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http://stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3290708

Regional transit system hits the road Monday


By Jeff Bolichowski, Standard Staff

Updated 1 month ago


Niagara Region's first inter-municipal bus service is ready to roll out Monday.

The Niagara Region Transit pilot project, which links up buses going to St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland with existing city transit systems, will hit the road Sept. 12. A full service launch will kick in Sept. 16.

The first few days will give drivers a chance to get used to their routes, said Regional Chair Gary Burroughs. Beyond that, though, it will provide residents a glimpse of the buses themselves, one of which he said he saw Thursday.

"They look very smart," he said. "They're white and they've got our logos on them."

A transit system covering most of the region has been talked about and studied for years.

Under the new system, the buses link up with local transit systems in the three largest municipalities, as well as Fort Erie and Port Colborne. For a single fare, riders can hop on a local bus there, transfer to a Region bus to get to one of the three largest cities, then transfer again to another local bus.

Stops along the new service's route will include local transit terminals, regional headquarters on Schmon Pkwy., the Pen Centre, Niagara Square and the Seaway Mall.

By and large, they'll keep rolling along quickly, said associate planning director Kumar Ranjan.

"The buses do not have very many stops," he said. "We have targeted the buses to be express in nature."

The service also beefs up Niagara Falls' transit feeder service to Fort Erie, adding Saturday service year-round. Extra day trips will be added for Welland Transit's runs to Port Colborne.

While the three-year pilot project is ready to roll, Burroughs noted the first few days will be a learning period. There could be a few tweaks along the way, he predicted, with early runs helping to peg the actual time each bus takes getting from stop to stop.


Ranjan said service will run right away, but he warned passengers might experience some snafus in the first week, possibly including missed connections with municipal lines until drivers have their route timing down pat.

He said the buses will run every hour from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Fares begin at a $5 "introductory rate," before jumping to $6 six months in.

The increase posed a concern for Burroughs, who said he was worried riders could be turned off by it.

"That's why I would have preferred a longer period before the bump-up, but let's see how it is."

The Region will pick up the $2.7-million tab to run the system as well as $3.7 million to buy the eight buses, two of which will run the Fort Erie-Niagara Falls and Port Colborne-Welland lines.

Burroughs called the bus line "terribly important" and said those trying to reach regional headquarters would have a stop right there. And he said it could allow those who don't drive to commute to work.

"Yes, from the economic development side, moving our residents around the region will be important."

The pilot project is in place until Sept. 2014, said Ranjan, but it's subject to quarterly monitoring to gauge its success.

Routes and fares can be found at www.niagararegion.ca/transit.

jbolichowski@stcatharinesstandard.ca
 
New Niagara Regional Express Bus Service and a comparison with WNY's NFTA-Metro...

Everyone: I noticed this new express bus service for one flat fare between points
in the Niagara Region and I feel that this is a good idea to link local systems with
express bus service for a nominal fee...The $5 fare reminds me of NYC Transit's
Express Buses with a premium fare in the 5 Boroughs of NYC...

I decided to also post and compare routes with WNY's NFTA Metro system and its
regional express bus routes in Erie and Niagara Counties...
The NFTA fare is currently $1.75 one way and just $4 for a Day Pass covering two
or more trips and transfers..see: http://metro.nfta.com LI MIKE
 
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I wish Niagara had something like those coach networks I remember from various European locales, i.e. even serving the likes of Wainfleet, Wellandport, Caistorville...or at least a Hamilton-to-St-Kitts whistle stop line along old Hwy 8...
 
I took this back on the Thanksgiving weekend (Saturday) between Welland and Niagara Falls, with my bike in the rack. There were 5 passengers on my bus, the 6:00 from Welland to NF.

The service is a long time coming, but I have a few issues:
- Brock University is not on the basic NRT system. Though Welland and Niagara Transit run specials to and from Brock, it should be part of the regular service. Otherwise there's the walk to Niagara Regional HQ. Same with Niagara College at QEW/Glendale: Niagara and St. C run buses there, but only while school is in session.
- Not yet any service to Niagara-on-the-Lake. I'd like to see a St.C-NOTL bus route via Niagara College.
- The Fort Erie connector should be consistent and run to Downtown NF all days, not just Saturdays.

Still, at least it is now possible to get around the region. I hope it becomes successful. The fares are reasonable as they allow free transfers to and from the connecting services.

Next I would like to see regular transit between London and St. Thomas, between Belleville and Trenton, and within Georgetown and Bolton.
 
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...within Georgetown and Bolton.

Ugh. Town of Caledon and Town of Halton Hills are the two most frustrating municipalities to even have that discussion with. That said, they LOVE GO Transit. Why they don't just paint local buses green & white is beyond me...
 
Ugh. Town of Caledon and Town of Halton Hills are the two most frustrating municipalities to even have that discussion with. That said, they LOVE GO Transit. Why they don't just paint local buses green & white is beyond me...

As stated to a letter to the editor in the Georgetown Independent... (summarizing)

Toronto has transit and has a deficit. If Halton Hills doesn't want to have a deficit, it shouldn't have public transit.
 
As stated to a letter to the editor in the Georgetown Independent... (summarizing)

Toronto has transit and has a deficit. If Halton Hills doesn't want to have a deficit, it shouldn't have public transit.

Might not happen next week or next year, but I feel sorry for them when $2.00 gas hits... Then $3.00... Then $4.00...
 
Next, can we get a proper bus service set up between Guelph and Kitchener?

Kitchener and Cambridge and Kitchener and Guelph are about the same distance, yet the former has buses every 10 minutes on weekdays, while the latter has no bus service except for a very limited Greyhound bus due to stupid jurisdictional squabbling. Huge numbers of people drive between the two cities via Hwy 7 & 401.
 
Next, can we get a proper bus service set up between Guelph and Kitchener?

Kitchener and Cambridge and Kitchener and Guelph are about the same distance, yet the former has buses every 10 minutes on weekdays, while the latter has no bus service except for a very limited Greyhound bus due to stupid jurisdictional squabbling. Huge numbers of people drive between the two cities via Hwy 7 & 401.

I'm not sure what the status is now, but Guelph's last transit strategy (from 2010) mentioned introducting service between Guelph and Kitchener in 2012, and Guelph and Cambridge in 2013. I'm assuming since Guelph's new transit terminal is behind schedule, these dates are optimistic, but at least Guelph is looking at inter-city service.
 
The construction of the new Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph, has been delayed until 2015 or later because of a lack of provincial dollars. Better bus service between K-W and Guelph would certainly cut down on the traffic on Hwy7 especially during rush hour.
 
I've used the system last weekend, found it relatively easy to understand, and the transfer to local transit was quite useful. A few issues though, the lack of a connection to Brock really hinders possible uses. (My girlfriend and I were happy to walk to regional HQ to pick up the bus, but most 21st century suburbanites don't even like to walk to a corner store.) Also, Canadian smaller cities have been decimated by auto dependant sprawl, even more so that larger cities in the GTA. I found most St Catharines residents I talked to didn't even know much about their local transit, much less the regional buses.
 
The construction of the new Highway 7 between Kitchener and Guelph, has been delayed until 2015 or later because of a lack of provincial dollars. Better bus service between K-W and Guelph would certainly cut down on the traffic on Hwy7 especially during rush hour.

It'd be great just to get Highway 7 four-laned in the meantime. In fact, they should have done that 20 years ago. Also, the Greyhound route between Kitchener and Guelph now goes through Sportsworld, adding 10 minutes to the run.

An hourly, limited stop, $5 fare GRT/GT co-operative run between Charles St. Terminal and Carden St. Terminal would be great, allowing free transfers to and from the other agencies. It could easily be done with two buses, one from each agency, and perhaps a second UW/WLU route to Carden St, and then of course a Carden St. - UG - Hespeler - Ainslie St Terminal run.

Interesting note: the NRT 3 triangle routes (Welland-St C, Welland - NF, St C - NF) are operated by each of those three agencies, but buses owned by Niagara Region, who merely finances and oversees the service.
 
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October 10 Photos
The buses are Orion 07.501 EPA10 40DLFR #2191 & #2192 in Region Colors.
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6292379088_e7169cf4f7_b.jpg


Here is 2193 in Regular Colour.
6293152019_93cc8212bb_b.jpg
 
It would be great to see a similar GO system in greater London starting with London-St.Thomas. They could even eventually bring in a commuter rail using smaller trains a la Ottawa OTrain. One good thing about London is that it has rail lines radiating from it in all directions including to the 3 largest suburbs......St.Thomas, Ingersol, and Strathroy.
 
There is also no reason why DMUs can't be run between Guelph, Kitchener, and Cambridge, apart from GEXR's lease of course, and serious track upgrades needed.
 

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