Guelph Transit tries to accommodate students

“We do hear the students,” – Michael Anders

Since the introduction of new routes and schedules at the beginning of the month, Guelph Transit has made some alterations to the system to improve its performance. Michael Anders, general manager of Guelph Transit and Community Connectivity, explains the difficulty of planning a system that meets everyone’s needs.

“Until you get the on-street experience, and see where people are travelling, when they are travelling, how they are connecting, and what their ultimate destination is, it’s tough to have the routes worked out 100 per cent,” said Anders. “We’ve recognized there would be some tweaking to these routes.”

One of the most notable tweaks is that the old 55 route servicing the Stone Rd.-College Ave. corridors and the University Centre has been reinstated as of last week. Guelph Transit reports that it has been used heavily since. They have also focused on the 2A/B routes, and made efforts to improve timing and reduce the occurrence of missed transfers at St. George’s Square, the University Centre, and Wal-Mart.

The very south end of the city, serviced by the number 5 South Gordon route, remains an area of concern.

Anders explains that this is more of a capacity problem than a routing problem. In essence, the number of students living in the area has grown faster than the city has been able to add transit capacity. However, he points out that in the south end, between 7:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m., the new routes 1A/B, 5, 7 and 21 do provide more trips than the previous system. He also says that the city is currently considering adding more buses to meet this increasing demand. In addition, when extra staff and vehicles are available they are deployed in support of the 5 South Gordon route.

In the meantime, it is suggested that students try to adjust their travel plans when possible if they wish to avoid the extreme peak in ridership between 7:45 a.m. and 8:15 a.m., and in the evening.

Changes have also been made to the north-end service, to address safety issues and mimic what used to be the old route 24. They are looking to improve the new number 20 Northwest Industrial route, and into extending the end times of both industrial routes (20 as well as 21 Hanlon Industrial).

Anders says that once these areas of concern are addressed, the system will be reassessed. The priority of concerns is based on phone, email, and operator feedback.

“We do hear the students,” said Anders, and asks students to have patience as Guelph Transit addresses these ongoing issues.

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