GO Transit

[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...

[danbrotherston]

FWIW guys, I think you should also recognize and put some blame on the region (I.e., demand they do better) the lack of a replacement bus terminal has harmed ridership of the 25 bus in DTK. The city should have installed something in order to make the stop more visible and accessible.

[Rainrider22]

Well, here is my response from GO. Another boiler Template response. I bet they didn't even read my concerns:

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.

Sincerely,
Neal Adams, Customer Relations Representative
Customer Care
GO Transit, a Division of Metrolinx
20 Bay St | Toronto | Ontario | M5J 2W3

[danbrotherston]

Well,  here is my response from GO.  Another boiler Template response.  I bet they didn't even read my concerns:

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.

Sincerely,
Neal Adams, Customer Relations Representative
Customer Care
GO Transit, a Division of Metrolinx
20 Bay St | Toronto | Ontario | M5J 2W3

You  know, I'd buy that argument if they were serving DTK and not Sportsworld Dr. (and not to mention many of the other little used highway stops that require enormous amounts of time to get too).

But I really wish GO was less of a passive entity here. Highway stops SHOULD be fast...the fact that they are unwilling or unable to invest in making them fast really tells you all you need to know about their priorities. Maybe they care about their riders, but they care much more about the established order of things, about not rocking the boat, about not seeking meaningful solutions outside the framework.

[nms]

Recently, I was planning a round trip to Toronto and back using a combination of GO Transit and VIA Rail. For the westbound journey, I noticed that there are now 21 westbound trips between the 30 & 31 Bus, some train and bus combinations, and some train only trips. One that that did surprise me was that is a few instances, a train trip started at Union and then passengers were required to transfer to a second train a the Bramalea station. Does this mean that there are some trains waiting at Bramalea to head west while the original train returns to Union Station?

On a related note, it would appear that VIA has reduced its service on this line by at least one round-trip train trip.

[Bytor]

One that that did surprise me was that is a few instances, a train trip started at Union and then passengers were required to transfer to a second train a the Bramalea station.  Does this mean that there are some trains waiting at Bramalea to head west while the original train returns to Union Station?

They aren't waiting there, it's just a later train from Union station that you get on. 

Two-way, all day hourly service stops at either Bramalea or Mount Pleasant, with only some of the trains continuing on to Kitchener. If it's telling you you need a transfer it's because you chose a train that stops at Bramalea or Mount Pleasant, rather than one of the  trains that continues on to Kitchener. When that happens there's an express train that leaves Union about 15 later and skips Bloor, Weston, and Etobicoke, getting to Bramalea or Mount Pleasant about 6 minutes after that non-express that stops at those stations.

E.g. you chose to get on the 16:04 from Union which arrives at Bramalea at 16:40, and then you transfer to the train that arrives at 16:46. But that train was just the 16:19 express from Union, so you should have just waited and got on it instead.

[nms]

On a related note, the train which arrived at 14:21 today (but was delayed to 14:28) had a nearly complete crew change. Or at least that what I assumed happened with a bunch of crew in grey UP golf shirts got off the train, greeted another group of people in grey UP golf shirts who then got on the train while the first group stayed behind.

[neonjoe]

GO Train Pilot to London is ending this October
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/lond...o-year-run

[ac3r]

Hardly surprising. GO trains are suburban trains, similar to a German S-Bahn or Montréal's REM. London is way too far away for a GO train there to make any sense. 4 hours each way is way too long.

Would be nice if VIA could run more frequently but that's asking a lot. Plus, getting the freight operators to cooperate is always a challenge.

[danbrotherston]

GO Train Pilot to London is ending this October
https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/lond...o-year-run

That's a shame for me, it was convenient to get to London from KW...GO Trains are much more comfortable than Via trains when you have a kid and a stroller, and cheaper too.

But it's hardly surprising, it was largely an idiotic train with an idiotic schedule.

[KevinL]

It was poorly conceived - they should have piloted bus service with a connection in Aldershot or Milton, then expanded the rail if that succeeded.

[danbrotherston]

It was poorly conceived - they should have piloted bus service with a connection in Aldershot or Milton, then expanded the rail if that succeeded.

Or bus all the way downtown. Or to Kitchener.

The system, they did was so bad, it must have been intentional.

[ac3r]

You actually think the government decided to spend a couple million dollars for the hell of it? I mean they do that all the time, but there was nothing conspiratorial here. They are simply a useless transit agency.