Entry #64 Summer Transit Expansion & Fall Expansion

 Hello folks,

I do hope you all are doing well and staying safe during these times. I have learned more about the service expansions happening in Kitchener-Waterloo, I will also touch a little bit on the GO Transit service improvements coming back. So without further a due, here's the potential Summer expansion for Grand River Transit

Route 2 Stirling - Route to be discontinued, replaced by routes 1 Queen-River, 3 Ottawa South, 8 Weber, 12 Westmount, 16 Strasburg-Belmont & 201 Fischer-Hallman iXpress.

Route 2's ridership never recovered from the pandemic; unfortunately, route 2 buses have been running empty. With that being said, and with routes 1, 3, 8, 12 and 16 covering most of the service area route 2 covers, it balances itself out. There will be spots along route 2 where there will be a longer walking distance between routes. 

Route 73 Northlake BusPlus - Route to be discontinued, service coverage by routes 9 Lakeshore, & 19 Hazel. 

Route 73 is another route in which the ridership never recovered, very similar to route 2. So the resources for routes 2 and 73 will be deployed along the other routes within the system. 

Route 8 Weber - Frequency Increased 

Route 8 is to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Friday from the beginning of service to 7pm. This change would most likely occur during the Fall of 2023. Route 8 is one of the busiest routes in Kitchener-Waterloo. Route 8 covers Weber Street and University Avenue, Downtown Kitchener, and Fairview Mall in Kitchener. 

Route 12 Westmount - Frequency Increased

Route 12 is to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Friday from the beginning of service to 7pm. This is another service improvement to occur during the Fall of 2023. 

Route 31 Columbia - Weekend Service

Route 31 serves Conestoga Mall ION Station, Davenport Road, Frobisher Drive, Bridge Street, Chesapeake Drive, New Bedford Drive, Eastbridge Boulevard (Eastbridge Neighbourhood), Lexington Road, Columbia Street, University of Waterloo ION Station. This route needed to get 7 days a week of service, especially when servicing the University of Waterloo and Conestoga Mall, as a helper route for route 201 iXpress, which experiences overcrowding, route 31 can be used as an alternative. This service improvement would happen either in the Summer or Fall of 2023

Route 33 Huron - Weekend Service

Route 33 serves the Sunrise Centre and Block Line Stations along Fischer-Hallman Road, Seabrook Drive, Huron Road, Ludolph Street, Woodbine Avenue, Parkvale Drive, Strasburg Road, Block Line Road, Courtland Avenue and Lennox Louis Way. Route 33 has gotten very busy since the pandemic, and ridership for this route has been on the rise for a long time. This service change could happen in the Summer or Fall of 2023.

Route 36 Thomas Slee - Weekend Service

Route 36 Thomas Slee serves Conestoga College Doon Campus and the Robert Ferrie/Forest Creek along Conestoga College Boulevard, New Dundee Drive, Robert Ferrier Drive, Doon South Drive and Thomas Slee Drive. Route 36 serves the Doon South neighbourhood. This route has had a major spike in ridership over the few years. Even during the pandemic, it was very popular because of the neighbourhood it served. This improvement would most likely happen in September of 2023. 

Entry #63 Cambridge Proposed Service Changes 2022

With the province of Ontario and Waterloo Region lifting COVID-19 restrictions, it was back to work for the planners to revisit the 2020 Cambridge service improvements. Local routes 50 Dundas, 53 Franklin, 54 Lisbon Pines, 56 Dunbar, 58 Elmwood, 59 Christopher, 60 Northview Acres, 63 Champlain, and 64 Langs have been up for redesign. The link for the proposed service improvements will be included in this blog. 

Route 50 Dundas-Myers (Route 50 combined with routes 54 Lisbon Pines & 59 Christopher) 

Extended route to Ainslie Terminal via Dundas Street, Myers Road and Water Street. Route 50 would continue to service the Lisbon Pines neighbourhood until the completion of Wesley Boulevard and Faith Street are linked to Myers Road. 

Monday to Sunday service every 30-minutes, 60-minute evenings on Sundays

Route 53 Franklin 

Extended route along Christopher Drive  Champlain Boulevard to Franklin Boulevard. 

New evening and weekend service every 30-minutes, 60-minute Sunday evening service 

Route 54 Lisbon Pines

Discontinued, combined with route 50 and 63

Route 56 Langs-Rose 

Combined routes 56 Dunbar and 64 Langs that connects Cambridge Centre Station and Downtown Preston along Langs Drive, Concession Street, Hamilton Road, Rose Street, and Eagle Street. 

Route 56 would continue to service the Argyle and Laurel Street communities in one direction. 

30-minute Monday to Sunday and 60-minute Sunday evenings

Route 58 Elgin North (Formerly named Elmwood) 

Extended route to Cambridge Centre Station along Beverley Street, Elgin Street North, Franklin Boulevard, and Bishop Street. Route 58 would operate Monday to Sunday every 30-minutes and 60-minutes Sunday Evening 

Route 59 Christopher

Discontinued, combined with routes 50 & 53

Route 60 Burnett

Rerouted route 60 as a one way loop connecting Cambridge Centre Station along Dunbar Road, Can-Amera Parkway, Saginaw Parkway, Cowan Boulevard, Burnett Avenue, Essex Point Drive, and Green Vista Drive. Service has been removed from Munch Avenue, Elgin Street, Glamis Road and Robson Street. Passengers can still have bus service, along Hespeler Road (Route 51), Elgin Street (route 58), and Franklin Boulevard (Route 53). Route 60 would propose to operate Monday to Saturday every 30-minutes, No Sunday Service

Route 63 Champlain 

Modified route 63 to operate from Ainslie Street Terminal and the South Cambridge Centre along Centre Street, McKay Street, McDonald Avenue Champlain Boulevard, Elgin Street, Concession Street and Franklin Boulevard. Monday to Saturday every 30-minutes, No Sunday Service. 

These are quite a bit of changes for the city of Cambridge, but keep in mind, these are all proposed, nothing is set in stone, I will post about the preferred service changes in a later blog in April. 

https://www.grt.ca/en/about-grt/resources/Cambridge_2022_Network_Map.pdf 

Entry #62 New University of Waterloo Station and Future Service Expansion

With the COVID-19 pandemic taking it's toll around the world and with more and more people getting the vaccines, which is a really good sign. This will bring in the opportunity for new service changes to transit in Waterloo Region. The first, is the University of Waterloo Station. This new station is still under construction, and it's so big, I would not be surprised if the layover at University and King for routes 8 and 12 will be moved to the University of Waterloo Station. I can see more routes having a layover at the University of Waterloo like routes 9, 12, 13, 19, 29, 31, 201, 202 will most likely have layovers at the University. By adding a layover this will add an additional 5-7 minutes to the routes, which is good because it will add more connections to the ION. Secondly, once the ION begins serving Cambridge, there will select routes in all three cities, that will operate every 24 hours. My guess is in Kitchener Waterloo, Routes 201 Fischer-Hallman iXpress, 202 University iXpress, 203 Maple Grove iXpress, 204 Highland-Victoria, 205 Ottawa iXpress, 206 Coronation Ixpress 1 Queen-River, 7 King, 8 Weber, 9 Lakeshore, 12 Westmount, 13 Laurelwood, 16 Strasburg-Belmont, 19 Hazel, 20 Victoria-Frederick, 29 Keats-University, 51 Hespeler, 55 Grand Ridge, and 61 Fountain are likely candidates for operating every 30-45-60 minutes. The ION trains are mostly going to operate every 30-minutes between Waterloo and Cambridge. Another interesting expansion I began thinking about was routes 22 Laurentian West, 26 Trillium and 33 Huron are probably going to be extended to Fairway Station. This way its more direct connections to ION and other Grand River Transit routes. On to the next expansion Cambridge. There's no sign of the expansion going on, unless plans get released to Regional Councillor. Routes 50, 53, 54, 59, and 63 are up for re-design and  more service hours in both Cambridge and Kitchener. It is unknown at this time when this expansion will occur. The first set of public consultations occurred in 2019 before the pandemic, it might be mentioned at regional council. I will keep people posted. That is all in transit news from Kitchener-Waterloo, everyone please stay safe out there. 

Entry #61 ION Route Changes and Fall 2019 Service Changes Reviewed

Hello fellow internet searcher,
This is a blog regarding public transit service changes regarding the current ION LRT launch in Kitchener-Waterloo and fall 2019 service changes for Cambridge. To begin this blog, let's start off with the ION Launch and the many routes that changed with it.

Route 1 Queen-River
 Revised route to connect with ION at Frederick Station and Queen Station. This change should have happened once route 1 was introduced. Route 1 being one of the main routes that connects to Downtown Kitchener, the route should have been removed from Charles Street transit terminal, and have it directly travel along Benton/Frederick Street to provide a more direct connection downtown. For those who wish to transfer to Charles Street terminal, at the time, routes 4 Glasgow, 7 Mainline, 8  University-Fairview would have been a more direct way to connect to Charles Street Terminal. Route 1 should have also been looked at to have been modified to service Rolling Meadows and Driftwood, similarly like having a 1A Driftwood and 1B Rolling Meadows. Which both routes would service the Boardwalk. Route 1 was a good change with the launch of ION.

Route 2 Stirling
Route 2 was revised to service Stanley Park Mall and the community of Forest Heights. This was another really good change. Route 2 have very little to no ridership downtown Kitchener. By removing it from Downtown, more people saw the 2 leaving Stanley Park Mall as an opportunity to increase its ridership. The routing itself is not that bad, but the only busy section of the 2 is from Stanley Park Mall to Highland Hills Mall. Once it travels along Westheights, Rolling Meadows and Driftwood, there's nobody on the bus. Personally, I see that as a waste of resources, and there really should not be 2 buses in Forest Heights. Route 1 should be looked at and modified to service Driftwood and Rolling Meadows and have 2 branches 1A Boardwalk via Driftwood and 1B Boardwalk via Rolling Meadows, and have route 2 service the Sunrise Centre Station and combine it with route 23 Idlewood.
Route 1 was an excellent change with the launch of ION.

Route 3 Ottawa South
Route 3 would be revised to travel from Sunrise Centre and Downtown Kitchener via Ottawa Street, Kingswood Drive, Mill Street, and Charles Street and would continue as route 4. This was an interesting change, I am in favour of it because it's direct, but at the same time, there is no Fairway Station-Sunrise Centre connection without transferring 3 buses. Personally, I believe the 3 should have been modified to service Sunrise-Fairview-Stanley Park. This would create a direct connection with ION as well.
Route 3 was a good change for ION launch, but could be reworked in the future.

Route 4 Glasgow-Margaret
Route 4 would be revised to service Frederick Station/Queen Station, Grand River Hospital Station and The Boardwalk Station along the Margaret Street, Park Street, Glasgow Street and University Avenue corridors. This was another good change, personally, this route, very similarly to route 3, should have been looked at to service The Boardwalk-Downtown-Conestoga College. This is another missing link that could have been connected. Having a Boardwalk-College link would not just help with the increasing ridership at Conestoga College, but also getting people that work at the College to their job when living out close to the Boardwalk or Downtown.
Route 4  was a good change for ION launch, but could be reworked in the future.

Route 6 Bridge-Courtland
Route 6 was revised to service Conestoga Mall and Fairway Station along Bridge Street, Downtown Kitchener, and Courtland Avenue. This was an excellent change. This provides a quicker and more direct route to Conestoga Mall, even faster than route 7. Route 6, however, should have it's frequency increased to 15-minutes because of how popular and busy it is.
Route 6 was an excellent change for ION Launch.

Route 7 King
Route 7 was revised to service Conestoga Mall and Fairview Mall along the King Street corridor and the Connaught neighbourhood. This was another excellent change, although, the short-turn 7s should be between Conestoga Mall-University of Waterloo-Uptown Waterloo and Central Station (King-Victoria) This is where most of the passengers get off for connections.
Route 7 was an excellent change for ION Launch.

Route 8 Weber
Route 8 was revised along Weber Street from Fairview Mall to University and King. Route 8 would continue as route 12. Route 8 has been a problem, not just scheduling wise route route wise. Before streamlining the 8 along Weber Street, route 8 had 4 branches, 8 Weber, 8 Courtland, 8 Franklin and 8 Westmount. By streamlining route 8 along Weber, this provides more opportunity for other routes to be revised and service the other sections that were covered by route 8. Route 8 and 12 need to operate every 15-10 minutes due to the University area, downtown Kitchener and Fairview Mall. This would provide more direct connections to ION and other routes in Kitchener-Waterloo.
Route 8 was an excellent change for ION launch, but route 8 needs more frequent service throughout the day and evenings and weekends.

Route 9 Lakeshore
Route 9 was revised along the R and T Park to UW Station. This was another excellent change, with the loss of the 200 iXpress, route 9 would pick up more students and workers in that area. To make the 9 even more appealing for students, 15-minute service all day between Conestoga Mall and UW Station. This is another excellent change for ION Launch
Route 9 was an excellent change for ION launch.

Route 10 Pioneer
Route 10 was streamlined along Pioneer Drive to Conestoga College. 15-minutes Monday to Friday, 30-minutes evenings and weekends. With the 10 longer servicing Bechtel Drive, the 10 now has time to connect with other routes at Conestoga College and Fairview Mall. This is another excellent change for ION Launch.
Route 10 was an excellent change for ION launch.

Route 12 Westmount
Route 12 was streamlined along Bleams Road, Fischer-Hallman Road and Westmount Road. This is another excellent change, but again, same problems with route 8, not enough time and not enough frequency throughout the week and weekends. Route 12 and 8 should have the frequency of 10-minutes, but in the evenings have every 15-minutes until 11:30pm, then it becomes every 30-minutes.
Route 12 was an excellent change for ION Launch.

Route 14 Bathurst
Route 14 was revised to service the Bathurst Employment park. This route could have been modified to service the Bathurst employment park in a two way loop or incorporated it into another route, like route 9. Route 14 is literally a 12 minute route, by revising it into a 2 way loop or incorporating route 14 into another route, it would save a bus and it deployed else where, or have the 14 modified to service the Northlake neighbourhood and the Waterloo Industrial Park all together.
Route 14 needs to be re-looked at for service improvements.

Route 16 Strasburg Belmont
Route 16 was revised to service Conestoga College, Grand River Hospital, Belmont Village and Uptown Waterloo along the Strasburg Road, Ottawa Street, Highland Road and Belmont Road corridors. This is an excellent change because, the 16 now connects with more routes and ION. Any passenger who wants to go to Stanley Park Mall, Fairview Park, Conestoga Mall or even the Boardwalk can get on a 16 and transfer at either Uptown Waterloo or along Highland Road to connect to another route.
Route 16 is an excellent change for ION Launch.

Route 19 Hazel
Route 19 is a new route with 2 services, 19A St. Jacobs Market, 19B Northfield Station. This is another excellent change for ION launch. With route 19 operating every 15-minutes Monday to Saturday and 30-minutes on Sunday, this is similar to route 16.
Route 19 is an excellent change for ION launch.

Route 22 Laurentian West
Route 22 was revised from Sunrise Centre Station to Block Line Station along the Activa Drive, Rittenhouse Drive, Country Hill Drive and Block Line Road. This change was another great change but Sunday Service needs to increase to 30-minutes rather than 60-minutes. Route 22 could also be looked at to service the Trillium Drive Industrial Park, which would be beneficial not only to the workers, but other people that work on weekends or midnights.
Route 22 was a good change for ION launch.

Route 26 Trillium
Route 26 would be revised along Homer Watson Boulevard and Beasley Drive to the Trillium Drive employment area. This route is in the same spot as route 14. Another route should be covering it or it could be servicing Forest Glen Plaza.
Route 26 needs to be re-looked at for service improvements.

Route 27 Chicopee
Route 27 was modified 2-ways along Morgan Avenue and Morrison Road.
This route, needs to be combined with route 23 and service the Sims Estate neighbourhood then to Zeller Drive. Creating a new Fairway Road-Breslau iXpress route to cover Fairway and King up to Fairway and Lackner could be looked at for increased ridership.
Route 27 needs to be re-looked at for service improvements.

Route 28 Franklin North
New route 28 Franklin North connects Fairway Station and Stanley Park Mall along the Franklin Street corridor. This route falls under the same category as routes 14, 26 and 27. Combine it with an existing route.
Route 28 needs to be re-looked at for service improvements.

Route 29 Keats-University
Extended route to Conestoga Station along University Avenue, Lincoln Road, Bridge Street and Davenport Road. This is another excellent change for ION launch. The two things that could be changed for route 29 are increased in frequency and modify to service the UW Station.
Route 29 is an excellent change for ION launch.

Route 30 Ring Road
New route 30 would service all of Ring Road and exit as route 19.
Since this route is not operating until the UW station is completed, I cannot say if route 30 should be existing or should be with either route 9 or route 13.

Route 34 Bingemans
Route 34 would be revised to turn-around at Central Station via Charles Street and Francis Street with additional trips along Shirley Avenue and Centennial Drive. Route 34 has very little to no ridership. The option that would be brought into consideration would be revise route 34 into a two-way loop connecting Bingemans Centre Drive, Shirley Avenue, Centennial Road and Victoria Street. Route 34 would operate every 15-minutes and would connect with Frederick/Queen Stations and Central Station. Route 34 falls under the category with routes 14, 26, 27 and 28.
Route 34 needs to be re-looked at for service improvements.

Route 73 Northlake
Route 73 was revised to service Kumpf Drive, Northfield Station, and the community of Northlake.
This is another good change for ION launch, but with the 73s ridership increasing it seems that the call for a full conventional bus, like using an exiting route (route 14) could be modified to service this neighbourhood and connect with ION and Northfield and Conestoga Station.
Route 73 is a good change for ION launch.

Route 201 Fischer-Hallman iXpress
Extended route 201 to Conestoga College via Block Line Road, Courtland Avenue, Manitou Drive, Homer Watson Boulevard and Conestoga College Boulevard. This is an excellent change for ION and now it connects past Forest Glen Plaza, replacing route 116, which is an excellent change, as well as an increased frequency to accommodate with the growing ridership at Conestoga College.
Route 201 is an excellent change for ION launch.

Most of the route changes for ION launch were very successful, with the exception of routes 14, 26, 27, 28 and 34. They need to be reevaluated for the service level that they have.

Fall 2019 Service Changes

Route 36 Thomas Slee
New route connects Conestoga College Station and Robert Ferrie and South Creek roundabout.
This route needs to interline with something, rather than having one bus going out there, have the 36 connect with the 16 Monday to Friday and that would get the route busier.
Route 36 is a good change

Route 50 Dundas
This route should be combined with the 61. There's not enough ridership on the 50 to accommodate for a conventional bus. By having the 61 be the connecter between Conestoga College-Cambridge Centre and the community of Green Gate.
Route 50 should be combined with another route.

Route 54 Lisbon Pines
Extended service hours until 8:45pm Mon-Sat.
Another good service change

Route 55 Grand Ridge
Modified and combined routes 55 and 62 into a two-way loop. This is another good change, this provides more connections to Ainslie Terminal every 15-minutes.
This is another good change in Cambridge

Route 57 Blair
Modified and combined routes 111 College Express and route 57 to connect the community of Blair, Ainslie Terminal and Conestoga College. This change needed to happen sooner than later. Route 57 has been losing ridership for a long time. This change, will not only increase ridership, but will most likely call for extended hours on Saturdays and possibly hourly Sunday Service.
This is an excellent change.

Route 58 Elmwood
Extended service hours to 10:45pm on Sundays.
This is good for route 58 as it is a very popular route.
This is another good change

Route 61 Fountain
Revised route 61 along Preston Parkway. This is a good change. Although, route 61 should be revised to replace service along Cherry Blossom Road to Sportsworld Crossing. This not only would help the industrial workers, but route 67 could be modified to service all of Fountain Street and Boxwood Drive employment area.
This is a good change, but it needs to be revised again.

Route 67 Eagle-Pinbush
Extended route along Eagle Street, Fountain Street, Cherry Blossom Road and Maple Grove Road. This is another good change, but route 67 should have been looked at to service Fountain Street to Boxwood Drive and the Boxwood Business Campus.
This is another good change.

Route 72 Boxwood
Scheduled trips along Boxwood Drive and Maple Grove Road, Flex trips to Toyota, Lawblaws and the Boxwood Business Campus. This change, in my opinion, was not the greatest change. With routes 203 and 67, there are many other ways route 72 could have been altered or even discontinued.
Route 72 needs to be reevaluated for service.

Route 75 Saginaw
Additional trip leaving Cambridge Centre at 6:30pm.
This is another great change. Route 75 has been increasing ridership, and will continue to increase. It will eventually get 30-minute Sunday service.
This is another great change.

Route 76 Doon Mills BusPlus
revised route 76 along Doon South Drive, Doon Mills Drive and Old Carriage Drive. This is a good change, but either modifying route 22 or 33 would be beneficial to serving the area.
A good change, but could be re-looked at in the future.

Route 203 Maple Grove iXpress
Extended route all day to Conestoga College. This is another great change, and it also accommodates the growing ridership at Conestoga College. The only issue I do tend to see is that the route stops servicing the college at 6:30pm. This needs to go until the end of service, this would provide more connections to Sportsworld Crossing and Cambridge Centre and the Cambridge Business Park.
Route 203 is developing ridership, but needs more service to the College during the evenings and weekends.

Route 206 Coronation iXpress
Brand new express route connects Fairway Station, Sportsworld Station, Downtown Preston, Ainslie Terminal and West Galt (Southwood Secondary) every 15-minutes Monday to Friday, 30-minutes evenings and weekends. This new route is not too bad. It is a very good change, especially to get Ridership for ION LRT in Cambridge, but the only problem I, personally see with the 206 is scheduling. Scheduling is going to be difficult for the 206, when I first saw the schedule, it looked like the old 52 schedule just given a new name and new routing. The 206 needs its own schedule, not a copy and paste of the old 52 schedule.

That is my review of the ION launch service changes and the fall 2019 service changes for Cambridge. There are many good changes that have happened, but at the same time, there have been service changes that need to be reviewed and looked at to make our transit system better.

Entry# 60 Changes coming to Conestoga College Fall 2019

Starting next year, the buses that service Conestoga College will be getting a new terminal as well as more frequent service. As an alumni of Conestoga College, this is the next step for the college to get more frequent service, similar to the University area in Waterloo. This year and next year, Grand River Transit will be focusing their attention to South West Kitchener, and possibly Cambridge, so the routes will be restructured in such a way that they will either terminate at Cambridge Centre or Ainslie Terminal or the College itself. This year, Grand River Transit introduced a new branch on route 10 (10A via Old Carriage), route 16 to operate until 11pm, route 76 to service Robert Ferrie Drive and Thomas Slee Drive and route 110 to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Friday.

Next year, the service changes to the college are as follows

Route 16 will be getting new weekend service and at the launch of the ION LRT, route 16 will be extended to Uptown Waterloo

Route 57 will be resutrcured to service Ainslie Terminal and Conestoga College via Galt and Blair

Route 61 will be getting more service during the spring every 30 minutes and will operate until midnight

Route 76 will be operating every 30 minutes Monday to Friday

Route 201 will be servicing Conestoga College with more frequent service at the Launch of ION

Route 203 will be operating from Cambridge Centre to Conestoga College all day Monday to Friday during the Spring-Fall-Winter terms

New College transit facility will be located near the "A" Wing parking lot (off of Doon Valley Drive across from the college daycare.

As you can see from above, the college will be getting a lot more bus service from Grand River Transit. These changes will accommodate the ever-growing student population at Conestoga College.

Entry #59 My Review of the 2018 Grand River Transit Service Changes

As of September 7 2015, Grand River Transit has altered many routes even discontinued others, the routes that have been changed are 10 Conestoga College/Fairview Park, 16 Strasburg, 33 Huron, 53 Franklin, 73 Northland, 75 Saginaw, 76 Doon South and the routes being discontinued are 33 Trillium, and route 78 Hanson. These changes needed to occur to provide more direct service between key locations and neighbourhoods. So without further question, here is my review of the new Grand River Transit 2018 service changes:

Route 10 Pioneer

Renamed route to Pioneer, added a second branch via Old Carriage Drive and Homer Watson Boulevard, named 10A, removed Bechtel extension during the weekdays due to route 16 operating; both branches operate every 30 minutes to mimic 15 minutes, Sunday service increased to 30 minutes. The 10 is a tricky one, I do understand that the 16 does need assistance when it comes to the student loads during the school year, that's why the 10A was implemented. Although, a suggestion that could be made to Grand River Transit would be, operating route 10A on weekends, while doing the Bechtel extension would help the people at the college during weekends as well as accommodate the students that live on Old Carriage Drive, and the 10A could help route 16 once it operates 7 days a week with the launch of ION LRT with the students. The 10A should be operating 7 days a week, as compensation for route 16 not operating on the weekends, that way, not just the students living on Old Carriage Drive can get to and from places they want to visit on weekends.


Route 110 College/Fairview Express

Increased frequency to every 15 minutes during the day, and 30 minutes from the College to Fairview every 30 minutes. This is another example of Grand River Transit getting it right, the college area is getting busier and busier, by providing more frequent service, similar to the University area, the students will have no problem getting to and from the College.



Route 16 Strasburg

Extended service hours until 11:30pm, removed Behin Drive extension. This is another example of Grand River Transit getting it right. By extending the 16 later in the night, will mean, route 10 can get a lot of the student pressure off and jump on the 16 and get to home or get to Forest Glen in evening and make connects to the various routes at Forest Glen. When ION LRT starts, route 16 will be operating 7 days a week every 30 minutes.



Route 26 Trillium

New route covers previous route 33 via Trillium. This route will operate during peak-periods from Forest Glen plaza to Trillium and Groff along Strasburg Road, MacIntyre Drive, and Trillium Dive every 30 minutes. Back when I was in high school, I remember route 26, as it was my main route to get to and from home to school. Although it does please me that I'm seeing it return and it does being back pleasant memories for myself. Grand River Transit did do good on this route, there is possibility to improve the 26. An example of it would be to extend the 26 to Conestoga College (to acclimate the 16 and 116 during the school year and summer school season) this would provide a fast connection to the college and Forest Glen.


Route 33 Huron

Revised route to service The Sunrise Centre and ION Block Line Station via Forest Glen Plaza along Wilderness Drive, Activa Drive, Fischer-Hallman Road, Seabrook Drive, Ludolph Street, Huron Road, Woodbine Avenue, Parkvale Drive, Strasburg Road, Block Line Road, Courtland Avenue E., Hayward Drive, and Lennix Louis Way. Something needed to be done with route 33. The amount of people that depend on it, not just during the AM and PM peak hours, but during the day, people in the Huron Village wanted a bus that can get them from point A to point B, and that was the 33, but back in 2008-2009, the ridership on route 26 was low, so route 33 replaced it, and ridership in the Huron Village picked up, the industrial area remained the same. Now route 33 will be operating Monday to Friday every 30 minutes all day. I can see this route, if it gets busy enough, and it probably will, I can see route 33 operating 7 days a week, every 15 minutes, with the possibility of operating until 12:30am or later. This is a change that needed to happen and it will happen for the better.


Route 53 Franklin

Extended service into the early evening every 30 minutes. Route 53 will operate from 6:15am to 8:15pm. This is another example of Grand River Transit getting it right. Back a few years ago route 53 lost its evening and weekend service due to low ridership, now seeing that the demand for early evening service is there, there is a possibility it could run until 10:30pm and possibly get its weekend service back on schedule, but that is up to Grand River Transit.


Route 73 Northlake
Revised route to connect to Northfield ION Station via Kumpf and Randall Industrial area as well as extended Northlake loop to Rideau River Street in North Waterloo. Again, this is another great step in providing more service in communities. By extending route 73 further into the Northlake community, this bus plus route can possibly become a full conventional bus one day, providing service Monday to Friday, with hopefully the possibility of weekend service every 30 minutes.


Route 75 Saginaw

Added 40 minute service on Saturdays from 9am to 7pm as well as Sunday service from 10am to 6pm. This is anther great step in the right direction for weekend service. As a frequent Grand River Transit rider and transit maven, this additional service on route 75 is defenatly a huge step in the right direction. With only route 60 being the core route in that area, and it operates 7 days a week, the addition to route 75 operating can provide an alternative, and more direct way to connect the residents in the Shade Mills community.


Route 76 Doon South

Extended route along New Dundee Drive, Thomas Slee Drive, Robert Ferrier Drive, with an extension to South Creek via Robert Ferrie Drive. This is another great example of a route building up service in a neighbourhood so that people can go to school, work and possibly get their shopping done. This extension of route 76 will be excellent, and possibly will move to al day service within the year 2019 or 2020.


Route 78 Hanson: Route 78 connected the Hanson-Hayward-Fallowfield communities via the Forest Glen terminal. Route 78 operated every 30 minutes Monday to Friday from 8am to 8pm. As of September 4, route 78 will be discontinued and a modified route 33 will be extended to replace it. I have done many trips on route 78, and they were not busy at all, maybe 2 people here or there, but what I would not mid seeing is adding a second branch to the 33, and modifying it to service Block Line Station via Fallowfield Drive and Homer Watson Boulevard. This would provide service along Fallowfield Drive. When route 12 was on the Fallowfield detour a couple years ago, man, many passengers used the 12 along Fallowfield, thus indicating that there is a demand for ridership along Fallowfield Drive. By adding a second branch to route 33, this would help the people along Fallowfield Drive.


This is my review of the new Grand River Transit service improvements.

Entry #58 2018 Service Changes

Hello internet surfers,

the 2018 service changes are coming, but not all of the changes are coming at once. Here are the following service changes

Waterloo

- Revised route 73 between Northfield Station and Northlake via Kumpf Drive.
- Extended service into the Rideau River Neighbourhood.

Kitchener

Route 10 Pioneer/110 College Express
- Split route 10 into 2 branches; 10 (current routing) and 10A (via Old Carriage Drive; weekdays only)
- Both branches operate every 30 minutes to mimic the 15 minute service
- Route 110 to operate every 15 minutes Monday to Friday

I can argue that 10A should operate 7 days a week and the current 10 routing should be weekdays.

Route 16 Strasburg
- Extended service from 6:30pm to 11:30pm

This needed to happen. Route 16 is incredibly busy, now what needs to happen to the 16 is weekend service.

Route 26 Trillium (Former route 33 Trillium/Groff)
- New route that operates from Forest Glen Plaza to the Trillium Industrial Park during peak periods.
- Once the ION LRT starts operating the routing for route 26 will change.

Route 33 Huron
- Expanded route between Sunrise Centre and Block Line Station via Forest Glen Plaza.
- Service to be extended from Peak Periods to 5:45am to 11:30pm Monday to Friday

- This needed to happen with the 33. The residence of Huron Park needed all day service. The only thing I can say the 33 needs now is weekend service. Having the 33 operate 7 days a week, would benefit the Huron Park residence.

Route 76 Doon South

- Revised route along Thomas Slee and Robert Ferrie Drive. Route 78 resources would be allocated to route 76.

Route 78 Hanson
- Route discontinued

Cambridge

Route 53 Franklin
- Extended service from 6:15pm to 8:45pm

Route 75 Saginaw
- New Weekend service

203 Maple Grove iXpress
- Extended service from 10pm to 11:30pm on Weekends

These are all good service changes for September.