Grand River Transit

[MidTowner]

They could have run a contest to choose a design and get high-quality choices for free, charged for a limited edition Ion-themed fare card to coincide with the launch, and turned the exercise into a very modest money-making venture rather than something too costly.

[tomh009]

Two costly != expensive.

The point is, GRT, rightly or wrongly, feels that whatever small cost it would take to print (and design, as that would be the primary cost) a different fare card, is not worth the value.

Of course, given the site, the branding, and the current card, GRT obviously feels there is little to no value in good design to begin with.

With these types of cards you have to buy them in very, very large bulk quantities for them to be as inexpensive as possible.

You can custom-print a film and apply it onto the existing fare card, though, for not much money.

Anyone for a WRC fare card with some nice ION graphics?

[MacBerry]

With these types of cards you have to buy them in very, very large bulk quantities for them to be as inexpensive as possible.

Transit agencies tend to do so, but even in moderate quantities they're not very expensive. 1000 of them would be enough to have a unit cost of less than a dollar (and probably closer to $0.20). A $1 fee for the commemorative cards would easily cover that. I think Dan is right that it's mostly about the cost of design, and GRT not valuing good design.

Is this a GRT issue or an ION issue. 

They run separate but closely interoperable business entities.

[KevinL]

Everything fare-related is GRT, not Grandlinq. On-train fare inspections will be regional employees, and rates of fares and other products like passes are entirely at the region's discretion. Grandlinq just runs the trains and maintains the stations and associated infrastructure.

[MidTowner]

Spring schedules take effect tomorrow. That means significantly reduced service levels for a number of routes.

[bgb_ca]

Spring schedules take effect tomorrow. That means significantly reduced service levels for a number of routes.

Which sucks, as I take the 9 and now have to wait nearly 30 mins instead of 15 after work. Can't wait for the ION to start.

[MidTowner]

Spring schedules take effect tomorrow. That means significantly reduced service levels for a number of routes.

Which sucks, as I take the 9 and now have to wait nearly 30 mins instead of 15 after work. Can't wait for the ION to start.

Same here, on the second part. Fifteen minutes somehow seems like a much longer headway than ten on the 200.

Every Spring, I wonder what the response would be if a lane of the expressway were closed with the justification that summer traffic was so much lighter.

[Spokes]

Spring schedules take effect tomorrow. That means significantly reduced service levels for a number of routes.

What's the justification for reducing service in the spring?

[danbrotherston]

Spring schedules take effect tomorrow. That means significantly reduced service levels for a number of routes.

What's the justification for reducing service in the spring?

Reduced passenger volumes.

[KevinL]

Specifically, the university term has ended; there is a consistent drop in ridership at this point every year as a result.

There's a similar effect in late June at the end of the public-school term, and another (smaller) service adjustment.

[tomh009]

Spring schedules take effect tomorrow. That means significantly reduced service levels for a number of routes.

Which sucks, as I take the 9 and now have to wait nearly 30 mins instead of 15 after work. Can't wait for the ION to start.

I presume your average wait time will actually be about 15 minutes now, instead of 7'30. Unless you manage to just miss the previous bus each time!

[bgb_ca]

Which sucks, as I take the 9 and now have to wait nearly 30 mins instead of 15 after work. Can't wait for the ION to start.

I presume your average wait time will actually be about 15 minutes now, instead of 7'30. Unless you manage to just miss the previous bus each time!

Well to be precise, about a 25 min wait. It goes past a few mins before I get off work.

[tomh009]

I presume your average wait time will actually be about 15 minutes now, instead of 7'30. Unless you manage to just miss the previous bus each time!

Well to be precise, about a 25 min wait. It goes past a few mins before I get off work.

I see … you have fixed work hours, no flexibility. In that case, then, you would be up to 25 minutes from 10 minutes. Yes, that's unfortunate.

[chutten]

Service volumes go down because passenger volumes go down because service volumes are down...

I know I stop taking the bus as frequently in Spring because they discontinue the route that goes near my house and drop the most convenient trip from another that is second-best. Also, even at full service the bus still takes twice as long as cycling, so when the weather allows I have every incentive to get active.

I'm not sure if that means I'm a cause or an effect of the service volume decrease each Spring.

[bgb_ca]

Well to be precise, about a 25 min wait. It goes past a few mins before I get off work.

I see … you have fixed work hours, no flexibility. In that case, then, you would be up to 25 minutes from 10 minutes. Yes, that's unfortunate.

It's not flex hours, but I do get some flexibility when I need it. Problem is I wrap up the end of day, so I need to make sure everyone else is able to leave on time before I can leave due to the nature of my job.