The region is working to educate people around how to use light rail transit ahead of a fast-approaching spring deadline.

While no exact start date has been set, the region said it was aiming to have service begin before the end of the season. Summer officially begins on June 21.

Prospective riders got an overview of the vehicles, with more signage and information at a vehicle parked at Central Station on Victoria and King.

“We want to show people what the inside for the vehicles are looking like on the launch day, how people can use the information in the vehicle to find their way through the system and then also find their way through the vehicle,” explains GRT planner Kevan Marshall.

Fare machines have been set up and are running at the stations alongside card readers.

Riders were shown how to use them, how to load and reload their cards. Riders can pay for a fare in three ways at Ion platforms:

  • An EasyGO fare card
  • Cash or credit
  • Bus transfers, which are good for 90 minutes from reception
  • Multi-ride cards

You can read more about fare payments on the Grand River Transit website.

A large platform system map was also in place to give riders an idea of where they can travel and what’s in a five-minute radius of them.

Riders can take the service from Fairview Park Mall to Conestoga Mall along a route of 19 stations along Kitchener-Waterloo’s downtown core.

Each of the stations feature:

  • Fare vending machines
  • Benches and shelters
  • Information and audio displays
  • Security cameras and emergency call boxes

For more information about what the platforms contain, you can check out the features page on the GRT website.

All 14 of the 35-metre-long vehicles are in the region and in various stages of readiness.

May 3 was the first of two service education days. The next one will take place on May 11 at various locations around the region.