kalis0490
New Member
the main concern is that go will say "our private partners have covered that route "and refuse to add trips for a long time
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- Thread starter Jonny5
- Start date
Amare
Senior Member
Now if only Flixbus actually served Union Station proper, instead of Harbour/York St. The current Toronto stop is not in the greatest location.
reaperexpress
Senior Member
After hours of digging through Flixbus' trip planner, I've been able to piece together their new timetables. It turns out that they are doing a lot of through-operation between routes now. The Kitchener-Hamilton bus is actually part of a bus trip which runs Toronto - Guelph - Waterloo - Kitchener - Hamilton - St Catharines - Niagara. This service provides a third daily trip from Kitchener to Toronto, except on Tuesdays.
The stop in Mississauga near Square One has been eliminated, which makes sense since GO easily outcompetes them in the KW-Mississauga, Guelph-Mississauga and Mississauga-Toronto markets.
The frequency of their other (direct) Toronto-Niagara service is also increasing to 6/day, up from 2/day in April.
The new Ottawa-Windsor trip increases the Ottawa-Toronto and Toronto-London frequencies to 2/day and 3/day, respectively. Except on Tuesdays westbound and Wednesdays eastbound.
The new service actually runs 6x/week from Ottawa to Windsor, not 5x/week from Ottawa to London as stated by VanishingUnderground.
The stop in Mississauga near Square One has been eliminated, which makes sense since GO easily outcompetes them in the KW-Mississauga, Guelph-Mississauga and Mississauga-Toronto markets.
The frequency of their other (direct) Toronto-Niagara service is also increasing to 6/day, up from 2/day in April.
The new Ottawa-Windsor trip increases the Ottawa-Toronto and Toronto-London frequencies to 2/day and 3/day, respectively. Except on Tuesdays westbound and Wednesdays eastbound.
The new service actually runs 6x/week from Ottawa to Windsor, not 5x/week from Ottawa to London as stated by VanishingUnderground.
Their business model seems to be predicated on not paying anything for terminal space, so unless Metrolinx offers up space for free (like Guelph presumably did, given that Flixbus serves the Central Station terminal), then Flixbus won't go in there.
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Amare
Senior Member
Very good analysis work on your end with the schedules.
Since you mentioned the terminal space "efficiencies" Flixbus is operating with, it's safe to assume they arent serving McMaster's GO Bus Terminal proper either. They're either serving the university from Main St, or they are using the old Greyhound stop adjacent to McMaster's Bus Terminal on the northeast side.
ShonTron
Moderator
You are indeed correct. They also stop outside of, but not within, the St. Catharines and Kingston terminals.
ShonTron
Moderator
I've been keeping my map as up-to-date as I can, given all the changes.
As always, I'm looking for feedback.
worldofwalking.maps.arcgis.com
As always, I'm looking for feedback.
ArcGIS Web Application
worldofwalking.maps.arcgis.com
LNahid2000
Senior Member
Wow, Flixbus is adding routes fast! Ottawa to Windsor starts on Thursday, with stops in Toronto, Hamilton and London:
Garuda
Active Member
Maybe in the future they’ll add a FlixTrain just like in Europe
reaperexpress
Senior Member
This is the same 6x/week bus trip we've been discussing, it turns out that it actually runs from Ottawa to Windsor, not just Ottawa to London. I have updated the timetables in my previous post accordingly.
You're right. I have updated the timetables in my previous post accordingly.
The railways of Europe are mandated to be operated separately from the railway operators which use them, in the hopes of facilitating Open Access train operations such as FlixTrain. For example, the Dutch railway network is operated by ProRail, a division of the ministry of transport. It leases track time to all rail operators (mostly NS, but also DB Cargo, Eurostar, Thalys, ÖBB, etc), theoretically in a fair manner.
Railways in Canada are almost all owned by an operator which uses them. CN will obviously prioritize its own trains on the lines that it owns, and Metrolinx will obviously prioritize GO/UPX trains on the lines that it owns. This makes it extremely challenging for a third party (e.g. VIA or FlixTrain) to run a reliable train service.
While Open Access operations are definitely nice to have, they only work well in places where a private operator can turn a profit. There are certainly some profitable rail routes in North America, but not enough to warrant throwing ot the advantages of a single rail owner+operator. Track layouts need to be carefully planned based on a service pattern - including details such as operating speeds, stopping patterns, frequencies etc. The split model in the EU creates a lot of conflict between the rail owners and train operators when it comes to infrastructure planning and assigning blame for delays.
gabe
Senior Member
Two large cities close by, yet so poorly connected by transit. Never understood why GO, doesn't have a Guelph/K-W to Hamilton route. With the large student populations and growing tech sector.
:format(webp)/https://www.therecord.com/content/dam/therecord/news/waterloo-region/2022/08/05/riders-experts-frustrated-over-lack-of-transit-options-between-waterloo-region-and-hamilton/tera1.jpg)
www.therecord.com
‘Hamilton’s not far away, but it is on bus’
‘This is a corridor that Metrolinx needs to serve’ — the frustrating lack of transit options between Waterloo Region and Hamilton
Allandale25
Senior Member
^
reaperexpress
Senior Member
So apparently the TOK buses to Haliburton and to Port Elgin are being totally rerouted, and service reduced to 3x/week.
https://tokcoachlines.com/
The GTA terminus will changed from the Union Station Bus Terminal to a drop off area on-street near Vaughan Centre station. It's understandable that they want to avoid downtown traffic congestion, but Vaughan is a bizarre choice of terminus given that the routes both serve other destinations on Hwy 401, such as Pearson Airport, Scarborough Centre and Oshawa Centre. So the buses will need to head south to the 401, from Port Elgin or Haliburton, but then head back north up to the 407 at some point in the GTA. Surely Yorkdale Terminal would have been a more logical terminus for them?
https://tokcoachlines.com/
The GTA terminus will changed from the Union Station Bus Terminal to a drop off area on-street near Vaughan Centre station. It's understandable that they want to avoid downtown traffic congestion, but Vaughan is a bizarre choice of terminus given that the routes both serve other destinations on Hwy 401, such as Pearson Airport, Scarborough Centre and Oshawa Centre. So the buses will need to head south to the 401, from Port Elgin or Haliburton, but then head back north up to the 407 at some point in the GTA. Surely Yorkdale Terminal would have been a more logical terminus for them?
Bordercollie
Senior Member
TOK is based in Vaughan so I would think this is a way to reduce dead head costs especially considering the traffic on the DVP and bus terminal downtown.
It can take the 407 all the way to the 418 bypassing the 401 traffic.
reaperexpress
Senior Member
What about Scarborough Centre? Is that no longer a stop now? If so then surely Unionville Station should be added for access from Scarborough, eastern North York, Toronto and Markham.
Also it can't be good for business for the actual route of the bus to be this much of a mystery. Although there's an announcement on the front page saying that buses are no longer serving Union Station, there's no explanation of where the buses do terminate, and you can still buy a ticket from Union but you can't buy one from Vaughan.
Bordercollie
Senior Member
It's just a matter of time before GO transit takes over and serves Lindsay.