M
miketoronto
Guest
It looks like the I-XPRESS bus route in Waterloo Region is doing pretty well. To bad TTC does not get it yet that people want speedy service. But anyway some little articles about the I-XPRESS in Waterloo Region.
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Riders rushing onto express buses
Riders on fast route increase by 1,000 from slower routes in just four weeks
JEFF OUTHIT
PETER LEE, RECORD STAFF
Grand River Transit's new express service that links Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge is quickly drawing riders.
After four weeks, a $10-million express service is quickly drawing Grand River Transit passengers from slower bus routes.
What's not known is if passengers are also being lured from their cars.
"That's a deeper challenge," said John Cicuttin, associate director of transportation planning for Waterloo regional government.
Grand River Transit launched its weekday iXpress service Sept. 6. The route, with only 13 stops, links Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge.
In week one, the express service drew 1,800 passengers a day. By last week it was drawing 2,800 daily passengers.
"We're hoping that momentum continues," Cicuttin said.
"We're pleased."
Comparable Grand River Transit routes draw between 2,000 and 14,000 passengers a day.
The push to get more drivers onto public transit will start in earnest next year with the launch of a special marketing campaign. It may include approaches to employers, door-to-door canvasses of neighbourhoods and offers of free bus tickets, Cicuttin said.
Getting people out of their cars is seen as a challenge in a community where only four per cent ride the bus to work, compared with 89 per cent who ride in cars.
Express passengers interviewed this week said they enjoy its speed and convenience. All were already regular transit users.
"It's not that busy at all," said Danny Gervais, 38, of Kitchener.
He's in a wheelchair and has room to manoeuvre on the express bus. "It's a lot faster to get around town. I hope it continues."
Student Paige Ballagh, 15, of Kitchener said the express bus is sometimes busy, sometimes not.
"It's very much faster, and more convenient. I'll be upset if it goes."
Nancy Caetano, 25, is pleased the express service is not as crowded as some Toronto buses. Toronto buses are sometimes so full that passengers can barely move and no one else can get on, she said.
Caetano commutes by bus from her Toronto home to Waterloo, where she's a graduate student. She's looking for a place to live here.
"I like the fact that it's express," Caetano said. "I like the fact that it's very punctual."
Express buses speed along by stopping infrequently, turning the lights green at 18 intersections, and plying the quickest roads.
The buses travel from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to the Ainslie Street station in the Galt section of Cambridge in 77 minutes, about an hour faster than before.
By next fall, satellite technology will tell express passengers, in real time, when the next bus is due.
jouthit@therecord.com
GRT RIDERSHIP STATISTICS
Average daily passengers on iXpress
Week one: 1,800
Week two: 2,100
Week three: 2,500
Week four: 2,800
Goal after one year: 3,800
Compared with other GRT routes: (All figures for 2004)
Route 52: 2,000
Route 51: 2,500
Route 12: 5,000
Route 8: 5,000
Route 7 mainline: 14,000
Average daily ridership, all GRT routes in 2004: 42,000
SOURCE: GRAND RIVER TRANSIT
Riders rave about new speedy bus
Passengers on long trips hailed the new service for shaving an hour or more off their travel time.
"I'm quite glad that it's finally here," Marcel Lambert said. "It's a very good thing for me. I'm very pleased."
Lambert, 21, regularly leaves her car at home to save on parking and gas and takes the bus from her computer studies in downtown Kitchener to her home in Cambridge.
Before yesterday, the trip would sometimes take her up to two hours on three different buses. Express service eliminates a transfer and saves her 45 minutes or more.
"Compared to what it was, this is pretty good. It's really good," Lambert said, beaming as she got off the express bus in Cambridge.
Peter McPhee, 34, figures he'll save up to two hours on a round trip from his Cambridge home to Grand River Hospital in Kitchener, where he has regular appointments.
"My time is valuable," said McPhee, pleased about the faster trip yesterday.
Fred Hart, 61, rode the new bus from his Cambridge home to the Conestoga Mall to test it out and to have a coffee in Waterloo.
"I've got a lot of friends who want to know how it runs," he said. "It's perfect."
Hart remembers when only four buses ran in Cambridge, and passengers couldn't travel to Kitchener or Waterloo.
The creation of a regional transit agency in 2000 to provide three-city service was "the best thing they have ever done," he said.
Grand River Transit hopes express service will help double transit ridership by 2016.
The hope is that the service will ease automobile use, reduce air pollution and lay the groundwork for a proposed rail transit system.
"The main purpose really is to attract ridership from people who are currently now driving," said John Cicuttin, associate director of transportation planning.
This is a challenge in a community where only four per cent take a bus to work, compared with 89 per cent who ride in cars.
Express buses have a unique paint design. They drive on highways, avoid some busy streets and use transit technologies to keep moving.
These include transponders to turn the lights green at 18 intersections as an express bus approaches.
"It's a driver's dream," bus driver Greg Pytlik said.
By next year:
Satellite tracking will tell express passengers the exact arrival time of the next bus.
Express stations will include shelters, bicycle racks and lockers.
Passengers will be able to use an online trip planner.
Alan and Sheila Pavelin, a retired Kitchener couple who do not own a car, hope they'll be able to use the express service to visit a United Kingdom social club in Cambridge.
"It opens up a new window for us," said Sheila, 69.
The Pavelins rode the express service yesterday to test it out and ended up shopping in Cambridge.
"Very good value for the money," said Alan, 72. "We give it the thumb's up."
Express service runs Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
It may be extended to evenings and weekends if it attracts enough riders, Cicuttin said.
HOW FAST WILL IT BE?
Current bus travel time between UW and Fairview Park mall in Kitchener: 50 minutes.
New express service: 27 minutes.
Current bus travel time between WLU and Cambridge Centre: 100 minutes, two transfers.
New express service: 45 minutes, no transfers.
Express service will run from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday. Every 30 minutes, every 15 minutes in peak periods.
--------------------------
Riders rushing onto express buses
Riders on fast route increase by 1,000 from slower routes in just four weeks
JEFF OUTHIT
PETER LEE, RECORD STAFF
Grand River Transit's new express service that links Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge is quickly drawing riders.
After four weeks, a $10-million express service is quickly drawing Grand River Transit passengers from slower bus routes.
What's not known is if passengers are also being lured from their cars.
"That's a deeper challenge," said John Cicuttin, associate director of transportation planning for Waterloo regional government.
Grand River Transit launched its weekday iXpress service Sept. 6. The route, with only 13 stops, links Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge.
In week one, the express service drew 1,800 passengers a day. By last week it was drawing 2,800 daily passengers.
"We're hoping that momentum continues," Cicuttin said.
"We're pleased."
Comparable Grand River Transit routes draw between 2,000 and 14,000 passengers a day.
The push to get more drivers onto public transit will start in earnest next year with the launch of a special marketing campaign. It may include approaches to employers, door-to-door canvasses of neighbourhoods and offers of free bus tickets, Cicuttin said.
Getting people out of their cars is seen as a challenge in a community where only four per cent ride the bus to work, compared with 89 per cent who ride in cars.
Express passengers interviewed this week said they enjoy its speed and convenience. All were already regular transit users.
"It's not that busy at all," said Danny Gervais, 38, of Kitchener.
He's in a wheelchair and has room to manoeuvre on the express bus. "It's a lot faster to get around town. I hope it continues."
Student Paige Ballagh, 15, of Kitchener said the express bus is sometimes busy, sometimes not.
"It's very much faster, and more convenient. I'll be upset if it goes."
Nancy Caetano, 25, is pleased the express service is not as crowded as some Toronto buses. Toronto buses are sometimes so full that passengers can barely move and no one else can get on, she said.
Caetano commutes by bus from her Toronto home to Waterloo, where she's a graduate student. She's looking for a place to live here.
"I like the fact that it's express," Caetano said. "I like the fact that it's very punctual."
Express buses speed along by stopping infrequently, turning the lights green at 18 intersections, and plying the quickest roads.
The buses travel from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to the Ainslie Street station in the Galt section of Cambridge in 77 minutes, about an hour faster than before.
By next fall, satellite technology will tell express passengers, in real time, when the next bus is due.
jouthit@therecord.com
GRT RIDERSHIP STATISTICS
Average daily passengers on iXpress
Week one: 1,800
Week two: 2,100
Week three: 2,500
Week four: 2,800
Goal after one year: 3,800
Compared with other GRT routes: (All figures for 2004)
Route 52: 2,000
Route 51: 2,500
Route 12: 5,000
Route 8: 5,000
Route 7 mainline: 14,000
Average daily ridership, all GRT routes in 2004: 42,000
SOURCE: GRAND RIVER TRANSIT
Riders rave about new speedy bus
Passengers on long trips hailed the new service for shaving an hour or more off their travel time.
"I'm quite glad that it's finally here," Marcel Lambert said. "It's a very good thing for me. I'm very pleased."
Lambert, 21, regularly leaves her car at home to save on parking and gas and takes the bus from her computer studies in downtown Kitchener to her home in Cambridge.
Before yesterday, the trip would sometimes take her up to two hours on three different buses. Express service eliminates a transfer and saves her 45 minutes or more.
"Compared to what it was, this is pretty good. It's really good," Lambert said, beaming as she got off the express bus in Cambridge.
Peter McPhee, 34, figures he'll save up to two hours on a round trip from his Cambridge home to Grand River Hospital in Kitchener, where he has regular appointments.
"My time is valuable," said McPhee, pleased about the faster trip yesterday.
Fred Hart, 61, rode the new bus from his Cambridge home to the Conestoga Mall to test it out and to have a coffee in Waterloo.
"I've got a lot of friends who want to know how it runs," he said. "It's perfect."
Hart remembers when only four buses ran in Cambridge, and passengers couldn't travel to Kitchener or Waterloo.
The creation of a regional transit agency in 2000 to provide three-city service was "the best thing they have ever done," he said.
Grand River Transit hopes express service will help double transit ridership by 2016.
The hope is that the service will ease automobile use, reduce air pollution and lay the groundwork for a proposed rail transit system.
"The main purpose really is to attract ridership from people who are currently now driving," said John Cicuttin, associate director of transportation planning.
This is a challenge in a community where only four per cent take a bus to work, compared with 89 per cent who ride in cars.
Express buses have a unique paint design. They drive on highways, avoid some busy streets and use transit technologies to keep moving.
These include transponders to turn the lights green at 18 intersections as an express bus approaches.
"It's a driver's dream," bus driver Greg Pytlik said.
By next year:
Satellite tracking will tell express passengers the exact arrival time of the next bus.
Express stations will include shelters, bicycle racks and lockers.
Passengers will be able to use an online trip planner.
Alan and Sheila Pavelin, a retired Kitchener couple who do not own a car, hope they'll be able to use the express service to visit a United Kingdom social club in Cambridge.
"It opens up a new window for us," said Sheila, 69.
The Pavelins rode the express service yesterday to test it out and ended up shopping in Cambridge.
"Very good value for the money," said Alan, 72. "We give it the thumb's up."
Express service runs Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
It may be extended to evenings and weekends if it attracts enough riders, Cicuttin said.
HOW FAST WILL IT BE?
Current bus travel time between UW and Fairview Park mall in Kitchener: 50 minutes.
New express service: 27 minutes.
Current bus travel time between WLU and Cambridge Centre: 100 minutes, two transfers.
New express service: 45 minutes, no transfers.
Express service will run from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday. Every 30 minutes, every 15 minutes in peak periods.