Transit in Waterloo Region

Flexible Transit

Taxi service is provided by City Cabs, United Taxi, and Waterloo Taxi.

The Grand River CarShare co-operative provides its members access to cars in central locations within Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, and Hamilton.

Grand River Transit provides MobilityPLUS service for those with difficulties using conventional transit.

Fixed-Route Transit

Picture of a GRT bus

A GRT bus. Source: Felix Poon

Grand River Transit operates buses in the Region. Schedules for routes are available as brochures at bus terminals, on buses themselves, and in PDF form on the GRT website (Kitchener-Waterloo routes and Cambridge routes). Tickets are sold at numerous locations at $9 for a strip of five tickets, and cash exact fare of $2.50 is accepted on board as well. Transfers are good for 90 minutes from the start of the trip; ask for one when boarding. Terminals, particularly the Charles Street Terminal in Kitchener, may be a bit difficult to navigate, so GRT provides the terminal layouts on its site.

The regional transit route and cycling map is available for purchase and in PDF form, but we’ve made an easier to use, zoom-able version of the map.

Trip Planning

Currently Grand River Transit provides the EasyGo trip planner, which also allows online viewing of route timetables from individual stops. Better yet, you can get directions for GRT on Google Maps – just click the train icon instead of the car.

Next Bus Service

Each bus stop has a four digit stop number. Text messaging 57555 with the stop number will prompt a reply from GRT with the next three scheduled buses. Alternately, the same information may received by calling 519-585-7555 and speaking or entering the stop number. See GRT’s next bus page for more information.

iXpress

The iXpress is a limited stop bus route going between Conestoga Mall in north Waterloo and Ainslie Street Terminal in Cambridge, making stops at many important destinations along the way. The route has a 15 minute frequency during the day Monday through Saturday.

Route 7 Mainline

This is the core route of Kitchener-Waterloo that travels mostly along King Street. The 7 travels from Fairview Park Mall to the Charles Street Terminal in Kitchener and then to Uptown Waterloo. While the 7 does branch on its ends, the common spine along King Street between University Avenue in Waterloo and Dixon Street in Kitchener (by Conestoga Parkway) has frequent service. During the day buses come at an 4-8 minute frequency north of the Charles Street Terminal, and at a 5-15 frequency south of the Charles Street Terminal.

Waterloo Branches

The 7 branches beyond King and University, with the 7C continuing along King Street to Conestoga Mall and the other two heading towards the University of Waterloo. The 7D turns onto University Avenue and then goes through Ring Road at the UW. The 7E first shifts to Regina Street, then goes to UW along Columbia Street, also going through Ring Road. Around Ring Road, the buses are routed so that they’re along the inner lane. In the evening, there is only one UW routing: the 7D goes to UW along University Avenue, and then returns via Columbia Street. During the day the 7E also does the reverse loop, going to UW along Columbia and returning via University.

Kitchener Branches

Between the Conestoga Parkway and Fairview Park Mall, the 7 splits into three branches. The 7B follows Weber Street, Kinzie Avenue, Thaler Street, and then Fairway Road. The 7A and 7F follow Kingsway Drive and Fourth Avenue, with the 7A going along Connaught Street and the 7F going along Wilson Avenue. All branches end at Fairview Park Mall.