Grand River Transit

[KevinL]

The spot worst hit by the 2 closing would be the Stirling-Greenbrook area; that is mitigated a bit by the new pedestrian bridge from Avalon to Strasburg, giving the area access to the 3. Still less than ideal, but I can see the case being made.

[timc]

I noticed that a new transit canopy is being built at the corner of King and University on or adjacent to the WLU athletic complex.  True to tradition, theirs appears to about 1/3 the size of the one at the University of Waterloo.

Why is the one at UW so enormous? I never see it more than half full, and my transfers seem to always stop at opposite ends.

[ac3r]

They plan on having a few of the articulated buses use the station which is why they built it so large.

[Chris]

Speaking of different sized buses. When did the GRT get the stubby bus that is about 50% smaller than their typical buses? I saw one on Charles this week but didn’t have time to take a photo. Are there specific routes this (these?) were purchased for?

[ijmorlan]

I noticed that a new transit canopy is being built at the corner of King and University on or adjacent to the WLU athletic complex.  True to tradition, theirs appears to about 1/3 the size of the one at the University of Waterloo.

Why is the one at UW so enormous? I never see it more than half full, and my transfers seem to always stop at opposite ends.

I can’t speak to the details, but modern transit authorities seem to need one bay for every route, even if they all run only every 15 minutes or so. It feels like they used to be able to share much more. I’m not sure what, if anything, has changed in this regard.

[plam]

Why is the one at UW so enormous? I never see it more than half full, and my transfers seem to always stop at opposite ends.

I can’t speak to the details, but modern transit authorities seem to need one bay for every route, even if they all run only every 15 minutes or so. It feels like they used to be able to share much more. I’m not sure what, if anything, has changed in this regard.

Maybe I should post this in the GO thread, but GO buses do seem to be able to share at other terminals, say Square One. It's super confusing to find a particular bus though. They could really use more wayfinding signage.

[bravado]

Speaking of different sized buses. When did the GRT get the stubby bus that is about 50% smaller than their typical buses? I saw one on Charles this week but didn’t have time to take a photo. Are there specific routes this (these?) were purchased for?

These have been cheesing around some of the less popular routes in Cambridge for at least 6 months now. They're very cute.

[KevinL]

Speaking of different sized buses. When did the GRT get the stubby bus that is about 50% smaller than their typical buses? I saw one on Charles this week but didn’t have time to take a photo. Are there specific routes this (these?) were purchased for?

Their main use in Kitchener is on route 27, which now directly serves Freeport Health Centre; the driveway there can't fit a full bus, but can fit these.

[danbrotherston]

Speaking of different sized buses. When did the GRT get the stubby bus that is about 50% smaller than their typical buses? I saw one on Charles this week but didn’t have time to take a photo. Are there specific routes this (these?) were purchased for?

Their main use in Kitchener is on route 27, which now directly serves Freeport Health Centre; the driveway there can't fit a full bus, but can fit these.

Lol...the ultimate in "we didn't plan for people to be able to get here".

Reminds me of the Family Centre being in accessible (and then I get angry because the NIMBYs on Alpine opposed a pedestrian connection).

[ac3r]

Speaking of different sized buses. When did the GRT get the stubby bus that is about 50% smaller than their typical buses? I saw one on Charles this week but didn’t have time to take a photo. Are there specific routes this (these?) were purchased for?

That's the new Vicinity Classic Vi30. As someone said, they bought them for Route 27. It allowed them to pull into Grand River Hospital, Freeport as well as make some tight turns on other streets along the route. For example, previously the 27 would turn left at the Fairway/King intersection then right onto Morgan Ave from King (and it would stop in front of the Raddison Hotel). But with the shorter bus, it can pull right onto Morgan from Fairway which cut some time off the trip and allowed them to go directly to the hospital. I'm unsure if it's used on any other routes use it in Kitchener or Waterloo. Apparently there are some in Cambridge, though.

Amusingly, I hear the drivers refer to it as the "short bus" if you know what I mean. And apparently they despise it. It has a lot of faults though I don't know specifically what, I've just heard them talk about how junk they find it.

Oddly, VMC is a Canadian company but our buses we have have written Spanish in some areas (most notably under the accessibility/priority seats). I don't find myself on that route too often but next time I am I'll have to see if there is any French at all. I would assume for things like how to operate emergency exits there is as there is surely some obscure federal law mandating those sort of things need to be bilingual.

I made a ton of money on this company back in early 2021 but now VMC trades at around 1 dollar a share. Maybe the fact their stock crashed explains why the buses now suck if the drivers are to be believed heh. Definitely would not invest in this company again.

[Acitta]

This is not specifically about Waterloo Region, but is surely relevant.

We must urgently reinvent public transit for the post-pandemic world
Andy Byford is the former head of Transport for London, New York City Transit and the Toronto Transit Commission.

[nms]

Their main use in Kitchener is on route 27, which now directly serves Freeport Health Centre; the driveway there can't fit a full bus, but can fit these.

Lol...the ultimate in "we didn't plan for people to be able to get here".

Reminds me of the Family Centre being in accessible (and then I get angry because the NIMBYs on Alpine opposed a pedestrian connection).

The Freeport Campus was originally the Freeport Tuberculosis Sanitorium, opened in 1915.  The Grand River Railway did add a Freeport stop that was likely nearby but I haven't been able to find any reference to it. Passenger service on the line ended in 1955.

[clasher]

The Freeport Campus was originally the Freeport Tuberculosis Sanitorium, opened in 1915.  The Grand River Railway did add a Freeport stop that was likely nearby but I haven't been able to find any reference to it. Passenger service on the line ended in 1955.

It's listed on the timetables as a stop. There's one in the John Mill's book "Ontario's Grand River Valley Electric Railways". I think the timetables might also be on the CP tracks site in the archives.

[ac3r]

GRT fares will now be $3.75 and monthly passes are now $92.00: https://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/regional-co...-1.6285047

[timc]

On Wednesday, Coun. Doug Craig suggested increasing the price of the monthly GRT pass to a whopping $119. After some debate, the motion failed.

What would be the justification for such an increase?