Grand River Transit to improve service frequency in response to increased demand

Grand River Transit (GRT) says if users are experiencing more delays, it's because of an uptick in demand and more traffic on the roads.

Neil Malcolm, the region's acting director of transit services, said ridership is higher than pre-pandemic levels from 2019.

"It's a combination of students being back on campus, and everyone being back in school. Some people are going back to work more regularly in the office. It's created some challenges for our operators to keep the buses on schedule," he said.

Malcolm said GRT is addressing those concerns by adding more bus times in January, especially in the university areas serviced by buses 201, 202, 13, 9 and 7.

Most lines that were reduced during the pandemic were restored in September.

Good news for students

This increase in bus frequency is really good news for students like Harmanpreet Kaur, a student from Conestoga College.

"Sometimes it's depressing when we have to wait up to an hour or half an hour for the bus" said Kaur. "For one night, I'd like to sleep more, without getting late to class or getting scolded by my professor."

"Now we can have a little more time for ourselves," she said. 

Raman Kaur, another Conestoga College student, said reducing the time spent at the bus stop will help improve the quality of her life.

"I'll have one more hour so I could get delicious food instead of the frozen food," she said, adding that she will also be able to dedicate more time working or studying.

GRT said it will continue to monitor routes to see if there are more adjustments needed after January.