Before I get into any explanation on why I'm talking about intercity service for Waterloo Region (with respect to GO Transit) I will define the term intercity service.
Intercity Service: Transit that allows people to connect from one city to another using one or two buses or another method of transit service. For example GO Transit has 3 routes in Kitchener-Waterloo, the first is Route 25 Square One - connects UW and Mississauga, the second is Route 30 Bramlea GO-Kitchener GO, the third is new route 24 Cambridge-Milton - Connects Ainslie Street-Milton via Hespeler Rd., and Hwy 401 to Milton. These routes move people from Kitchener and Waterloo to Brampton, Milton and Mississauga cities without the hassle of traffic, and people save money on parking.
The reason why I am explaining intercity service is because, when I visit Toronto, there are busses from Mississauga, Brampton, York Region at certain subway stations and malls. This allows commuters during the AM and PM peak hours to get to and from work smoothly without the hassle of driving in heavy traffic. Then I got thinking, how come Waterloo Region doesn't have a couple busses operate from Kitchener to Guelph, or a couple busses operate from Cambridge to Brantford? By looking at how many people commute from Waterloo Region to Guelph and Brantford is a very large number, and by providing a more direct link between the cities surrounding Waterloo Region, more people would see Grand River Transit as a very good alternative to driving and spending a lot of money on gas.
The routes from Kitchener and Cambridge I would modify to go to Guelph and Brantford I will post below, please feel free to provide feed back. These ideas are just thoughts I came up with, and probably won't happen, but it is a good idea to get the gears for Regional Council going.
David's proposed Kitchener-Guelph Intercity service
Route 2 Forest Heights, 8 via Franklin 23 Idlewood
- Modify and combine routes 2 and 23 into a crosstown service connecting Fairview Park and the Boardwalk along the Ottawa Street North, Fairway North, Franklin Street Fischer-Hallman Road, Trussler Road, Ira Needles Boulevard and Frederick Street corridors.
- 2A will service Fairway North and Ottawa North to The Boardwalk, 2B will service Franklin-Frederick Street corridors.
- New Sunday service introduced on both branches.
Route 20 Victoria
- Revised route 20 to service the length of Victoria Street from The Boardwalk to the Downtown Guelph with making stops at Charles St. Terminal.
- Service frequency would be increased to 15 minutes
- Ner service along Centennial-Forwell Industrial area.
Route 34 Bingemans
- Extend route 34 from Shirley Avenue to University of Guelph via Victoria Street and return Downtown Kitchener. Route would have 7 day service.
David's Proposed Cambridge-Brantford Intercity service
200 iXpress
- Extend route from Ainslie to Brantford via Hwy 24 and King George Road and Lynden Mall. Frequency would remain the same.
Route 51 Hespeler Rd.
- Extend route 51 from Ainslie Terminal to downtown Brantford via Hwy 24 and King George Road. Frequency would remain the same.
Route 52 Coronation
- Extend route to downtown Brantford via the city of Paris along Hwy 2 and 403 and route would also connect to Lynden Mall. Frequency would remain the same.
Not only would people have more option of getting to work, but also going to visit Toronto, Mississauga, Orangeville, Brampton and so on. These are options to get people to see transit services as a money saver when travelling without the hassle of traffic and parking.
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