Online survey closes June 20; town hall sessions set for June 8 and 16
Guelph, Ont., May 26, 2021 – Guelph Transit has released its proposed transit system, including an implementation plan, and we invite you to provide input at haveyoursay.guelph.ca until June 20.
Robin Gerus, Guelph Transit’s general manager, explains, “What we’re proposing for transit over the next decade allows us to deliver a more competitive, convenient, and reliable transit system that meets the community’s needs today and beyond. It also moves us closer to meeting goals set out in the City’s Strategic Plan by improving connectivity of the whole transportation system—making it easy for people to travel within city limits.”
The proposed transit system is multi-phased, starting in 2022, and is estimated to take 10 years to implement, pending Council approval.
Guelph Transit started a full operational route review of its transit network in 2019 to look at individual routes and frequency to meet current and future customer needs, and to identify potential opportunities to move from its current system that requires customers to transfer buses at a central hub to a more grid-like system with direct routes.
The proposed system is a blended model that includes transit hubs, express routes, and routes that follow the city’s spine in a grid pattern as well as outer perimeter. It’s designed to get people to where they want to go with more route types (e.g. core, base, university express, on-demand, and industrial express), faster travel times, frequent service, and service reliability.
How to have your say on the proposed transit system
“Tell us what we got right, what you like, if there’s something we overlooked, if something doesn’t quite work, or if something in our proposed transit system or implementation plan is going to cause you a lot of headache,” says Andrea Mikkila, Guelph Transit’s Planning and Scheduling acting supervisor.
Take the survey online
View the interactive map, explore route-by-route, year-by-year, watch the video presentation, ask questions, and take the survey at haveyoursay.guelph.ca. Emailing [email protected] or calling 519-822-1811 are also options for providing input.
Attend a virtual town hall
Guelph Transit will host two virtual town halls to share and discuss the proposed transit system and implementation plan.
Tuesday, June 8, 7–8:30 p.m.
Watch online using WebEx (password is transit), the City website or our Facebook page.
Dial in at 1-416-216-5643 (access code: 173 453 0154)
Wednesday, June 16, 7–8:30 p.m.
Watch online using WebEx (password is transit), the City website or our Facebook page.
Dial in at 1-416-216-5643 (access code: 173 538 0842)
Next steps
The route review outcomes were informed by data collection (e.g. ridership and stop activity data, and route-by-route on-time performance), industry best practices, and employee and public input.
This latest round of employee and community input will be used to refine the proposed transit system and implementation plan, before it is presented to Council for consideration on November 3, 2021. Details on funding the initiative over 10 years will also be shared with Council as part of the City budget process.
The route review was approved by City Council as part of the Guelph Transit Business Service Review recommendations in 2019.
For more information
Andrea Mikkila
Acting Supervisor, Planning and Scheduling
Guelph Transit
519-822-1260 extension 3662
[email protected]