Welcome Aboard!
Introducing the ON THE MOVE newsletter by the Transit Action Alliance of Guelph!
Welcome to On the Move, a twice-a-month newsletter sharing transit news and views from Guelph and beyond. It arrives directly in your inbox on the 1st and 15th of each month. Special editions will also appear throughout the year.
On Thursday, January 16th, representatives from the Federal and Provincial Governments along with the City, announced a combined $177 million investment in transit infrastructure including new electric buses and a new facility to store them in thanks to a successful Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) application.
You can watch the full announcement below courtesy of Guelph Politico
Additional coverage can be found on Guelph Today here, here, and here and in the Guelph Mercury Tribune here.
The Transit Action Alliance of Guelph (TAAG) released a response to this investment. TAAG is supportive of the investment but calls on the city to also develop a bold ridership growth strategy to go along with these additional buses.
On December 10, 2019, Guelph Transit announced that the new smart card, the OnYourWay card, would be available starting on January 17. The cards are being offered for free until May 1, when they will start to be sold at $5.
An online portal has also launched on the city’s website that will allow customers to manage and add to their cards, and get balance protection in the event their card is ever lost or stolen.
That information, and other details about the new fare system to ride Guelph Transit, are available here and here.
As will any new technology and projects, there are always some glitches and hiccups as the GM of Guelph Transit explained to CJOY here. That is currently the case with the availability of the new ONYourWay card as seen below.
There still has been no official social media posting indicating the delay from Guelph Transit (other than some responses) but the Guelph Public Library did post this tweet:
The Transit Action Alliance of Guelph (TAAG) responded to this delay by noting that the news release and website did not indicate any delay or new dates on the rollout of these systems to the Library locations until members of the public called out Guelph Transit on the lack of availability of the ONYourWay card at these sites quietly updating the website days after launch.
TAAG will continue to monitor the rollout of the OnYourWay cards and report on any issues that may appear.
On Sunday, January 5th, 2020, Guelph Transit implemented some adjustments to Route 16 Southgate and Route 17 Woodlawn Watson.
There were minor time changes for Route 17. For Route 16, the bus will now go further east on Clair Road East to Dallan Drive, then down Dallan to Poppy Drive East, and from there north back to Clair.
As we outline here, these changes mean some stops will no longer have service after midnight.
Help us get better and more direct transit to the Southgate Industrial area. We have heard from some users they have to now switch to a car as the last bus no longer gets them home.
Guelph got three more GO Trains on August 30. The new eastbound and westbound trains from Kitchener GO to Union Station were added to allow users to travel in the midday and later evening, which will give transit users more flexibility, but it’s still not two-way all-day service. Read more here and here.
As for the two-way all-day service, the Metrolinx board of directors unanimously approved a less costly expansion of GO transit that could bring two-way, all-day service to Guelph and Waterloo Region by 2025. Media coverage can be found here and here TAAG was quoted in one of the reports here.
A GO Transit bus driver is being hailed as a hero after an incident at a Guelph GO stop.
The Region of Waterloo has ratified an agreement with the union representing Grand River Transit employees, meaning the strike is officially over. Buses returned to the streets February 1st with free rides and refunds to pass holders being planned.
According to an article in the Owen Sound Sun Times, Kasper Transportation 12-seater bus was full by the time it arrived in Guelph on its inaugural run in January.
In Winnipeg, transit buses are getting too full more often according to new data from the city showing there were more "pass-ups" in 2019 than ever before. Derek Koop, the president of Functional Transit Winnipeg - a public transit advocacy group, said he has concerns about the city's master plan.
In Ottawa, well they are having a few “issues” with their new LRT line causing major headaches and delays. Ottawa Transit Riders/Le groupe des usagers de transport en commun d'Ottawa - a public transit advocacy group is working hard to keep the City of Ottawa accountable.
Former CEO of the TTC Andy Byford resigned from NYC role after 2 years due to political interference from the Governor of New York.
Check out the report to learn about the next steps about the Transportation Master Plan (we got mentioned in the document!)
University of Guelph Parking Services wants to know how you get to campus. Complete the survey here.
On Thursday, February 27, the City of Guelph is hosting an event about “Guelph 2041: A conversation about a growing city” featuring Jennifer Keesmaat, head of The Keesmaat Group and previously Toronto’s Chief City Planner. RSVP here.
Ontario Transit Expo is April 21st, 2020 from 9 am until 3 pm at the International Centre Hall 5 in Mississauga. TAAG members are encouraged to attend. More details soon.
The Transit Action Alliance of Guelph is looking for people to serve on our Board of Directors! The Board meets once per month for about 2 hours. Find out more by clicking this link here!
The next TAAG Board of Directors meeting is on Tuesday, February 11th at 6:45 p.m. at the Co-operators Headquarters in Downtown Guelph. All TAAG members are welcome to attend. To become a member click here. For more info contact us by clicking here.
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