Grand River Transit

[Bob_McBob]

I finally saw one of the ION buses by Northfield and Davenport the other day, which I suppose must have been the 202. Those bright white route signs certainly make the buses stand out.

[bgb_ca]

As far as I'm concerned, they should at a minimum change all the ixpress routes to that style

[Canard]

I see them all the time in Cambridge - they must have a lot of them.

[trainspotter139]

I see them all the time in Cambridge - they must have a lot of them.

there's 9 of them. They haven't had more than 6 in service at any given time

[KevinL]

I see them all the time in Cambridge - they must have a lot of them.

You would see them most often there, as they're based out of the Cambridge garage.

[YKF]

I hope that the Region/GRT will slowly start introducing electric buses to the fleet. I think there are a number of ideal locations where on-route charging stations can be located (Conestoga Mall, UW's new terminal, Fairview Mall, Ira Needles terminal).

[tomh009]

BYD K9 has a 250 km range; fast charging takes three hours. New Flyer Xcelsior can do 400 km. How much distance do GRT buses drive in one day?

[bgb_ca]

Just got a email on the easy go card, they are now trialing group fares, where one cash equivalent card can pay for up to 9 people, and day passes that can be loaded on the card.

[timc]

I was in Mississauga recently, and one thing that stood out to me is that several of the bus stops have concrete sections of road in front of them (what they call "bus landing pads") instead of asphalt. If you've ever biked near a bus stop, you will notice that the asphalt gets torn up pretty badly by buses, and concrete is a more durable surface. Is this something that we should consider here in Waterloo Region?

[danbrotherston]

I was in Mississauga recently, and one thing that stood out to me is that several of the bus stops have concrete sections of road in front of them (what they call "bus landing pads") instead of asphalt. If you've ever biked near a bus stop, you will notice that the asphalt gets torn up pretty badly by buses, and concrete is a more durable surface. Is this something that we should consider here in Waterloo Region?

When I was there, I thought most of those were actually bus bays.  It's a good idea (you'll see the terminal is partially paved in concrete I believe for that reason) but I am guessing they are difficult to implement in the actual roadway, because the interface between concrete and asphalt will probably degrade and get potholes.  Asphalt only designs usually leaves potholes primarily in the bike lanes, or otherwise in the gutter.

As for bus bays themselves, there are pluses and minuses, the pluses are for drivers and transit operations, the minuses are largely for transit users.

[KevinL]

I was in Mississauga recently, and one thing that stood out to me is that several of the bus stops have concrete sections of road in front of them (what they call "bus landing pads") instead of asphalt. If you've ever biked near a bus stop, you will notice that the asphalt gets torn up pretty badly by buses, and concrete is a more durable surface. Is this something that we should consider here in Waterloo Region?

We do have these at terminals. Not sure how worthwhile they are for regular stops; maybe in future for ones near Ion stations with heavy usage?

[clasher]

The trick is to put the concrete under the asphalt so it’s supported better. I think the problem is braking busses push asphalt around. There’s a bad one on Lexington near Bridge street.

[timc]

The trick is to put the concrete under the asphalt so it’s supported better. I think the problem is braking busses push asphalt around. There’s a bad one on Lexington near Bridge street.

Yeah, I've see a few on University East, and there's a pretty bad one at Hagey and Columbia. I can't remember where I've seen others, but it's really annoying when there is this smushed asphalt taking up the bike lane in front of the bus stop.

[Pheidippides]

Final 2018 service plan proposal is here.

Update on fare card is here.

Updated on northfield depot here.

Moving Forward Master plan here.

[trainspotter139]

Final 2018 service plan proposal is here.

Update on fare card is here.

Updated on northfield depot here.

Moving Forward Master plan here.

Worth noting is the 5.8% increase in Q1 2018 ridership and the continuous ridership increases since September 2017.