Grand River Transit

[trainspotter139]

Changes coming to Route 76 for September Service Changes which will see the route split into two routes. The new route 36 will use larger conventional buses every 30 minutes as opposed to the smaller busPLUS buses currently in use. Route 76 will also get midday service

Does this mean the routes ridership has grown to exceed that of the smaller vans?

That would be great news.

The driver I talked to said they were standing room only (possibly exceeding registered vehicle capacity) for most trips to Conestoga during morning peak and from Conestoga during afternoon peak. From the P&W Committee Agenda:

Route 76 Doon South – BusPLUS service – Continued growth in demand on Route 76 BusPLUS from Conestoga College students living in the Doon South area has strained the capacity of the current Route 76 Bus Plus service. Staff have evaluated service improvement options that would better accommodate anticipated ridership growth in September 2019 when the Conestoga College U-Pass program will take effect.

The preferred option for Doon South is shown in Appendix C. Route 76 would be realigned to connect Pioneer Park Plaza to Conestoga College via Doon Mills and Doon South Drive. A new Route 36 using a conventional bus would serve the south part of the subdivision, connecting to the college using Robert Ferrie Drive, Doon South Drive, Thomas Slee Drive and New Dundee Road. This would provide the additional capacity required for the growing ridership demand in this area.  Route 36 would ultimately travel along the future extension of Strasburg Road as identified in the GRT Business Plan.

As noted in the table above, a PIC outlining potential service improvements to Route 76 is planned for April 9th.