I wish GRT used PRESTO too since they're within the service area of GO Transit. As for why GRT doesn't use PRESTO it comes down to government policy. The Region of Waterloo requires procurement for things like transit vehicles, farecards, etc. to go through a competitive biding process (RFP). Metrolinx and PRESTO didn't apply to the RFP for the farecard so the Region went with a different setup. Ottawa uses PRESTO as the last provincial Liberal government wanted to trial the system before rolling it out to the GTA and decided that Ottawa would be that city. As for ridership, the ION LRT has blasted past the Region's expectations. In fact, demand for the LRT is so high that the Region is having difficulty keeping up. This year the ION will get higher frequencies of 10mins during the day, all year round. It used to be that the ION's frequency was reduced in the summer to every 15mins, this will no longer be the case. As for the terminus stations, they were designed to have multiple platforms for future expansion. While there are no plans to extend the ION north of Conestoga, there are plans to extend the ION past the south terminus (Fairway) to Cambridge. And yes the GRT terminal at UW is brand new. It's really nice and yes well sized. I wish that they just sent the LRT down King too, but the Region had to make a lot of compromises with the LRT in order to get it approved. It's important to remember that the Region of Waterloo is a smaller urban area. Getting an LRT in the first place was a big ask as many in the community thought it was going to be a big waste of money and that the Region was too small for rapid transit like this. Jokes on them though because the ION has exceeded ridership expectations in just 4 years, has spurred a lot of development in both Kitchener and Waterloo, and will allow the Region to implement their long term plans to densify and become less of a suburban community. You used to hear a lot of people bemoaning the LRT plans in the Region, that's no longer the case. As for why I know so much about GRT, I used to live in Waterloo, although I live in Toronto now.
It’s a lie when people saw Cambridge as a cute historic town just because it has 7 historic buildings downtown and trust me Kitchener and Waterloo are much better cities than Cambridge. As a local of the region Cambridge is not even close to the experience.
More of Ontario should use Presto. It’s so convenient to show up from Ottawa and be able to get from Union to wherever in Hamilton with my Presto card.
one thing I like about the LRT diversion through downtown kitchener is sometimes they completely close off that stretch of King Street to traffic for festivals and events and stuff, and having trains run through there would make that a bit harder. they should ban cars there permanently though
taking the iON one stop to class with a free uni transit pass is a luxury I will abuse at every opportunity I have
free uni transit… envious TMU noises
@@transitplant technically it’s in our tuition but $100 is still a steal for four months 🥱
Great video! I attended UW as they were building/opening ION - definitely a hidden transit gem of North America
My biggest issue is that it goes so darn slow at times, including the parts where it's completely separated from road traffic.
I wish GRT used PRESTO too since they're within the service area of GO Transit. As for why GRT doesn't use PRESTO it comes down to government policy. The Region of Waterloo requires procurement for things like transit vehicles, farecards, etc. to go through a competitive biding process (RFP). Metrolinx and PRESTO didn't apply to the RFP for the farecard so the Region went with a different setup. Ottawa uses PRESTO as the last provincial Liberal government wanted to trial the system before rolling it out to the GTA and decided that Ottawa would be that city.
As for ridership, the ION LRT has blasted past the Region's expectations. In fact, demand for the LRT is so high that the Region is having difficulty keeping up. This year the ION will get higher frequencies of 10mins during the day, all year round. It used to be that the ION's frequency was reduced in the summer to every 15mins, this will no longer be the case.
As for the terminus stations, they were designed to have multiple platforms for future expansion. While there are no plans to extend the ION north of Conestoga, there are plans to extend the ION past the south terminus (Fairway) to Cambridge.
And yes the GRT terminal at UW is brand new. It's really nice and yes well sized.
I wish that they just sent the LRT down King too, but the Region had to make a lot of compromises with the LRT in order to get it approved. It's important to remember that the Region of Waterloo is a smaller urban area. Getting an LRT in the first place was a big ask as many in the community thought it was going to be a big waste of money and that the Region was too small for rapid transit like this. Jokes on them though because the ION has exceeded ridership expectations in just 4 years, has spurred a lot of development in both Kitchener and Waterloo, and will allow the Region to implement their long term plans to densify and become less of a suburban community. You used to hear a lot of people bemoaning the LRT plans in the Region, that's no longer the case.
As for why I know so much about GRT, I used to live in Waterloo, although I live in Toronto now.
Great video, guys! I especially loved the NJB reference at 9:00.
thanks! didn't realise that was an NJB thing, we just got it from twitter lol
It’s a lie when people saw Cambridge as a cute historic town just because it has 7 historic buildings downtown and trust me Kitchener and Waterloo are much better cities than Cambridge. As a local of the region Cambridge is not even close to the experience.
not the cringebahn 😭😭😭😭
absolutely the cringebahn
ban cars
More of Ontario should use Presto. It’s so convenient to show up from Ottawa and be able to get from Union to wherever in Hamilton with my Presto card.
You guys can give some advice to Reece get out of his room..
just different styles of content!
To be fair, Reece does get out of his room.
Shots fired
you mean Reece Martin
I hope to meet him one day and do some crayoning with him (fantasy transit maps)
one thing I like about the LRT diversion through downtown kitchener is sometimes they completely close off that stretch of King Street to traffic for festivals and events and stuff, and having trains run through there would make that a bit harder. they should ban cars there permanently though
Thank you for introducing "cringebahn" into my vocabulary.
How long did it take to get from union to waterloo?
I hear tell 3 hours
One of the craziest parts of the ION is that the frequency is low enough that people actually bike in the ROW downtown quite a bit