Grand River Transit

[Bob_McBob]

And there's already a petition against it...

https://www.change.org/p/conestoga-colle...-for-upass

[ijmorlan]

And there's already a petition against it...

https://www.change.org/p/conestoga-colle...-for-upass

Apparently the students are already being charged “exuberant” amounts of money.

Also note the comments already on the petition from people who would presumably have a coronary if they were to encounter the suggestion that they should pay a fee to use the roads on which they drive their cars.

[danbrotherston]

And there's already a petition against it...

https://www.change.org/p/conestoga-colle...-for-upass

Apparently the students are already being charged “exuberant” amounts of money.

Also note the comments already on the petition from people who would presumably have a coronary if they were to encounter the suggestion that they should pay a fee to use the roads on which they drive their cars.

Didn't they umm. Just vote on this?  Presumably these students already voted, and lost. Do they now feel democracy is a bad thing?

[bgb_ca]

Apparently the students are already being charged “exuberant” amounts of money.

Also note the comments already on the petition from people who would presumably have a coronary if they were to encounter the suggestion that they should pay a fee to use the roads on which they drive their cars.

Didn't they umm. Just vote on this?  Presumably these students already voted, and lost. Do they now feel democracy is a bad thing?

Most of the complainers probably didn't even bother to take the time to vote to be honest.

[Spokes]

The vote was passed October 2, 2018 with only 14.5% of full-time students voting in favour of the referendum. 

They likely take issue with this.  Maybe they should have done more to get people engaged in the voting process.  

But at the end of the day, people voted. You don't just go complain, respect the democratic process.

[trainspotter139]

The vote was passed October 2, 2018 with only 14.5% of full-time students voting in favour of the referendum. 

They likely take issue with this.  Maybe they should have done more to get people engaged in the voting process.  

But at the end of the day, people voted. You don't just go complain, respect the democratic process.

They seem to have pulled that number out of their rear tbh

[creative]

From The Record article.

“A 10 per cent voter turnout was required. About 25 per cent, or 3,950 students, voted online by Monday's deadline. One vote was cast blank.“

[EdM]

Also note the comments already on the petition from people who would presumably have a coronary if they were to encounter the suggestion that they should pay a fee to use the roads on which they drive their cars.

What do they pay for parking at Conestoga now?

[danbrotherston]

Also note the comments already on the petition from people who would presumably have a coronary if they were to encounter the suggestion that they should pay a fee to use the roads on which they drive their cars.

What do they pay for parking at Conestoga now?

https://www.conestogac.on.ca/parking-ser...ermitrates

Rates are given in per term or per year amounts.  Lowest per month rate is about $444/year which works out to $37/month + tax.  While this is far higher than I expected (this is a massive greenfield development--parking is usually free).  It is still likely below the cost of constructing and operating the surface parking lots...and certainly below the opportunity cost of the land.

But someone can try and pull up their financials to understand the actual profit/loss statement of their parking enterprise (although, it would take someone better at accounting than I to try and compute the amortized construction cost, if that's even available).

[tomh009]

The basic argument is that "only the people that use the pass should pay for it. Not everyone."

I think that by the same token I should not need to subsidize the Conestoga College tuition fees with my tax dollars. Only the people that study there should pay for it. Not everyone.

Right? What's good for the goose is good for the gander ...

[ijmorlan]

...and certainly below the opportunity cost of the land.

Not obviously true to me. There are lots of empty fields in that area. Eventually presumably surface parking will be a very low-end use but not for now.

[danbrotherston]

I got to see the new GRT farecard online site on my partners card.

I could write a book how terrible the UX is.

Why are these things so difficult for large organisations to do--these are not difficult concepts.

[plam]

I got to see the new GRT farecard online site on my partners card.

I could write a book how terrible the UX is.

Why are these things so difficult for large organisations to do--these are not difficult concepts.

The people who pay for the service are not the people who use the service. Excellence with selling the service does not equate with excellence providing it. That's why Quest as well.

[Spokes]

Does anyone know off hand how much revenue grt brings in from fairs each year?

A Toronto mayoral candidate suggested making transit free and it just got me thinking about Waterloo Region

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-col...-idea.html

[Pheidippides]

New bus stop clearing contract

" one (1) winter season from November 15, 2018 to April 15, 2019 with the option to renew for four (4), one (1) year renewals"

"There has been an increasing need for bus stops to be cleared for accessibility
purposes. All Grand River Transit buses are equipped with a ramp allowing access for
people using mobility devices and for people with strollers or carts. As a result,
contractors have been maintaining priority bus stops throughout snow events and not
waiting until the end of the winter event. Often the contractor is required to go out
several times before final road clearing has stopped. Efforts are made to coordinate with
the roads being cleared however, this is not always possible.
With a monthly rate contract instead of an event fee contract, the Region is able to
establish the total cost of the winter season and can request maintenance, as required,
without incurring additional costs. Under the monthly fee agreement, the contractor will
be monitoring the conditions and communicating their action plan whether it be presalting,
sanding, pickling or full clearing. Staff will be monitoring performance of the
contractor rather than what type of maintenance is required and at what frequency."