Grand River Transit

[KevinL]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The end is nigh for having to buy paper <a href="https://twitter.com/GRT_ROW">@GRT_ROW</a> tickets. Huzzah! <a href="https://t.co/gqqhTOLwGT">pic.twitter.com/gqqhTOLwGT</a></p>&mdash; Mike Boos (@mikeboos) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikeboos/status/839449545440378880">March 8, 2017</a></blockquote>

[chutten]

The end is nigh for having to buy paper <a href="https://twitter.com/GRT_ROW">@GRT_ROW</a> tickets. Huzzah!

FINALLY.

[dunkalunk]

Speaking with GRT staff, September. We won't get farecards until September.

[KevinL]

It is the traditional date for introducing new changes - the Tuesday after Labour Day, specifically. But given this would be replacing monthly passes, I guess it will be the First.

[nms]

The "Buses only" left-turn sign is in the vicinity of the Father David Bauer Drive/Caroline intersection, presumably to warn drivers heading north past that point that they can't turn west.  From what I can recall, it's never been covered up since the intersection opened.  Perhaps just an oversight for now.

[yige_t]

The tender for nine (9) ION aBRT buses will be awarded to New Flyer at a unit price of approx. $600,000. These buses will have frameless windows, high back seating and USB charging ports (a first for Canadian transit buses, I believe).

[KevinL]

Strike deadline just passed, but no news on negotiations. Hopefully a good sign?

[trainspotter139]

- A tentative agreement has been reached between the Region of Waterloo and UNIFOR Local 4304 Grand River Transit/MobilityPLUS, operators, dispatchers, fleet mechanics and service attendants.


Ratification dates have yet to be set.


Having reached this agreement, there will be no disruption and all services will continue as scheduled.

http://www.regionofwaterloo.ca/en/newsli...eQuAleQuAl

[MidTowner]

The federal budget yesterday scrapped the transit tax credit, which made transit passes about 15% less expensive.

Depending on how price elastic demand for transit is, that could be a significant headwind for transit ridership growth everywhere. Or just a very minor one. I personally won't be surprised to see it mentioned to justify slower-than-anticipated ridership growth on many services' reports in a year or two's time.

[tomh009]

The federal budget yesterday scrapped the transit tax credit, which made transit passes about 15% less expensive.

Depending on how price elastic demand for transit is, that could be a significant headwind for transit ridership growth everywhere. Or just a very minor one. I personally won't be surprised to see it mentioned to justify slower-than-anticipated  ridership growth on many services' reports in a year or two's time.

They did say that they would provide the funding directly to municipalities for transit instead.  At least that's what I heard.

[MidTowner]

I think that's rightt: the logic was that capital funding would be provided to municipalities for improved transit, so the tax credit was not needed.

I don't know what would have a bigger impact on user behaviour: better service, or a very visible "discount." Maybe it would depend exactly how the money was spent by each jurisdiction.

[danbrotherston]

I think that's rightt: the logic was that capital funding would be provided to municipalities for improved transit, so the tax credit was not needed.

I don't know what would have a bigger impact on user behaviour: better service, or a very visible "discount." Maybe it would depend exactly how the money was spent by each jurisdiction.

This is a tricky question, I see both sides, well, two sides, not the third.  Providing municipalities money is great, but it's an entirely different policy from discounting transit, which changes people's perception.  People love discounts.  Still, perhaps increased funding could eventually improve service, which we all know is the most effective way to improve ridership.  But it's a long bumpy road.

However, the tax credit wasn't refundable, therefore those who didn't make enough didn't benefit from it.  Worse, those who used tickets because they couldn't afford passes, also don't benefit from it.  A direct subsidy for those who have the most difficulty affording it would probably be a more egalitarian use of money.  Whether it's more effective at increasing use of transit, who knows.


Still, we really should be doing all three.

[Markster]

I would frankly prefer direct funding of the transit agencies. Which is in effect what we are receiving, as the feds have recently announced all kinds of transit funding.

The tax credit is great for those who (a) have regular enough employment to buy monthly passes, (b) earn enough to pay taxes, and © have the attention to detail to properly fill in relevant parts of their tax forms.

I look at this and think to myself, why are we only giving discounts to those people, and not to everyone who uses the bus?  What makes this set of people more deserving than the rest?

[Viewfromthe42]

The one thing that I wonder about is, when council decides that GRT needs a 50% cost recovery ratio, could (in support of fares) the feds decide that direct funding had to be counted on the rider portion of those equations? Say, provide GRT with 5% of its annual costs, but require this to be placed on the rider side of targets? I feel like part of the risk of direct funding is that a council will take it and add it to the council side of the ledger, and use it, effectively, to lower the amount that property tax funds transit, while not changing how much transit fares fund transit, which translates into having "transit funding" support cars, by way of being redistributed across the tax base, the largest share of which is drivers, while doing nothing to improve service or lower transit costs to users.

[tomh009]

I would frankly prefer direct funding of the transit agencies. Which is in effect what we are receiving, as the feds have recently announced all kinds of transit funding.

The tax credit is great for those who (a) have regular enough employment to buy monthly passes, (b) earn enough to pay taxes, and © have the attention to detail to properly fill in relevant parts of their tax forms.

I look at this and think to myself, why are we only giving discounts to those people, and not to everyone who uses the bus?  What makes this set of people more deserving than the rest?

I'm thinking of a funding model whereby every transit agency would receive a federal government subsidy equivalent to, say, 20% of fare revenue would work well.  It's better than a fixed subsidy because (1) it directly subsidizes the fares, whether trip or monthly, and (2) it increases as transit usage increases.

It's nice to dream.