GO Transit

[plam]

Hourly service is pretty good, it's been hard to get to Guelph before. And the weekend service is good too. It does take a long time to get to Hamilton, but yes, it is an additional way to connect to VIA.

[taylortbb]

So it doesn’t have to double back after coming off the highway…

It could go down Weber just like the 25, not sure why not.

An overlooked part of this change is that the 25 will no longer take Weber. It will skip directly from Sportsworld to Laurier for all runs.

I think as central KW traffic has increased, GO is wanting to keep their busses on the expressway. Big service cut for DTK though.

[the_conestoga_guy]

It could go down Weber just like the 25, not sure why not.

An overlooked part of this change is that the 25 will no longer take Weber. It will skip directly from Sportsworld to Laurier for all runs.

I think as central KW traffic has increased, GO is wanting to keep their busses on the expressway. Big service cut for DTK though.

I would expect that this specific service layout will only be temporary until the new Central station bus loop is constructed. As I saw someone mention in the Urban Toronto thread, it would actually be faster for students to take the Ion downtown and be picked up by a bus at King/Victoria. I'm just happy that this long-overdue route is being serviced.

[Acitta]

New transit route from Waterloo to Hamilton a good start, transit advocates say

A new transit route that will connect Waterloo and Hamilton starting on April 8 is a good step, but more direct routes with central stops should be on the radar for Metrolinx's future plans, transit advocates say.

[Rainrider22]

in the mean time, All the stops along Weber street in Kitchener on the 25 route are being taken out of service on April 8. Its always one step forward and two steps back with GO. grrrrr.

[plam]

in the mean time,  All the stops along Weber street in Kitchener on the 25 route are being taken out of service on April 8.  Its always one step forward and two steps back with GO.  grrrrr.

It's the tradeoff: do you want fast service or do you want service that is closer to people? There are too many stops on the non-C 25 route, though probably it's the highway stops that really add a bunch of time. I just look at the time difference and I'm like, sigh.

[Rainrider22]

At least one stop in Kitchener would be nice. Now I have to get to Sportsworld to get on the GO bus. Ridiculous. There were a lot of people who utilized the Stops. They could have at least kept the one at Weber and Queen. I am writing to them , not that it will make any difference. To your point, they look better by decreasing the time to the University by 5 mins, while making it more difficult for Kitchener residents.

[danbrotherston]

At least one stop in Kitchener would be nice.  Now I have to get to Sportsworld to get on the GO bus.  Ridiculous.  There were a lot of people who utilized the Stops.  They could have at least kept the one at Weber and Queen.  I am writing to them , not that it will make any difference.  To your point, they look better by decreasing the time to the University by 5 mins, while making it more difficult for Kitchener residents.

This is on point...

FWIW though...the DTK stops were much better used before the closure of the bus station. I think a lot of people didn't even know where to pickup the bus.

But it's just more policy failure from Metrolinx.

[ijmorlan]

I understand wanting to use the freeway, but it seems to me that building up the new transit terminal location as the main station should start now, not wait for a hypothetical future when we’re able to afford a $100M bus shelter there for passengers to wait in.

[the_conestoga_guy]

I understand wanting to use the freeway, but it seems to me that building up the new transit terminal location as the main station should start now, not wait for a hypothetical future when we’re able to afford a $100M bus shelter there for passengers to wait in.

I believe that's exactly what they're planning. Metrolinx & the Region will start work soon on the bus loop and train platforms, while "phase 2" to build the terminal building is permanently on the back-burner until funding is secured.

[ijmorlan]

I understand wanting to use the freeway, but it seems to me that building up the new transit terminal location as the main station should start now, not wait for a hypothetical future when we’re able to afford a $100M bus shelter there for passengers to wait in.

I believe that's exactly what they're planning. Metrolinx & the Region will start work soon on the bus loop and train platforms, while "phase 2" to build the terminal building is permanently on the back-burner until funding is secured.

Shouldn’t the bus route which is now being removed from Weber St. stop at the new transit terminal location? I don’t know what the best route would be, and I don’t have a strong opinion about stopping multiple times on Weber St., but I do feel that not stopping anywhere in downtown is questionable.

[Rainrider22]

They don't need to stop multiple times...but once would be nice.

[jeremyroman]

GO Transit's response when I complained about bypassing DT Kitchener:

Thank you for contacting us regarding the changes to the 25 - Milton GO Bus Route. I can certainly understand your concerns, and I appreciate you taking the time to write in.

Several times a year, GO Transit reviews the schedules network-wide to ensure our services align with customer needs across the Greater Golden Horseshoe, while making the best use of our resources. These changes have been made in response to changing travel patterns, ridership trends, and to provide more opportunities to make progress on important capital and infrastructure maintenance projects, so we can better serve customers and communities in the long term. Any changes to schedules that require customers to make alternate arrangements are made with special consideration, and decisions to discontinue routes are not made lightly.

To provide faster, more direct access, the 25 GO Bus route has adjusted service to Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo. Transit options available following this adjustment may include the 30 GO Bus route, or Grand River Transit #7 King or #8 Weber.

We’re constantly looking for ways to meet the travel needs of our customers. As such, your feedback has been shared with our Service Design Team for review and consideration for the next set of changes. While we don’t yet know when the next update will be implemented, I can assure you that customer feedback is included in the process.

We strive to provide customers with as much time as possible to understand and adjust to changes to our services that affect them. If you are not already subscribed, may I suggest signing up for On the GO Alerts which will send you a text and/or an email to advise of service impacts to the line you have selected, and follow us on Twitter to stay in the know about service delays and cancellations, construction, new services and improvements along the 25 GO Bus route.

Additionally, you may benefit from a trip planning website called Triplinx that gets our commuters on their way. Simply enter your starting and destination locations, the time and date of either your departure time or time of arrival, and you will receive three options for travel. Modify your trip as needed by clicking “More options” and let Triplinx help you on your way. Please note, Triplinx provides local transit options as well as GO Transit options, so you have a greater variety of ways to get where you need to go. To reach the website, you may click the link here: Triplinx

I am pleased to have had the opportunity address your concern, and I hope a future update is better suited to your needs. Thank you again for writing in.

[Rainrider22]

This is what I sent to them, we will see how they respond.

Hello,

I want to express my great displeasure with respect to the discontinuation of stops along Weber Street in Kitchener on route 25 commencing 8 April 2023.

I understand that when you make changes you likely look at overall ridership at particular spots vs increasing the time of a trip. I understand that while the stops along Weber street don't have the same volume as the stops at the universities, this decision is greatly impacting riders for citizens in the City of Kitchener. This change will force people to find their way to either a University or Sportsworld. Kitchener is a city of almost 300k and for you to ignore so many people irrespective of the volume target, is in my mind absent of consideration. Most people you are inconveniencing and causing to travel through other alternate means often are at an economic disadvantage or may just not utilize automobiles for a number of reasons.

Further to this, the city of Kitchener in cooperation with GO is starting to develop a central transit hub in Downtown Kitchener. With this in mind, I would expect that all stake holders would want to encourage and start developing travel habits that would align with the future transit hub. Part of a bigger plan should encourage habitual travel routines now as apposed to later. I find it very frustrating when change means steps backwards to service delivery so that others can gain a whopping decrease of 5 minutes in travel time. 5 Minutes ? Is five minutes really worth displacing others for a service?

I completely understand that it may not make sense to have multiple stops along the way within the city but one stop at Victoria and Weber (close to the new Transit Centre) would surely not impact route 25 negatively and still address others concerns..

I am not sure how many complaints you have received but as we know in communications, most people wont take the time to write and forward for a variety of reasons.

I urge you to reconsider this and and at least implement a stop in the area of Victoria and Weber.

Changing process is expected as is gaining efficiencies. However, "“Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things.” Peter Drucker

I will be relaying my concerns to my local MPP and City politicians as well.

Thank you in advance for your consideration in this matter. I look forward to hearing back from you .

[Rainrider22]

I just wrote to Kitchener city counsel, my counselor Scott Davey, the Mayor, The regional Chair, and our local Mpp's.

Lets see what they do or how they respond. We will get a flavor of just how serious they are with respect to transit.

I am not letting this one go...