By James Bow

Grand River Transit has made great strides since it was created in 2000 from a merger of Kitchener and Cambridge Transits. Service has expanded, frequencies on many routes have increased and ridership has doubled thanks to the investment the region has made.

Starting early next month, GRT will unveil further improvements to their network, including a second express bus route, additional service on Westmount Road and faster service on the 7 Mainline. But one should not rest on one’s laurels. There is more the Region of Waterloo can do to ensure that the automobile is an enjoyable luxury rather than a dire necessity. One area of improvement is in rural transit.

The Region of Niagara is launching a bold experiment. This municipality — slightly larger than the Region of Waterloo and with 50,000 fewer people — has begun service on inter-city bus routes, connecting its centres of St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Welland and Fort Erie. These buses operate as little as once a day, with fares of $5 to $6 each way. Rather than transit buses, these are essentially regionally-run Greyhound buses, operating their service because private bus companies won’t.

The Region of Waterloo has doggedly pursued a transit connection between Elmira and Conestoga Mall. Once they are assured of the line’s success, more operations may follow, including service to Ayr and Breslau. This incremental approach is to be commended.

But perhaps some of these proposed rural bus lines should operate not as city transit routes, but as inter-city routes. Imagine a line running every two hours or so along old Highway 7 between New Hamburg and downtown Kitchener, with stops at Baden, Petersburg and Highland Hills. Charging a $5 fare each way can help the region recover its costs, and it seems a reasonable price, especially considering the cost of gas and parking. By implementing this service, people in these towns who are unable to drive can take day trips into the city, improving their mobility and their access to services in the region.

Ontario municipalities for years have understood the importance of providing mobility for those who do not have access to a car, and paying for such a service when private enterprise cannot bring itself to do so. Why should our rural residents be left out?

There is one rural transit service that Grand River Transit should implement as soon as possible as a city service, and that is a connection between downtown Kitchener and Breslau. Breslau, like Bridgeport, is right at Kitchener’s edge, and residents tend to go into Kitchener to work, shop or go to school. A transit connection along Victoria Street is overdue, especially if you consider that such a line could continue south along Fountain Street, giving the region a public transit connection to our airport and the businesses setting up around it.

Furthermore, by adding a new route along Victoria Street from King Street to Breslau, other services can be rearranged, like running the route 6 along Queen and Lancaster and the route 15 along Wellington and Shirley, bringing new service to the Bingeman industrial park. Such a change simplifies and improves transit service in east Kitchener, and only adds the cost of two or three additional buses operating at half-hour intervals.

Again, Grand River Transit has made great strides since its inception 11 years ago. I still own a car, but I find I am using it less often and using transit more. With a little more effort and political will, more of the region’s residents will be able to leave the car in the driveway, and only take it out when they want to.

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James Bow is a writer and father of two in Kitchener.
You can read more about him at http://bowjamesbow.ca/