Category Archives: Buses

Clues to King/Victoria Transit Hub Plans

Buses, Cycling, Intercity Transit, Light Rail, News, Walking February 20, 2012 Michael Druker 1 Comment

A sign at the northwest corner of Kitchener’s King / Victoria intersection proclaims the future home of an inter-modal transit hub, with LRT, GO and Via trains, and local and intercity buses. Hidden away in Regional purchasing documents are some clues as to how the planning of this site is taking place.

Early last month, the Region of Waterloo issued a request for proposals (addendum) for a “Preliminary Design Study and Station Access Plan”. Bidding closed two weeks ago, and the project is to be awarded next Tuesday. Consultations with various advisory committees are required of the winning bidder; general public consultation is encouraged but not required.

These documents also indicate that the Region “has undertaken a design study for the City of Kitchener, which includes building envelopes, heights, and massing for this project.” The City of Kitchener’s vision for this part of the downtown is grand, and it appears likely that the transit hub will be a substantial presence physically.

Interesting aspects and quotes found in the RFP about the study: (more…)

Fischer-Hallman Express Stations Uncovered

Buses, News July 26, 2011 Michael Druker 4 Comments

Waterloo Region’s second iXpress route, along Fischer-Hallman Road, will begin service in September. It will start at 30 minute headways Monday through Sunday, and have 15 minute headways during peaks. We hear that the route branding will be something like “Route 201 iXpress”, though it would be more useful if it were simply iXpress Fischer-Hallman or iXpress [colour].

The stop locations have not been publicized, however it turns out that they appear in a Request for Proposals for transit shelters for the route, from several months back. The full proposal details (PDF) include a list of stations and drawings of exact shelter locations (Appendix 2).

View Fischer-Hallman Express in a larger map

From south to north, the stations are: Forest Glen Plaza, Block Line / Laurentian, Block Line / Westmount, Westmount (on Fischer-Hallman), Activa, Ottawa, McGarry, Highland, Victoria, Stoke / Hazelglen, University, Thorndale, Erb, Keats Way, Columbia, Columbia / Beechlawn, Columbia / Hagey, Columbia / Phillip, University / Phillip (one way), Hazel / University (one way). (Note: the list in the PDF has a mysterious “University / Conestoga College” stop, which all signs point to actually being Hazel / University.)

The list really is pretty boring – the route stops mostly at major intersections, stays on Fischer-Hallman instead of entering the Highland Hills terminal, and keeps a stop distance around the 600-1000m range. It doesn’t stop at Columbia and Westmount, instead stopping at Beechlawn just west of it. That location allows for better access from both sides of Columbia Street but it requires a terrible pedestrian crossing (link to Street View), which is going to be dangerous without at least a pedestrian island.

The main thing the line is missing is an anchor at the south end to help make it a line with demand in both directions all day. Currently the route will mostly serve to connect residential lands in the south with employment and the universities in the north. But it’s a long and quick route on a major corridor, so there will likely be many other kinds of trips as well.

The Future of Transit in Waterloo Region [Update]

Buses, Intercity Transit, Light Rail, News, Transit June 14, 2011 Duncan Clemens

Map designed by Duncan Clemens.

On June 15, 2011, Regional Council will be voting on whether to approve Light Rail as the preferred option for rapid transit in the Region of Waterloo. As we find ourselves on the eve of one of the most important votes in the region’s history, it is important to remember that our Councillors are not only voting to fund a light rail transit line running from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener, but also on a funding strategy for the Regional Transportation Master Plan.

The RTMP provides a framework for transit funding improvements for the next 20 years, with steady annual increases in the per-capita level of funding for transit. By 2031 funding for transit operations will have tripled over current levels, and the modal share for transit is expected to triple to 17%. The document includes a guide for planned service increases and improvements, which will be reviewed as each year’s plans are put into action.

This plan approved by Council last year includes plans to implement a number of cross-corridor express routes which will supplement and feed passengers into the central rapid transit spine. In fact, the first of these new iXpress-style bus routes is due for implementation this September, and will run from the university district to Forest Glen Plaza along Ficher-Hallman Road. A number of other trunk express bus routes will soon follow on King-Coronation, University Ave, Ottawa Street, Maple Grove Road, Highland Road, and Victoria Street North.

Although not shown on this map, the RTMP also includes plans to restructure local bus routes in the suburbs so that they are more direct and reliable. Routes 7, 12, and 29 are all seeing routing changes this year that will improve on-time performance and create more direct routes between origins and destinations.

Also arriving this year is GO train service from Kitchener to Toronto at the existing Kitchener VIA station. The Region has also purchased lands at the corner of King and Victoria to construct a new inter-modal terminal for GO, VIA, LRT, GRT, and other intercity coach services all in one location.

Cambridge is also not being left out of tomorrow’s vote. Regional staff are recommending that the region put forward $1 million a year to implement transit-supportive strategies in Cambridge to increase ridership. In addition, staff are recommending that Phase 2 from Fairview to Ainslie begin its project assessment in 2014, that land be purchased for Phase 2 as soon as feasible, and that a location for an inter-modal terminal for GO rail service and GRT be explored.

The agenda for tomorrow’s council meeting, including the details of what is being voting on, can be found at this link. If you would like to attend, the public Council session will begin at 7pm at 150 Frederick Street in Kitchener (the building with the orange roof). If you want, you can RSVP to the Facebook event here.

If you can’t make it, we will be covering the event live on Twitter with #LRTvote, and it will be broadcast on Rogers Cable 20.

GRT Surveillance Consultations

Buses, News, Transit April 5, 2011 Michael Druker 1 Comment

Last year, GRT began installing cameras on buses for security purposes. Due to privacy and other concerns about the lack of a policy about storage and usage of recorded material, turning them on was postponed until a policy was written. In February, Regional staff brought forward a report and a draft policy on “Onboard Mobile Surveillance Systems”. Planning & Works Committee had concerns, but approved the policy in principle, with the stipulation that the public be consulted. (See that meeting’s minutes.)

There was some material on surveillance at last week’s consultation centres on GRT service improvements, but no material was on the website and no prior notice was given that this information would be presented.

We have recently found out that GRT is holding public consultations this week, about which there has again been little notice. There will be one tomorrow at Ainslie Street Terminal in Cambridge, and one Thursday at 150 Frederick Street in Kitchener. If you cannot make one of those, please review the details of the draft policy and submit comments this week on your thoughts or concerns.

Later this week we will post our thoughts on the surveillance, but at this point we are very concerned that audio/video surveillance is moving forward with insufficient attention to privacy concerns and inadequate public consultation.

Thanks to Kate Daley for keeping us in the loop about this.

Grand River Transit on Google Maps

Buses, News, Transit July 21, 2010 Michael Druker

As of the beginning of July, Google Maps now offers directions for travel in Waterloo Region by Grand River Transit. GRT joins agencies like GO Transit, Guelph Transit, and Hamilton Street Railway in allowing trip planning just by typing an origin and destination into Google Maps and clicking the “by public transit” train icon.

If you’ve wanted something that works better on your mobile phone than EasyGO, that has a better user interface, and that provides more options for your trip — well, this may give you what you’re looking for. Below is a sample trip from east Kitchener to Preston.

View Larger Map

We believe Grand River Transit will be publishing their transit schedule data in a standard format within a matter of weeks, which will open up some exciting possibilities for app development.

Thanks to Kourtney Short for the post idea.

Sardine Challenge and Overcrowding on GRT

Buses, News January 13, 2010 Michael Druker 2 Comments

In 2009, Regional Council did not support a recommended budget issue to address overcrowding, so Grand River Transit transferred 4000 annual service hours to its heaviest used routes from its lighter-used ones — yet overcrowding remains a serious problem. Regional Council is again being presented with a budget issue to address ongoing overcrowding, with a request for a meagre 2900 additional service hours in 2010.

When a bus leaves a would-be rider behind, that helps turn that rider off transit as a viable means of transportation. At a time when Waterloo Region is actively attempting to promote transit services and increase ridership this is not acceptable. By hindering the perception of transit, persistent overcrowding also has the potential to decrease support for transit funding, thereby exacerbating the problem. Particularly during a time of recession, it is critical that transit is available to those who need it. And considering the longer term, investment in transit is more cost-effective than is the road expansion that insufficient transit spurs. Hard economic times are an opportunity for the encouraged growth of transit, and there is a cost to failing to take advantage of that opportunity. Hopefully Council realizes this and approves the recommended budget issue.

This November, we asked people to send in photos for the Sardine Challenge, and we’d like to thank all who participated. The below photos should help illustrate the situation on a number of Grand River Transit’s routes.

: People Loading Onto the iXpress at Charles St Terminal – 7:00pm

: An Overcrowded Route 7 bus travelling from Uptown to Downtown – 4:00pm

: People Waiting at a Route 12 Bus Stop – 10:00pm

: An Overcrowded Route 12 Conestoga Mall Bus – 11:30am

: An Overcrowded Route 12 University and King Bus – 9:15am

TriTAG Urges Region of Waterloo to Cut the Gas Tax Budget for Sprawl

Buses, Cycling, Light Rail, News, Transit, TriTAG, Walking December 8, 2009 Tim Mollison 2 Comments

Investigation by the Tri-Cities Transport Action Group (TriTAG) reveals that the planned 2010 budget for the Region of Waterloo is heavily skewed towards road expansion and makes minimal investments in transit, cycling, and pedestrian infrastructure.

“While the Region is budgeting $100 million for road infrastructure in 2010, little of that money is for sidewalks and bicycle lanes — and most of that expenditure is almost incidental”, said Tim Mollison, a TriTAG founding member. “Major Regional roads such as Franklin Boulevard, Ottawa Street, Fischer-Hallman Road, Coronation Boulevard, Westmount Road, King Street, and Hespeler Road are all still missing sidewalks. Of the Region’s proposed $100 million transportation budget, less than $1 million is planned for sidewalks, and out of a total expenditure of $2.2 million for sidewalks and bike lanes, only $300,000 is not part of an existing road project.”
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Field Report: King Street Car-Transit Modal Split at Kitchener-Waterloo Border

Buses, Transit December 6, 2009 Michael Druker

In a 1999 paper, Weyrich and Lind argue that judging transit in North America by overall transit modal share is misleading, as most of the urban population is either not served by transit or served poorly. They suggest it is more appropriate to consider transit usage on transit-competitive trips. In light of this, I decided to investigate the modal split between transit and private vehicles on a transit-competitive corridor in the Region of Waterloo.

The proportion of overall trips in the Region of Waterloo taken on transit is perhaps 4%. But what about corridors with frequent transit?

There is really only one such corridor in the entire region – King Street in Kitchener-Waterloo. Between the Charles Street Terminal in Kitchener and University Avenue in Waterloo, Route 7 buses can be counted on to appear every 8 minutes or better from morning to evening. In addition to the 7, the iXpress route also runs along the same corridor, with 15 minute service. No other corridor has service better than every 12-15 minutes.

So on the morning of Monday, November 23, I set up on King Street right at the Kitchener-Waterloo border (between Union and Mt. Hope streets) with a clipboard and a video camera, and recorded trips between 7:30 and 8:30 am. It was overcast and foggy, with temperature between 1°C and 4°C. At the time I recorded all non-motor-vehicle trips, and the number of people on each Grand River Transit bus. GRT buses have 35-40 seats, but people rarely use all seats, so a bus with some standees can be expected to have around 35 people. Crush load is around 70-80 people. I used these figures to estimate the number of people on each bus as a multiple of five.

I counted other vehicles afterward on video, with one category for private vehicles (motorcycles, cars, and light trucks that weren’t obviously commercial) and one for all other vehicles. These included work vans, taxis, delivery trucks, transport trucks, dump trucks, and non-GRT buses, with a few one-offs.
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