Welcome Guest!
In order to take advantage of all the great features that Waterloo Region Connected has to offer, including participating in the lively discussions below, you're going to have to register. The good news is that it'll take less than a minute and you can get started enjoying Waterloo Region's best online community right away.
or Create an Account




Thread Rating:
  • 4 Vote(s) - 4.75 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Grand River Transit
Good that they’re looking at it. But I really want to know the expected revenue loss from restricting window coverage to, say, 10%. I personally think the occasional “total paint” (Ottawa terminology) vehicle is fun, as long as the windows remain mostly unobstructed. Window coverage when used should be artistically interesting. For example, an ad that involves hockey might have somebody’s hockey stick extending up across the window but otherwise leave the windows alone.

I hope they don’t reject the idea of cancelling all full wraps because of the revenue loss without really considering the most crucial portion of the request from riders, which is to stop covering up the windows. All too often I have seen bureaucracies reject a request in its entirety without bothering to understand what actually matters about the request and apply some creativity to come up with an appropriate solution.
Reply


Saw this interesting video on Reddit

[video=YouTube]https://youtu.be/6FU1cHrS4D0[/video]
Reply
Anyone want to buy a city bus? Smile

https://www.govdeals.ca/index.cfm?fa=Mai...ResultsNew&searchPg=Location&inv_num=&category=00&kWord=&kWordSelect=2&sortBy=ad&agency=5676&state=&country=&locID=25508&timing=bySimple&locationType=state&timeType=&timingWithin=1
Reply
(04-30-2018, 11:42 PM)bgb_ca Wrote: Saw this interesting video on Reddit

[video=YouTube]https://youtu.be/6FU1cHrS4D0[/video]

Nice.

I grew up near Rockway Gardens, and the senior's center where the trolley buses turned around (with their garage across the street) was my stop as a kid.  Although I was only three years old when service ended, I swear I still have foggy memories of those buses and their overhead wires.
...K
Reply
(05-03-2018, 03:29 PM)KevinT Wrote:
(04-30-2018, 11:42 PM)bgb_ca Wrote: Saw this interesting video on Reddit

[video=YouTube]https://youtu.be/6FU1cHrS4D0[/video]

Nice.

I grew up near Rockway Gardens, and the senior's center where the trolley buses turned around (with their garage across the street) was my stop as a kid.  Although I was only three years old when service ended, I swear I still have foggy memories of those buses and their overhead wires.

My main memory is of how jerky the ride tended to be.
Reply
Really? I'm surprised to hear that, I would have expected the ride to be much, much smoother, being direct drive.

I suppose the shunting of current through a bank of resistors for speed control is non-stepless, and resulted in noticeable jerk in the acceleration?
Reply
It's a long time ago, but I remember jerking everytime the driver "put his foot on the gas" (so to speak). Plus, cruising down King St, there was a lot of stopping and starting.
Reply


Anyone else find the current 200 detour between Kitchener and Waterloo a little absurd?

As it was before the current detour, if the 7 and 200 left at the same time from Charles and the 200 took Charles instead of Joseph the 7 would just beat it to Uptown; now it isn't even close.

Why not just send the 200 up King and move the 200 stops from Victoria/Joseph to King/Victoria, and Park/Green to King/Pine?
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
Reply
There's no room for buses to pass each other on King anymore.
Reply
(05-16-2018, 12:07 AM)D40LF Wrote: There's no room for buses to pass each other on King anymore.

Well, if I’m understanding Pheidippides correctly, the 200 isn’t faster than the 7 now anyway, so it wouldn’t need to pass the 7 to do better than this wander-over-half-the-city detour.

Really they should just route the 200 down the LRT tracks for the King St. portion of the route. Except there might be clearance problems — part of the point of building LRT rather than BRT is that the exclusive lanes don’t need to be as wide.
Reply
If the 200 has fewer stops than the 7, why not just let it go first?
Reply
Exactly.

The 7's schedule usually says it should take about 13min from Charles to Uptown and 200's schedule says 12min; a 1min difference.

If a 7 and 200 leave Charles at the same time the 7 driver could just let the 200 pass, and it will be unlikely the 200 catches up to the previous 7. Even if the 200 gets stuck behind a 7 for that stretch the time penalty is <1min. That detour is, surprisingly, only 2km extra, but it is all the turns that seem to slow the 200 (stop lines not being where they need to be to give the bus clearance around a corner etc.).

Maybe it is related to additional stop closures in uptown because of the bike lane work?
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
Reply
(05-16-2018, 06:37 AM)ijmorlan Wrote:
(05-16-2018, 12:07 AM)D40LF Wrote: There's no room for buses to pass each other on King anymore.

Really they should just route the 200 down the LRT tracks for the King St. portion of the route. Except there might be clearance problems — part of the point of building LRT rather than BRT is that the exclusive lanes don’t need to be as wide.

It's not a clearance issue per se but it definitely is not possible because of LRT testing.
Reply


Having rode the iXpress last week and yesterday from Pinebush to R&T Park and back, I'll confirm that the wonkiest/slowest part of the route is between the downtown terminal and the hospital.  It seemingly made no sense whatsoever.

What bugged me the most though was that the rear emergency roof hatch was open on every single one of them.  Whenever it got up to speed the air turbulence started bringing diesel exhaust in, and being a good little boy who always moves to the back I was right there to breathe it in and get a massive headache.  To add insult to injury, the rain was coming in through it yesterday morning as well and dripping on unsuspecting passengers from time to time.  Is there some policy that they keep that hatch open, or does some fellow passenger that wants a little more air keep popping it open?  Wouldn't it raise an alarm at the driver's console?  Aren't they all air conditioned now and so wouldn't need this for ventilation?
...K
Reply
(05-16-2018, 10:56 AM)KevinT Wrote: Having rode the iXpress last week and yesterday from Pinebush to R&T Park and back, I'll confirm that the wonkiest/slowest part of the route is between the downtown terminal and the hospital.  It seemingly made no sense whatsoever.

What bugged me the most though was that the rear emergency roof hatch was open on every single one of them.  Whenever it got up to speed the air turbulence started bringing diesel exhaust in, and being a good little boy who always moves to the back I was right there to breathe it in and get a massive headache.  To add insult to injury, the rain was coming in through it yesterday morning as well and dripping on unsuspecting passengers from time to time.  Is there some policy that they keep that hatch open, or does some fellow passenger that wants a little more air keep popping it open?  Wouldn't it raise an alarm at the driver's console?  Aren't they all air conditioned now and so wouldn't need this for ventilation?

They have a mechanical thing that turns it into a vent.
Reply
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »



Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 4 Guest(s)

About Waterloo Region Connected

Launched in August 2014, Waterloo Region Connected is an online community that brings together all the things that make Waterloo Region great. Waterloo Region Connected provides user-driven content fueled by a lively discussion forum covering topics like urban development, transportation projects, heritage issues, businesses and other issues of interest to those in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the four Townships - North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich.

              User Links