ION - Waterloo Region's Light Rail Transit

[danbrotherston]

It could be that there are higher priority issues being worked on that keep pushing back a fix for whatever the ATP problem is.

They could also be transparent about that too.

[Bob_McBob]

They could also be transparent about that too.

Exactly. We shouldn't have to sift through council meeting agendas for scraps or rely on local media to force the release of information with FOI requests. The region has been tight lipped since the beginning and nothing has changed.

[ijmorlan]

They could also be transparent about that too.

Exactly. We shouldn't have to sift through council meeting agendas for scraps or rely on local media to force the release of information with FOI requests. The region has been tight lipped since the beginning and nothing has changed.

I said it during construction and I think it’s still valid now: they should have somebody write a blog about what is going on. They could take questions from the public, talk to the relevant people inside the organization, and distill it into articles that keep us all up to speed on progress. This could also serve the function of keeping the different parts of the organization informed of the work being done by the other parts.

Done properly, it would be at a medium to high level of detail: more than is appropriate for actual press releases, but still at the level that more than one or two super nerds would be interested in. It would also serve as an educational resource because we would get a window on just what all that maintenance expense is actually buying. I know I’d be interested — I know that there are lots of pieces of equipment installed beyond just the tracks, but I don’t feel that I have a good understanding of what specifically is in those signal huts, for example.

[KevinL]

Yeah, the lack of a dedicated social media office for this is very unfortunate. Many organizations see great returns from having such a role; it's too bad that wasn't put through here.

[plam]

Yeah, the lack of a dedicated social media office for this is very unfortunate. Many organizations see great returns from having such a role; it's too bad that wasn't put through here.

I seem to recall they had one and then he left for another transit agency and we didn't successfully hire for a replacement.

[Bob_McBob]

Our favourite cartoonist at the Woolwich Observer was finally inspired to publish his first LRT-related work since service started. You can enjoy his previous hits in this imgur gallery.

Caption: "With the GRT buses parked due to the strike, there's little in the way of feeding from the feeder system."

[danbrotherston]

Our favourite cartoonist at the Woolwich Observer was finally inspired to publish his first LRT-related work since service started. You can enjoy his previous hits in this imgur gallery.

Caption: "With the GRT buses parked due to the strike, there's little in the way of feeding from the feeder system."

I don't even get this one. They are accurately understanding how a transit system works...they might as well be complaining that roads have intersections.

[ijmorlan]

I was actually wondering what has happened to LRT ridership during the strike. On the one hand, I can see some combined bus/LRT trips not being taken; but on the other hand I can see some trips being taken on the LRT rather than on the usually-slightly-more-convenient bus. In particular, almost any long trip on the 7 (other than between Conestoga Mall and Uptown) could be reasonably replaced by an LRT trip with longer walks.

[Acitta]

I took the ION from Mill to Fairway and back on Friday morning and there were very few passengers. I wonder what usage is like during rush hour.

[dunkalunk]

Anecdotally, from getting on and off the train on Friday and Saturday, ridership north of Central Station has been decent, but still not as full as expected. Highest ridership is between UW and Uptown.

[KevinL]

Waterloo ridership remains heavy; I was lucky to get a seat when I boarded at Northfield on Friday night, and it remained packed until past Allen.

[Bob_McBob]

I was in DTK for an hour around 5pm last night, and all the trains I saw seemed to have plenty of people on them.

[BruceAshe]

I've had to switch from taking the 7 to the ION during the strike. I get on at Frederick Station and ride to Conestoga Mall in the morning and there were a few days I couldn't get a seat when I got on and it stays busy until the universities. During my return trip in the late afternoon the ION is full once it hits the university stops and is still full once I get to Market Station. I'm obviously not sure how the ridership compares to when the buses are running though.

[robdrimmie]

I feel like the trains going from Queen Station towards Fairway between 4:30 and 5 - when I typically ride - are the same or perhaps very slightly lighter. Generally there's an open seat here and there but several folks standing and that seems to have been the case last week as well.

[jeffster]

Our favourite cartoonist at the Woolwich Observer was finally inspired to publish his first LRT-related work since service started. You can enjoy his previous hits in this imgur gallery.

Caption: "With the GRT buses parked due to the strike, there's little in the way of feeding from the feeder system."

Oh, they never fail to disappoint. Still hurting that the region didn't go all the way up to Elmira. I mean, I can't figure out any other reason why they'd be upset.