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Intercity Bus Services

A gent called Travellers' Aid wondering how to get to Casino Rama by transit. Using Sean's map it looks like the closest is Northland bus to Orillia.

As of now, are any casinos aside from Niagara linked by scheduled transit or dedicated coach service?

Just out of "lockdowns", I visited that new casino between Pickering and Ajax GO and was underwhelmed with the place and the access.

Merci.
 
sunnyside said:
FlixBus better get on Hamilton-KW-Guelph, it’s an obvious and sorely needed connection. It’ll also put some pressure on GO to offer some kind of competing service down the line, since they clearly aren’t interested in even trialling it themselves right now.
Click to expand...

it's such a short distance and no direct routes connect Hamilton to KW/Guelph. All four cities have enough people with large student populations to support some direct routes.
 
EdDrass said:
A gent called Travellers' Aid wondering how to get to Casino Rama by transit. Using Sean's map it looks like the closest is Northland bus to Orillia.

As of now, are any casinos aside from Niagara linked by scheduled transit or dedicated coach service?

Just out of "lockdowns", I visited that new casino between Pickering and Ajax GO and was underwhelmed with the place and the access.

Merci.
Click to expand...
I think there are some dedicated shuttles for Rama.
The new Pickering casino is walking distance from the station.
 
Bordercollie said:
I think there are some dedicated shuttles for Rama.
The new Pickering casino is walking distance from the station.
Click to expand...
While there are some non-charter group services, I think Hammond has some service, it's a shell of what it used to be. The main attraction of the three big original commercial casinos (Rama, N. Falls and Windsor) were table games. None of the smaller so-called 'charity casinos' were allowed to have them (Blue Heron had a few under special agreement). People that wanted to play table games would travel from far and wide. Now, all of the smaller casinos have tables, so if you are in the GTA - where an awful lot of Rama's clientele came from - you can go to Pickering, Woodbine, etc. The bus bay at the back is virtually empty. If it wasn't for the entertainment complex and hotel, I'm not sure it would still be open and many are speculating that won't be enough to keep it viable.

Bus Service - Casino Rama

www.casinorama.com www.casinorama.com
 
lenaitch said:
While there are some non-charter group services, I think Hammond has some service, it's a shell of what it used to be. The main attraction of the three big original commercial casinos (Rama, N. Falls and Windsor) were table games. None of the smaller so-called 'charity casinos' were allowed to have them (Blue Heron had a few under special agreement). People that wanted to play table games would travel from far and wide. Now, all of the smaller casinos have tables, so if you are in the GTA - where an awful lot of Rama's clientele came from - you can go to Pickering, Woodbine, etc. The bus bay at the back is virtually empty. If it wasn't for the entertainment complex and hotel, I'm not sure it would still be open and many are speculating that won't be enough to keep it viable.

Bus Service - Casino Rama

www.casinorama.com www.casinorama.com
Click to expand...
I'm sure that with some investment they could bring people back.

Or use those reasources to build something else that may attract people, not just a casino.

How is the food there? Even the food at Niagara is not what it once was.
 
Bordercollie said:
I'm sure that with some investment they could bring people back.

Or use those reasources to build something else that may attract people, not just a casino.

How is the food there? Even the food at Niagara is not what it once was.
Click to expand...
The original casino building (not counting the hotel and entertainment complex) was built as a temporary facility, with land identified (or actually set aside, I can't recall) for the permanent casino to be across the road on the lake. If you look around, it is little more than a warehouse. Seeing as the place became a licence to print money pretty much from day one, I guess they decided 'why bother' (pre-Covid, you would be astonished at the amount of money that flowed out of their count romm every single day). Regardless of where a casino is situation, they don't have windows and the drones inside pulling on slots or tossing chips don't care. Without the casino, it is left with the entertainment centre, and it had better be A-list if you want people to schlepp up from the GTA. Otherwise, the location has little else to recommend it. If it were on the water, I suppose it could add itself to the list of resorts chasing tourist dollars.

I don't know the current state of the restaurants. According to their website a couple have closed and some are on shorter hours.

Way back when, I think the gaming proponents had visions of Las Vegas dancing in their heads. The Entertainment Centre used to get some pretty decent acts in (no clue what it is like now) but, really, only Niagara Falls is anything approaching a 'destination venue'. Without a casino, few go to Windsor or Orillia for the culture, night life and entertainment.
 
Last edited:
Sorry for the poorly cropped screenshot. Am I seeing this right?? Finally KW to Hamilton?!
64E98ACA-4030-4D95-A85A-B7B8D8F6040A.png
 
sunnyside said:
Sorry for the poorly cropped screenshot. Am I seeing this right?? Finally KW to Hamilton?!
View attachment 417177
Click to expand...

Wow. Finally!

Based on the trip planner, it seems to be 1 daily round trip daily except Tuesdays.

Southbound:
11:25 UWaterloo
11:40 Kitchener (King & Victoria)
12:40 McMaster U

Northbound:
17:50 McMaster U
18:50 Kitchener (King & Victoria)
19:10 UWaterloo

Too bad it doesn't continue to Downtown Hamilton, and doesn't run very frequently, but hopefully this service is succesful and they're able to expand the route.
 
reaperexpress said:
Wow. Finally!

Based on the trip planner, it seems to be 1 daily round trip daily except Tuesdays.

Southbound:
11:25 UWaterloo
11:40 Kitchener (King & Victoria)
12:40 McMaster U

Northbound:
17:50 McMaster U
18:50 Kitchener (King & Victoria)
19:10 UWaterloo

Too bad it doesn't continue to Downtown Hamilton, and doesn't run very frequently, but hopefully this service is succesful and they're able to expand the route.
Click to expand...

This really should have been GO Transit, with at a minimum 8-10 round trips to start, but it's something.
 
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