Grand River Transit

[dunkalunk]

Just throwing some spaghetti at a map. If I were to add more service to Breslau and the airport tomorrow here's how I'd do it.



Extend Routes 5 and 34 from Bridgeport and Bingemans to the airport via Breslau
Modify routing of Route 23 to follow Morrison Road and Grand River Blvd to cover service area of Route 27 Chicopee
Create a new route directly down Fairway Rd connecting Fairway Station to the Airport

In future, service could connect directly with the GO station in Breslau off Greenhouse Rd.

[KevinL]

To celebrate Ion's 5th anniversary, all GRT service will be free of fare on the weekend of the 22nd-23rd. https://www.grt.ca/en/about-grt/ion-5th-birthday.aspx

[Acitta]

GRT Business Plan
Grand River Transit's business plan will provide a roadmap to guide transit service investments from 2025 to 2030 and beyond. The GRT Business Plan builds on transit priorities identified through the Region’s Strategic Plan(External link) and Budget(External link) consultations. It will focus on how to make transit easier to use, where and when GRT can serve you better, and how and where GRT should prioritize frequency and speed.

There are three different pieces to the GRT Business Plan that we will ask for your input on throughout 2024:

Conventional Bus and Train Business Plan

Guide the expansion of conventional bus and train services over the next five years, ensuring GRT can meet the needs of a rapidly-growing population and support the Region’s commitment to reducing emissions.
MobilityPLUS and Kiwanis Transit Business Plan

Guide the improvement and expansion of Specialized Transit Services within Waterloo Region throughout the next five years.
Township Transit Strategy

Develop and evaluate ideas to expand transit services in the townships over the next five years, providing residents with better access to essential services and employment opportunities.
Business plan launch event
Join us on June 27 at 7 p.m. for a virtual townhall to launch of the GRT business plan. We'll introduce all three plans, and you'll have an opportunity to share your ideas and vision for the future of our transit services.

Share your feedback
Map your ideas for all three plans using the map tool below
Share your feedback on the Conventional Bus and Train Business Plan by filling out the survey below
Ask any questions using the Q+A tool below

[jeremyroman]

Effective June 24, 2024, the GRT Flex route 79 to Breslau (including the airport) will now also do pickup/dropoff at Central Station and the Kitchener train station.

https://www.grt.ca/en/schedules-maps/rou...eslau.aspx

Seems like a much more convenient connection than having to bus out to Victoria/Lackner first.

[SF22]

The first community Q&A for the 2025-2030 business plan happened last night. Some general notes from the meeting (by no means extensive):

• Each of the townships will be having virtual engagement sessions to review service options for the specific township. Wilmot on July 9, Wellesley on July 10, Woolwich on July 17 and North Dumfries on July 16.
  
• They ran three polls for the people who were participating in the meeting: where do you live, how do you typically get around Waterloo Region (bus, car, biking, etc), and how important do you rate a number of priorities (eg: speed of service, lower waiting times, lower fares, new service routes, improved stop amenities, etc).
  
• Articulated buses have been put on the back burner for the moment. They are still deciding whether to go with hybrid or all-electric bendy buses, and will also need to retrofit a number of bus stops to accommodate these 60' vehicles. Will probably be another couple of years before we see these.
  
• They are hoping to get more funds to direct towards improving stop amenities (benches, shelters, etc) so that the work can be done faster. They do some every year, but they recognize it's moving too slowly.
  
• Not looking at switching to PRESTO at this time.
  
• They will not seriously begin studying for a Phase 3 ION route until Phase 2 is fully approved and under construction. That said, when presented with the 3 potential routes that have been floating around (Victoria/Highland, Ottawa, or King/University), the GRT rep specifically named Ottawa as a potential Phase 3 route.
  
• They are continuing their needs-based fare discounts (income-based instead of a traditional 'Students and Seniors' model), but are looking at potentially adjusting children's fares (it sounded like this might be a discount as opposed to fully free).
  
• They are looking into some kind of modification for the ION validators on the platform, as they can be hard to read. This might be something retrofitted to provide protection from the glare of the sun.
  
• Someone asked about 'hyper-express' buses that jump straight from Conestoga to Central Station to Fairview to cut travel times. It sounds like they're looking at something similar, but no indication if this is something they think is feasible.
  
• They are also looking at all-door boarding to help speed up loading times and keep buses punctual. This is particularly connected to the articulated buses, as they would likely need to have rear-door boarding.
  

There will be another round of public consultation in September once GRT and the Region pull together a draft plan.

[danbrotherston]

The first community Q&A for the 2025-2030 business plan happened last night. Some general notes from the meeting (by no means extensive):

• Each of the townships will be having virtual engagement sessions to review service options for the specific township. Wilmot on July 9, Wellesley on July 10, Woolwich on July 17 and North Dumfries on July 16.
  
• They ran three polls for the people who were participating in the meeting: where do you live, how do you typically get around Waterloo Region (bus, car, biking, etc), and how important do you rate a number of priorities (eg: speed of service, lower waiting times, lower fares, new service routes, improved stop amenities, etc).
  
• Articulated buses have been put on the back burner for the moment. They are still deciding whether to go with hybrid or all-electric bendy buses, and will also need to retrofit a number of bus stops to accommodate these 60' vehicles. Will probably be another couple of years before we see these.
  
• They are hoping to get more funds to direct towards improving stop amenities (benches, shelters, etc) so that the work can be done faster. They do some every year, but they recognize it's moving too slowly.
  
• Not looking at switching to PRESTO at this time.
  
• They will not seriously begin studying for a Phase 3 ION route until Phase 2 is fully approved and under construction. That said, when presented with the 3 potential routes that have been floating around (Victoria/Highland, Ottawa, or King/University), the GRT rep specifically named Ottawa as a potential Phase 3 route.
  
• They are continuing their needs-based fare discounts (income-based instead of a traditional 'Students and Seniors' model), but are looking at potentially adjusting children's fares (it sounded like this might be a discount as opposed to fully free).
  
• They are looking into some kind of modification for the ION validators on the platform, as they can be hard to read. This might be something retrofitted to provide protection from the glare of the sun.
  
• Someone asked about 'hyper-express' buses that jump straight from Conestoga to Central Station to Fairview to cut travel times. It sounds like they're looking at something similar, but no indication if this is something they think is feasible.
  
• They are also looking at all-door boarding to help speed up loading times and keep buses punctual. This is particularly connected to the articulated buses, as they would likely need to have rear-door boarding.
  

There will be another round of public consultation in September once GRT and the Region pull together a draft plan.

Presto: Lol...no matter how much you justify this guys, this was a baaaaad decision. Now they're stuck...

Children's fares: This is also a bad decision (but no surprise coming from the region). The problem is one of convenience. Even if children's fares are free, but they must still have a card, and order their card, and tap their card, it's a problem. That's the situation in the Netherlands--it means that quickly bringing a child along with you, might be less expensive, but it's still a hassle that it doesn't have to be.

So they're losing much of the revenue, and really only improving it for people who have no choice, those who have a choice, will still go with the lower hassle option of not taking transit.

All door boarding: While a good policy, if the region wants to keep the insane level of fare inspection they were doing before, it'll be expensive, and also continue to be incredibly offensive and destructive. I've been riding trains three times a week in the Netherlands for five months and I've been inspected about 5 times...I would routinely get inspected 5 times in 10 rides in Kitchener. I have been inspected WHILE the train was forced to emergency brake for a driver cutting them off...a driver which suffered no inconvenience whatsoever for their selfish dangerous act, and if they had parked illegally after, would still have been unlikely to face the consequences of anyone who skipped paying their fare on the train. I hated that so fucking much.

[ac3r]

The first community Q&A for the 2025-2030 business plan happened last night. Some general notes from the meeting (by no means extensive):

[*]Not looking at switching to PRESTO at this time.

That's annoying. The convenience of just having one universal card that works with something like a dozen transit agencies across the province would be nice to have, but I guess we're stuck with our Temu knock-off for a while. Sounds like they've been pressed to consider switching at least, so that's a start.

[bravado]

I understand, when it comes to the battle between convenience and ease of use for the public vs some bureaucrat/councillor's weird local silo, the silo comes first!

[KevinL]

I'd be happy with them getting open payment (debit/credit) even if it's not explicitly Presto.

[danbrotherston]

I'd be happy with them getting open payment (debit/credit) even if it's not explicitly Presto.

Yes, this would be great (and also something we would already have if we had used presto AFAIK).

[tomh009]

I'd be happy with them getting open payment (debit/credit) even if it's not explicitly Presto.

This should certainly be easier than switching the entire system to Presto.

[ac3r]

I think if they add debit/credit payment abilities, the convenience trade-off would be that the fare would end up costing its full price of 3.75 or whatever it currently is. EasyGO has the discount to incentivize using it. I'd like to see them add both debit/credit payments while also switching entirely to Presto. Whether or not it's easier shouldn't really dictate what we do. The region and cities need to put on their big boy shoes and stop half assing things.

[Bytor]

Open payments was mentioned back in February, IIRC, when they also talked about having a payment app to trial by this fall so people could add funds to a card immediately.

[neonjoe]

Now that I can add my Presto Card to Apple Wallet it really makes me wish that GRT would move to something beyond EasyGo. (I no longer need to remember my presto card when I visit the GTA)

[SF22]

Huh, this is the first time I've ever heard an explanation as to why we didn't get Presto for GRT:

GRT is working to launch a mobile fare payment system that will complement the GRT EasyGO fare card. The goal is to increase customer convenience by allowing the purchase of fares anywhere and anytime without the need to carry cash, a physical card, or a ticket.

Presto could not be selected because they did not respond to a Request for Proposals, which is a Regional requirement. Having our own system allows us to ensure our fare products meet our unique customer needs. At the time, Presto was not capable of providing certain features GRT needed, such as handling a U-Pass program.

Found on the GRT Business Plan page on EngageWR, under the Questions tab: https://www.engagewr.ca/grt-business-pla...a#tool_tab