Missing Links in the GO Bus Network

[TFC]

I take the 25 weekly, and from my experience, approximately 3/4 of the people on the bus to Mississauga transfer onto the Union Train-Bus. I remember hearing that the 25 doesn't originate at Union due to capacity issues, in addition to Peel region being the destination for most trips from Waterloo Region.
I like the idea of a seasonal Barrie-Wasaga beach route in the summer, and a Barrie- Blue Mountain route in the winter. Barrie-Orillia seems like a no-brainer.

 

[DKsan]

How many people seriously want to go from Port Credit to Kitchener? If the problem is that the fares for GO bus users transferring to other systems are too high, then GO should start applying the 65 cent co fare program to GO bus users using the Presto card, which really ought to be done anyway. Running GO buses between Port Credit and Cooksville/Square One, which will undoubtedly be mostly empty because most of the demand there is local demand and MT fares are lower, is a waste of money.

They do. I've been getting 65 cent co-fares between GO Buses and MiWay/Zum buses since GO buses had their readers activated.

 

[jwill]

Greyhound already covers the K/W to downtown Toronto route (as does VIA, and soon GO trains), so its nice to have the GO bus serve a different option. Lots of students are going home to the suburbs, and Square One is a good place to connect to local Mississauga/Brampton buses as well as 407 buses to Halton, York, Durham, N York, Scarborough, etc.

If anything, I could see some use for a new branch that runs via 407 to Bramalea, York U, and maybe Finch station, just to connect more quickly to the north and east sides of the region.

 

[doady]

GO needs to have more links to the the airport. It is, after all, an important regional destination, and GO is a regional service.

 

[ShonTron]

Guelph-Hamilton used to be a multiple daily trip provided by Trentway-Wagar/Coach Canada, before it was reduced to a minimal one round trip a week two years ago, then cancelled altogether. I argued that this is certainly one route that GO should pick up.

Spacing's site is down, but here's the URL:
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...JwnHarvHF_Gwp28WQ&sig2=4nUrbJgnD091BUJyZSmy9A

 

[smallspy]

If GO ever goes around to making a Kitchener GO Train-Bus ....

It starts in January.

As for the others - if they were so "needed", don't you think that GO might have already been running the service?

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[nfitz]

It starts in January.

That's a GO Train. You'll note that there is no extra bus service being added. There's a lot of demand for service along the Kitchener-Guelph corridor.

 

[DKsan]

It starts in January.

As for the others - if they were so "needed", don't you think that GO might have already been running the service?

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

MPP John Milloy responded that the service would be driven by demand and there would be no train-bus service initially, when I was there at the announcement on Nov. 25 at the Kitchener rail station.

A key figure he noted: the 25 carries approximately 700 passengers a day, with the exception of Friday evening and Sundays.

 

[mpd618]

That's a GO Train. You'll note that there is no extra bus service being added. There's a lot of demand for service along the Kitchener-Guelph corridor.

It turns out that GO is actually planning on a little bit of "peak direction" train-bus service to start likely in January, according to a Region of Waterloo committee report (p. 28). It's not clear why this wasn't mentioned at the GO train service announcements.

GO Transit replaces rail service with bus service to connect to partial length train trips during nonpeak periods. GO Transit plans to provide express bus trips between Waterloo Region and trains at the Bramalea GO Station. One trip is tentatively scheduled to travel eastbound in the morning and three trips are tentatively scheduled to travel westbound in the afternoon. GO Transit will soon confirm the schedule details of this supplemental GO Transit bus service (known as “train-bus†because of the connection to rail service). This service is expected to begin in early 2012.

 

[nfitz]

It turns out that GO is actually planning on a little bit of "peak direction" train-bus service to start likely in January, according to a Region of Waterloo committee report (p. 28). It's not clear why this wasn't mentioned at the GO train service announcements.

Good find! Odd that they didn't start it at the same time.

 

[smallspy]

That's a GO Train. You'll note that there is no extra bus service being added. There's a lot of demand for service along the Kitchener-Guelph corridor.

No, the train starts next week. A complementary bus service is supposed to start at the end of January. Why they are starting at different times is beyond me.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[ShonTron]

Dan,

The complementary bus service starts Jan 3, the same time as the rest of the new board period, which has yet to be fully released. Of course, the train service starts Dec 19th to fulfill an election promise for service in 2011.

 

[mpd618]

Any idea whether there is going to be "reverse" direction train-bus service through Guelph and Kitchener with that January start?

 

[nfitz]

Any idea whether there is going to be "reverse" direction train-bus service through Guelph and Kitchener with that January start?

Not according to that Region of Waterloo document that was referenced above - at least it doesn't list it.

 

[Dan416]

Don't see why there would be when no other non-Lakeshore line has any.