'This is about moving people': Regions top politician calls for more transit services
Waterloo Region’s top politician has urged the Ford government for action and details on its plans for two-way, all-day GO train service to Kitchener in an open letter following complaints from stranded passengers.
On Thursday, a letter from regional chair Karen Redman to Caroline Mulroney, Ontario’s minister of transportation, and Stan Cho, the associate minister, outlined the concerns over frequency and capacity for intercity transit service.
“People felt they were being left behind, they were seeing buses go past because they were overfull so, I sent a letter to minister Mulroney,” said Redman. “We need this transportation — people depend on it.”
The letter outlines three key areas of concern:
- An updated timeline to deliver on two-way, all day GO train service on the Kitchener Line
- The province expand GO bus service to centres like Hamilton, Guelph and Brantford
- A discussion on commitments to a Breslau GO station an GO train service to Cambridge via the Fergus subdivision
MORE BUSES
Earlier this week, Metrolinx, which operates GO Transit, announced it would be expanding bus service from Waterloo to Brampton.
GO bus service is being added on routes 30 and 31 for customers in Waterloo Region:
- Three new eastbound weekend trips will depart University of Waterloo at 9:17 a.m., 10:12 a.m., and 11:12 a.m., and arrive at Bramalea GO at 10:42 a.m., 11:42 a.m. and 12:42 p.m.
- Five new westbound weekend trips will depart Bramalea GO at 4:40 p.m., 5:40 p.m., 6:40 p.m., 7:40 p.m. and 8:40 p.m., and arrive at University of Waterloo at 6:10 p.m., 7:10 p.m., 8:10 p.m., 9:05 p.m. and 10:05 p.m.
- Two new eastbound weekday trips will depart University of Waterloo at 3:18 p.m. and 4:18 p.m., and arrive at Bramalea GO at 5:03 p.m. and 6:03 p.m.
“I’m really pleased to see that there will be service starting this Saturday,” said Redman. “This is about moving people. This is about reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This isn’t just a good thing to do, it’s the right thing to do.”
One University of Waterloo student noted that all the new rides throughout the weekend appeared to be full.
"I came in September and I've been using the GO bus to Toronto, so I've noticed it's smooth and I like it," said Patrick. "The bus comes every hour and there's always people. It's always kind of full, so I think more buses will do."
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE
Waterloo MPP, Catherine Fife (NDP), brought the issue to Queen’s Park, asking Mulroney when residents could expect a weekend train to get to Kitchener on the Kitchener Line.
“The people of Kitchener and Waterloo are getting left behind by this government. I don’t mean figuratively, I mean literally,” said Fife in the legislature.
Rising to respond, Mulroney backed the government’s track record on transit.
“Kitchener-Waterloo is a growing area and that’s why Metrolinx is constantly monitoring service and ridership levels and that is why just recently we announced increased bus service,” said Mulroney. “While the demand was greater than we even though, the next day we added double decker buses to meet the demand.”
In an email to CTV News, Kitchener-Conestoga MPP, Mike Harris (PC), said pandemic disruptions are still impacting transit ridership and the province is committed to its transit expansion plan.
“We will continue to work closely with CN to incrementally increase service along core sections of the Kitchener corridor that are CN-owned,” read part of Harris’ statement.
The expansion of the Kitchener Line continues to provide 15 minute, two-way, all-day service meant to better serve residents in Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph-Wellington and beyond.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.