(01-03-2026, 07:44 AM)ijmorlan Wrote:

(01-02-2026, 08:16 AM)MidTowner Wrote: That is nuts. Free transit on New Year's Eve is practically a tradition in North America by now. Driving under the influence is still very much an issue, and giving people more easy options to get home safely is a good thing.

As with other initiatives to increase access, it's also good sales and marketing.

I was thinking on New Year's Eve, additionally, the weather was bad. I know there is little chance of this happening here in Waterloo Region, but there is nothing stopping GRT from offering fare-free rides during inclement weather. If they are planning on running the Ion, but the police services are telling people to avoid travelling by car if possible, I think it would make sense to let people board without a fare.

Free fares during inclement weather is actually a bad idea. You take a rush hour when transit is already busy, and dump a bunch more people on that don’t normally take it, while collecting no additional fares. So the version of transit that the new people see is the worst version of it, and you can’t really take the sudden surge anyway. Additionally, loyal customers who are already using a monthly pass get no benefit whatsoever, and in fact get worse service due to the extra people.

Free fares on New Year’s, by contrast, is a great idea. It’s not rush hour, so you’re not further overburdening the system. And since it’s planned, you can run sufficient service to meet the need.

(01-04-2026, 03:29 PM)bravado Wrote: I'm looking forward to the next winter holiday sidewalk plowing service brought to you by Domino's or something

(01-03-2026, 09:38 AM)danbrotherston Wrote:

(01-03-2026, 07:44 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: Free fares during inclement weather is actually a bad idea. You take a rush hour when transit is already busy, and dump a bunch more people on that don’t normally take it, while collecting no additional fares. So the version of transit that the new people see is the worst version of it, and you can’t really take the sudden surge anyway. Additionally, loyal customers who are already using a monthly pass get no benefit whatsoever, and in fact get worse service due to the extra people.

Free fares on New Year’s, by contrast, is a great idea. It’s not rush hour, so you’re not further overburdening the system. And since it’s planned, you can run sufficient service to meet the need.

I don't think this is true in KW...I haven't ridden transit during rush hour for a while, but before the pandemic, rush hour transit was never crush capacity and rarely even full with the rare exception being campus buses in September .

The point of using fares to moderate demand makes sense, but only when demand outstrips supply.

Of course, it would be nice if transit had priority and separated spaces so that when inclement weather hits, transit performance would remain good. Which means the rest of the logic follows, transit will be bad during those times. That said, all else being equal, service would actually get better because service is always better when not collecting fares because collecting fares takes time.

FWIW...we have a second day of snow here in the Netherlands, and while trains are operating more or less smoothly, the buses are a complete mess.

(01-05-2026, 09:06 AM)MidTowner Wrote:

(01-03-2026, 09:38 AM)danbrotherston Wrote: I don't think this is true in KW...I haven't ridden transit during rush hour for a while, but before the pandemic, rush hour transit was never crush capacity and rarely even full with the rare exception being campus buses in September .

The point of using fares to moderate demand makes sense, but only when demand outstrips supply.

Of course, it would be nice if transit had priority and separated spaces so that when inclement weather hits, transit performance would remain good. Which means the rest of the logic follows, transit will be bad during those times. That said, all else being equal, service would actually get better because service is always better when not collecting fares because collecting fares takes time.

FWIW...we have a second day of snow here in the Netherlands, and while trains are operating more or less smoothly, the buses are a complete mess.

It has changed again in the past few months, but you're right that we don't really have a "rush hour" with extremely high loads. Certain routes (8 is the one I know best that experiences this) get near crush loads at different times of day driven by the demand from the college. A route like 34 is never busy, and I doubt a "snow day" with no fare collection would lead to crush loads at 3:00 when shifts end.

You're right that not collecting fares is better than collecting fares. Embarking time is a huge cost, and I think GRT is really bad for this on some routes.

(01-05-2026, 11:47 AM)ijmorlan Wrote: Good point about the system capacity. I recall a discussion elsewhere on a similar topic related to Toronto, where dumping a bunch of additional people onto the subway at rush hour very much would not work. But I agree that if our system is less crowded it may be OK to encourage more use in bad weather.

(01-04-2026, 06:47 PM)Acitta Wrote:

(01-04-2026, 03:29 PM)bravado Wrote: I'm looking forward to the next winter holiday sidewalk plowing service brought to you by Domino's or something

Maybe GRT could sell sponsorships to clean bus stops. "This stop has been cleared of snow courtesy of Big Corporation dot com".

(01-05-2026, 04:57 PM)creative Wrote: Are they not required to go with the lowest bid as long as they meet the requirements?