Starting in September, GO Transit buses will be a regular sight in downtown Brantford.
Premier Kathleen Wynne visited the city Wednesday to officially announce the impending launch of a GO bus route connecting the city’s downtown to McMaster University and the GO train station at Aldershot.
The service will see 26 daily trips between Brantford and Aldershot on weekdays, with 18 trips on Saturdays and Sundays.
“This isn’t going to be once a day. It’s all-day,” Wynne told a crowd outside the downtown bus terminal.
“Your elected officials have made the case over and over again that this kind of connectivity is necessary for Brantford to flourish.”
The premier talked up the buses as being “crucial” for the city’s economic growth, as they could reduce congestion on local highways while giving Brantford better connections to Hamilton and Toronto.
“Introducing GO bus service will make a real difference to people here and across the region,” she said.
Connection to the GO Transit network is something the city’s civic leaders have long lobbied for.
Brant MPP Dave Levac jokingly thanked “the several premiers” and “several transportation ministers” he’d spoken to about the issue in his 17 years at Queen’s Park.
“I want to specifically thank this premier and this minister, because they’re delivering,” he added.
Mayor Chris Friel rhymed off several other advantages to the new service, including environmental benefits and easier access to the city for post-secondary students.
“This is really a Brantford success story, one that we should all be very, very proud of,” he said.
Provincial transportation planners expect 1,000 people to be riding GO buses to or from Brantford per week within two years of the service launching.
