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10-27-2015, 07:25 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-27-2015, 07:27 PM by plam.)
(10-27-2015, 01:03 PM)tomh009 Wrote: (10-27-2015, 11:45 AM)plam Wrote: Professor. I often get up at 9 and go to bed around 1.
I guess you don't need to teach any 8:30 classes!
Has happened sometimes. Is always terrible.
(10-27-2015, 02:19 PM)goggolor Wrote: And the number of people who have stopped taking GRT because detours are a PITA will be offset by the people who start using it once there is a clear, convenient system in place. In the meantime though, biking is a better option for me than taking the bus and it's not a surprise that others would feel the same way.
In many places, for me, biking is often a better option than transit: usually faster as well as cheaper. I don't especially mind the cheaper part but I do appreciate the faster part. Biking can even be faster than the subway over short distances.
I've been on sabbatical in Zurich (so no 8:30 classes). There is a hill between the main train station, which I pretty much go to every day, and my place. There is a tram that goes up the hill but even walking is almost always faster than waiting for the tram.
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I've been on it a few times between downtown and Westheights/Eastforest. It's been well-used most of the time. Once or twice I've been one of a handful of passengers, but you get that on any bus.
Ridership will improve in the winter. Travel time should improve dramatically once the construction on Highland is complete. One time I was riding, it took 15 minutes to go from Belmont to Westmount. A guy got off at Lawrence and handily beat the bus to McDonalds on foot.
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These detours are getting slightly ridiculous:
Route 7: Buses will be travelling from Charles Street Terminal, left on Gaukel St, right on Joseph St, left on Victoria St, right on Park St, left on William St, right on Westmount Rd, right on Erb St, left on Albert St, right on Central St, left on King St, then resume regular routing.
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(10-29-2015, 09:00 AM)timio Wrote: These detours are getting slightly ridiculous:
Route 7: Buses will be travelling from Charles Street Terminal, left on Gaukel St, right on Joseph St, left on Victoria St, right on Park St, left on William St, right on Westmount Rd, right on Erb St, left on Albert St, right on Central St, left on King St, then resume regular routing.
WESTMOUNT? Good gravy! They can't use Euclid or Roslin or something?
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(10-29-2015, 08:39 PM)KevinL Wrote: (10-29-2015, 09:00 AM)timio Wrote: These detours are getting slightly ridiculous:
Route 7: Buses will be travelling from Charles Street Terminal, left on Gaukel St, right on Joseph St, left on Victoria St, right on Park St, left on William St, right on Westmount Rd, right on Erb St, left on Albert St, right on Central St, left on King St, then resume regular routing.
WESTMOUNT? Good gravy! They can't use Euclid or Roslin or something?
Or Caroline and Willis? Turning radius too small I suppose? The ridiculous thing is that King and William hasn't actually been closed the last two days as it was scheduled.
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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They said on the radio that King/William was closing today.
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(10-29-2015, 08:39 PM)KevinL Wrote: (10-29-2015, 09:00 AM)timio Wrote: These detours are getting slightly ridiculous:
Route 7: Buses will be travelling from Charles Street Terminal, left on Gaukel St, right on Joseph St, left on Victoria St, right on Park St, left on William St, right on Westmount Rd, right on Erb St, left on Albert St, right on Central St, left on King St, then resume regular routing.
WESTMOUNT? Good gravy! They can't use Euclid or Roslin or something?
Now you understand why that neighbourhood fought tooth and nail against reclassifying their roads, thus keeping them out of purview for GRT routes. If you're starting out at Conestoga Mall, and heading to Kitchener, I'm pretty sure the 6 and iXpress are both better options.
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Some of the ridership drop could be from increased density. For instance, if more students are within walking distance of campus, say Hazel/Hickory, as opposed to Hazel/Albert, they may choose to walk instead.
I also wonder if their methodology changed for counting passengers over the past few years. At one time, if a passenger took three busses using transfers to get to their destination, they counted as three passengers; whereas, in some other jurisdictions, that passenger only counts as one passenger.
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I believe they still press the green button every time anyone gets on the bus regardless of means of payment (cash, pass, transfer, Student ID, etc).
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(10-30-2015, 07:32 AM)Viewfromthe42 Wrote: If you're starting out at Conestoga Mall, and heading to Kitchener, I'm pretty sure the 6 and iXpress are both better options.
The iXpress, yes. The 6, unfortunately, still has terrible frequency, only twice an hour. It's a good route for those "employment lands" up on Northfield, but that's not very good service. I wonder if it has had an uptick in ridership as a result of the 7 and iXpress detours.
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It does have terrible frequency. For me, I'll time the end of my workday so I can hop right on after a short walk from those employment lands, or give myself time to hit the mall Zehr's or other quick purchases. The first run of the bus, which leaves Charles terminal ~5:45, probably has 12-16 people get on by the time it hits the mall. Buses around 4:00pm going the reverse direction will see ~15-25.
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On the one hand, the circuitous routing of the 6 seems illogical to me. On the other hand, I know people who use it on a regular basis to get to jobs on Northfield, and it serves Bridgeport, which is otherwise only served by the 5, which also has poor frequency.
Viewfromthe42, I'm curious why you don't take the iXpress instead? Are you just a bit too far east?
Any time I've taken the 6, there seems to have been enough riders on it that it seems like it could clearly be made three or four times an hour during peak. And I've known many people who have depended on it (like you) and arranged their schedules around it. It seems to have utility; too bad it's still such terrible frequency.
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The 6 takes 30 minutes, door-to-door. The 7 takes 38 minutes and the bus is a bit more crowded. The iXpress takes 40 minutes. The 7 and iX are slowed down by traffic even more in the afternoon, and are far fuller. Plus, I get off at Davenport and can walk a bit less, while also having the option of buses giving me time to get beer at Innocente, or groceries at FreshCo. In the afternoon especially, there are lots of people getting on mid-route, who would not be served without the 6. I think it's incredibly streamlined, without any circuitous bits. Sure, it takes a wider path from downtown to conestoga, but it's the westerly 6 (~10km) or the easterly 7 (~8km), and I think it works pretty well to connect as directly as possible so as to give a good north-south option for those west of King.
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11-03-2015, 10:40 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-03-2015, 10:45 AM by Markster.)
(11-03-2015, 10:19 AM)MidTowner Wrote: On the one hand, the circuitous routing of the 6 seems illogical to me.
Circuitous? It's one of the straightest routes in the city! And the King closure at the railway tracks made it even more so. I know it is not literally the straightest line from Conestoga Mall to Charles St Terminal via Bridge St, but it's pretty darn close.
I have wondered why GRT seems so hesitant to do 3-times-an-hour routes.
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(11-03-2015, 10:40 AM)Markster Wrote: Circuitous? It's one of the straightest routes in the city! And the King closure at the railway tracks made it even more so. I know it is not literally the straightest line from Conestoga Mall to Charles St Terminal via Bridge St, but it's pretty darn close.
Straightest in the city? I guess I'm viewing it as someone who takes it from (more-or-less) downtown Kitchener nearly all the way to the mall- it seems like it goes really far out to get to Bridge, only to eventually come back towards the King corridor on Northfield. I know it's a far cry from the 'U' I see in my mind when I think about it like that, but I wouldn't call it straight either. I also have no good idea of how Bridgeport could be served without it (yes, I do: extremely frequent service along Erb and Bridgeport, and quick connections to Ion along the King corridor).
(11-03-2015, 10:40 AM)Markster Wrote: I have wondered why GRT seems so hesitant to do 3-times-an-hour routes.
I don't understand this. Routes like this one could probably justify twenty minute frequency. Maybe not fifteen minutes, but it seems like they don't consider three buses an hour to be an option. So a lot of routes are stuck with half-hourly service, which is quite bad for the peak period.
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