University of Guelph builds GO hub

[Anth]

Article

THE MISSISSAUGA NEWS
University of Guelph builds GO hub

Torstar Network
Apr 21, 2007

GO Transit is starting a new express route between the University of Guelph and Mississauga.
The university will build a transit hub in front of the University Centre to accommodate the service, including passenger platforms, bus bays, sidewalks, wheelchair ramps, new lighting and new bus shelters.

The buses will leave hourly during working hours Monday to Friday, and once in the evening. They'll take riders to Square One mall in Mississauga and to the Cooksville GO station.

Whitney Knowles, 25, got off a Greyhound bus in Guelph yesterday after travelling from downtown Toronto. She was glad to hear GO Transit is offering an express route.

"I find the GO with the transfers very confusing," said the Toronto resident.

Currently GO buses head to Brampton where riders can connect with transit to Toronto.

A trip into Toronto costs about $11, including transfers.

GO is also extending its Highway 407 express route to link the University of Guelph to the Meadowvale and Bramalea GO stations and York University.

Both routes will also pick up riders from a GO park-and-ride lot to be built in Aberfoyle at Brock and McLean roads.

The express routes and the Aberfoyle lot are to be ready in September. Schedules and fares are still being ironed out.

Ian Weir, the university's parking services and transportation planning manager, said the university will redesign the loop where buses now pull up to the University Centre. In the fall, that loop will be restricted to transit buses and emergency vehicles.

Paul Langan, a spokesperson for Transport 2000, a public transportation advocacy group, said the new routes aren't ideal except for those who live near the university, but it's a move in the right direction.

"Unfortunately, they're just realizing the student potential rather than the city-wide potential," he said. The next step is to bring GO train service to Guelph, he said.

 

[Observer Walt]

It hasn't been too long since McMaster opened a GO bus terminal on campus. The university market is pretty important to GO. A lot of students are riding those buses.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

The first time I travelled from the campus in Guelph to my home here in Toronto by GO bus, it took almost 5 hours. It was also the last time I made that trip by GO bus.

 

[doady]

It is always good when GO expands its bus network like this but they still need to serve real transit hubs better. A new route to Square One is a good sign, but places like Downtown Guelph, Meadowvale Town Centre, and Bramalea City Centre are still unserved and could attract LOTS of riders. They still need to introduce weekend service too.

 

[unimaginative2]

Stopping at Cooksville will mean a much longer trip than if they stopped at the new Lisgar station. I've read the GO study for improved service to Waterloo/Wellington, and it recommended that service be routed to Lisgar in order to avoid most of the deadly Mississauga traffic.

 

[Degnaw]

If the bus stopped at Cooksville instead of Lisgar, it would only have to get off the 401 once, and Hurontario is much denser than NW Miss. (although those are about the only advantages I see about that)

 

[unimaginative2]

I guess it makes more sense for university students who are presumably going to their homes scattered around the GTA. For commuter services from Downtown Guelph or Waterloo Region, Lisgar for connection to the GO Train is the obvious choice. I can't count how many times I would have used such a service.

 

[Dan416]

Any kind of GO expansion is good news. Although I'd really like an expansion of the train network especially, on top of the extension to Barrie.

 

[ShonTron]

So this will be part of the GO BRT plan? Wowzers!

Not a bad idea, as long as they keep the Brampton-Georgetown-Acton-Guelph service. I've used that a few times living in Brampton.

The Guelph-York U route would probably stop at Hwy 10/407, so that will open up north Mississsauga (route 19) and southwest Brampton as well

 

[doady]

If the bus stopped at Cooksville instead of Lisgar, it would only have to get off the 401 once, and Hurontario is much denser than NW Miss. (although those are about the only advantages I see about that)

Also Cooksville is more likely to get all-day train service than Lisgar.

 

[unimaginative2]

Well, GO's study would disagree. It said that Lisgar is the best final destination for new GO buses to Waterloo Region and Guelph, for the obvious reason that the whole point of the service is to bypass congestion on the 401 east of Winston Churchill, as well as closer to downtown Toronto. The overwhelming majority of people on these routes, with the possible exception of the one to the University of Guelph, will be riding to connect with the GO Train to downtown Toronto. The density of the part of Mississauga where the bus connection is made is quite irrelevant. As a prime potential rider of such a service, I can assure you that I would never use it if it drove all the way down to Cooksville station.

 

[Dan416]

Well, GO's study would disagree. It said that Lisgar is the best final destination for new GO buses to Waterloo Region and Guelph, for the obvious reason that the whole point of the service is to bypass congestion on the 401 east of Winston Churchill, as well as closer to downtown Toronto. The overwhelming majority of people on these routes, with the possible exception of the one to the University of Guelph, will be riding to connect with the GO Train to downtown Toronto. The density of the part of Mississauga where the bus connection is made is quite irrelevant. As a prime potential rider of such a service, I can assure you that I would never use it if it drove all the way down to Cooksville station.

If it's just a feeder route for the Milton line, then it makes sense for it to go to a station farther out. But why not just go to Milton though? Wouldn't that be closer? And get you on the train faster?

 

[unimaginative2]

That's what I would have thought, but the train is actually quite a bit slower than the bus, as long as the latter isn't stuck in traffic, and Lisgar station is much closer to the 401 than Milton station.

 

[ShonTron]

I guess it is to provide off-peak and reverse direction service for Mississauga-Guelph trips, something that could not be done at Lisgar very well (as bad, if not worse than Meadowvale for actually being in a useful walk-up urban area). I would think (hope) that during the peak periods, trips would be directed there.

Plus Lisgar would be a logical connection for the Meadowvale-Hurontario-Bramalea-York U service.

 

[ShonTron]

Somewhat related.

I was by the new Aberfoyle GO/Greyhound park-and-ride, and it's more than I thought. There appears to be a large fully-enclosed waiting shelter (probably heated in winter), along with lots of parking about 750 metres north of the 401 (near the Timmy's). I do wonder how popular it is, especially with the Greyhound direct downtown service.

In Kitchener, Greyhound is pulling its terminal out from the GRT facility downtown on Charles Street and moving it to Sportsworld, so they can have a park-and-ride. Ticket sales will be there. Only GRT 52 serves it. Many, if not most, buses will be pulled from downtown. What a stupid move, not only screwing your student and other car-less passengers, but making transit connections horrible for the sake of park-and-ride customers.

I wonder if this is the market Greyhound is after now - they've got the mentality that GO had (at least they're slowly breaking out of that mentality, but very slowly!).