Inter-region transit

[danbrotherston]

I wonder how hard it was to get to Cambridge before amalgamation of transit (i.e. formation of GRT). I imagine it's political as much as anything.

It was pesky government regulation. Intercity rights to bus service were held by Trentway-Wagar and forbid the cities from implementing their own cross border routes.

The 200 only went to Fairway at first; the 52 was the first route to properly connect the cities. Before the GRT amalgamation you'd have to take a Greyhound or something to connect across.

You're thinking of the 101 Express, which operated between Fairview Park and UW from 2003 to 2005 when the iXpress was implemented.

Prior to GRT, one had to take a Trentway-Wagar bus between the cities. Conestoga College students living in Cambridge had to make their way to the Ainslie St. Terminal, then take the Trentway-Wagar bus to the Charles St. Terminal and backtrack to the college on the 7 and 10.

For this reason, the 61 was also one of the first cross border routes, implemented alongside the 52 in September 2000.

The 61 in those days operated between Conestoga College and Preston or Sportsworld (depending on the time) via Highway 401. Trips that operated to Sportsworld were interlined with the 52 to and from Ainslie St. Terminal.

Was there no service to Conestoga College from Cambridge before.

I can only confirm that Kitchener transit had service to Conestoga College before GRT, I was presuming that Cambridge transit would have also had service there, it being a school in Cambridge.

There was certainly no service to the college from Cambridge. The 10 and 16 were the only services to the college prior to GRT.

It's pretty shocking that there was a major post secondary institution on the border of Cambridge with no bus service.

[plam]

I wonder how hard it was to get to Cambridge before amalgamation of transit (i.e. formation of GRT). I imagine it's political as much as anything.

It was pesky government regulation. Intercity rights to bus service were held by Trentway-Wagar and forbid the cities from implementing their own cross border routes.

Yikes. Wow. Thanks for the historical info. That was truly backwards.

[ijmorlan]

I wonder what would have happened if Kitchener Transit and Cambridge Transit had each scheduled a route to the border, and then for operational efficiency interlined them.

[Acitta]

Forget Greyhound, Canada Needs A Public National Bus Service

[KevinL]

Via Bus, anyone?

[panamaniac]

Via Bus, anyone?

Indeed, the Government of Canada could do for buses what it did for train travel in Canada ...

[bgb_ca]

Via Bus, anyone?

Indeed, the Government of Canada could do for buses what it did for train travel in Canada ...

I would be fine with that. Let someone like GO or Megabus take over the Greyhound routes where they overlap with the existing Greyhound routes (e.g. Kitchener to Downtown Toronto), and for other routes where there is no one operating them now (e.g. former western routes abandoned by Greyhound that had no one stepped up to take over) setup a new wing on Via to operate on those lines.

I would also be fine if they got rid of the monopoly rules altogether.

[danbrotherston]

Indeed, the Government of Canada could do for buses what it did for train travel in Canada ...

I would be fine with that. Let someone like GO or Megabus take over the Greyhound routes where they overlap with the existing Greyhound routes (e.g. Kitchener to Downtown Toronto), and for other routes where there is no one operating them now (e.g. former western routes abandoned by Greyhound that had no one stepped up to take over) setup a new wing on Via to operate on those lines.

I would also be fine if they got rid of the monopoly rules altogether.

I think there are good reasons why an open free market is not likely to be a successful model, it does form a natural monopoly, there is integration with stations which is necessary, and integration of routes also creates value, and in general, the service should be subsidized.

But the current system doesn't really provide any value either...

[tomh009]

The current regulation with route monopolies is the worst of both worlds. No guarantee of service and yet no ability for someone to pick up an un/derserviced route.

A subsidized (ideally national) service would be great, with subsidies varying by route (Toronto-Montreal should really not need any). Better yet if they allow a private company to also compete on the busy routes, without licensing restrictions.

[ac3r]

Forget Greyhound, Canada Needs A Public National Bus Service

I'm not sure I see the point in a nationalized bus service (edit: actually, some areas are better served by a nationalized service due to their remoteness, such as OntarioNorthland). Trains make some sense because the infrastructure is so different, but for buses, private operators can do a good job. When I lived in Europe, we had companies like Flixbus who could get you just about anywhere on the continent for extremely cheap.

But also, even the way we do our nationalized trains is a bit...? I'd much rather see something similar to Deutsche Bahn Aktiengesellschaft here. It's a private company, but all (or almost all?) of its shares are held by the state of Germany. This means some aspects are nationalized (meaning most long, intercity routes or high speed trains) but there are also private train operators who provide services, i.e. Locomore, who provide another option for commuters going between cities like Berlin-Stuttgart. Imagine if we had some ability for competition here? GO and VIA (and even Greyhound) might not be the only option to travel throughout the Windsor-Quebec City corridor, which would be amazing because the current service sucks so bad and most of their plans to increase service, invest in better frequency or higher speed trains moves at a glacial pace or never goes beyond a proposal when people start crying about their tax dollars.

[plam]

Imagine if we had some ability for competition here? GO and VIA (and even Greyhound) might not be the only option to travel throughout the Windsor-Quebec City corridor, which would be amazing because the current service sucks so bad and most of their plans to increase service, invest in better frequency or higher speed trains moves at a glacial pace or never goes beyond a proposal when people start crying about their tax dollars.

France has this ouigo thing going on which tries to replicate the LCC experience for trains. But the main difference, I think, is track availability and our lack of it. Without tracks, competition for trains isn't going anywhere.

[Bytor]

I'm a little skeptical of how good the uptake on Perth County Connect will be given their high fares.

[ac3r]

The fares are a lot higher than I was expecting. It makes sense for day trippers, but if you were coming here for work/classes it would be too expensive.

[KevinL]

They're planning monthly passes, will have to see the cost on those.

[GtwoK]

Anyone know what the most convenient way to travel via public transit between KW and Hamilton is? Had a friend who wanted to visit from Hamilton recently and we were both shocked to find that seemingly the only way is a 4 hour (one way!) GO trip up to Square One and then from there to KW. Amazing for what is just a 45 minute drive. Is there really no direct route?