

Edit: Additionally, the tram comes by every 10 minutes, compared to a lifetime for the buses. So getting on to go grab lunch somewhere which would have taken a lot longer to get to is now an option.

[KevinL]

I actually got a seat for my morning commute! Not taking it as a definitive sign that the novelty is wearing off, but it was nice.

Also: when the Wi-Fi works, it's very good.

[jeffster]

As has been stated to the end in the thread, park at home, ride bus to LRT :p

Exactly. I don't understand why someone would drive their vehicle, just to park it in order to take public transit? Why not just take public transit to begin with - or drive? It's not like there are many neighbourhoods in the city without adequate service, including north Waterloo.

Suppose one wants to shop at Conestoga Mall, then take the train to Uptown Waterloo for some shopping then DTK for lunch, etc. If one lives near Conestoga Mall, this makes sense. If you're close to Uptown Waterloo, then use the parkade, or one of several garages in Kitchener if you're close to that.

Personally, being in Kitchener, I wouldn't travel to Conestoga Mall to take the LRT -- it defeats the purpose. I might park at Charles and Benton though, and head in whatever direction from there, as I am close to there, and it doesn't defeat the purpose of the LRT. Better yet, take the bus to Mill Station and go from there - if you can.

Now why would some take the car to take the LRT? Perhaps they have a disability, or they're a senior, and can't walk the distance to nearest bus station, and perhaps can't risk having to stand on a bus. Whenever I ride the bus and see someone that obviously needs a seat more than me, I will give it up, but whenever I have used the bus, it seems that my way of thinking is the exception, not the rule (as an observer already standing, or at the back of the bus). My last experience on GRT was watching a couple people with their bags taking up 5 seats and not bothering to give up a single seat for a mother with a stroller and baby nor the elderly person that also got on. I also saw this in Toronto quite a bit, including some lady laying down across 4 seats reading her Kindle.

[danbrotherston]

Exactly. I don't understand why someone would drive their vehicle, just to park it in order to take public transit? Why not just take public transit to begin with - or drive? It's not like there are many neighbourhoods in the city without adequate service, including north Waterloo.

Suppose one wants to shop at Conestoga Mall, then take the train to Uptown Waterloo for some shopping then DTK for lunch, etc. If one lives near Conestoga Mall, this makes sense. If you're close to Uptown Waterloo, then use the parkade, or one of several garages in Kitchener if you're close to that.

Personally, being in Kitchener, I wouldn't travel to Conestoga Mall to take the LRT -- it defeats the purpose. I might park at Charles and Benton though, and head in whatever direction from there, as I am close to there, and it doesn't defeat the purpose of the LRT. Better yet, take the bus to Mill Station and go from there - if you can.

Now why would some take the car to take the LRT? Perhaps they have a disability, or they're a senior, and can't walk the distance to nearest bus station, and perhaps can't risk having to stand on a bus. Whenever I ride the bus and see someone that obviously needs a seat more than me, I will give it up, but whenever I have used the bus, it seems that my way of thinking is the exception, not the rule (as an observer already standing, or at the back of the bus). My last experience on GRT was watching a couple people with their bags taking up 5 seats and not bothering to give up a single seat for a mother with a stroller and baby nor the elderly person that also got on.  I also saw this in Toronto quite a bit, including some lady laying down across 4 seats reading her Kindle.

Yes, I'm sure we can all come up with examples of why people will drive to LRT stations, but we need to look at the actual numbers--how many people in the city would actually do this? We have a park and ride in the south so we can actually get very good numbers on this. Additionally, we must look at how it costs to provide parking, vs. how much benefit does it provide to the transit system, and mobility in general, vs. what else could be provided for that money. Keep in mind building even a surface parking space can cost 10k dollars alone, and that will carry, at best, one rider per day. Is there a cheaper way to get another rider, one that perhaps doesn't come with all the other costs of car drivership in the city?

There are rude everywhere. Rude people on transit are annoying and frustrate me.  Rude people in cars try to kill me. I'll suffer through rude people on transit every time.

[MidTowner]

I take the bus daily, and I've never had the experience of someone refusing to give up a seat when asked politely. I've pointed out to other riders on the bus that someone has boarded who might need the seat, and every time that person has rushed to vacate it, apologetically.

But I allow that other people's experiences may differ.

[tomh009]

I take the bus daily, and I've never had the experience of someone refusing to give up a seat when asked politely. I've pointed out to other riders on the bus that someone has boarded who might need the seat, and every time that person has rushed to vacate it, apologetically.

But I allow that other people's experiences may differ.

This. Teaching people some manners.

[tomh009]

So how full have the trains been this week, during the week, at the worst? Standing-room only, yes, but how tightly packed?

[robdrimmie]

So how full have the trains been this week, during the week, at the worst? Standing-room only, yes, but how tightly packed?

I rode the train on Tuesday evening, getting on at Victoria Park Station at 4:35. All the seats were full and a lot of people were clustered by the door. I was able to make my way through to a somewhat more open space near the connection between two cars (where there are no handholds, which contributes to the clustering, but I don't know how there could be on the bendy rubber bits) before getting to Borden Station where the train got even more packed. I got off at Mill Street where a lot more people were getting on.

This morning on my bus ride in (it would have been approximately 8:30 at this point) , we were side-by-side with a Conestoga-bound train around Cameron Heights and it appeared to be quite full, with several people standing, but not jam-packed. A Fairway-bound train we passed a moment later appeared to have no one standing. I walked past another Fairway-bound train at Victoria Park station sometime around 8:45 and there were empty seats and no one was standing.