Grand River Transit reaches record highs for ridership

An average of 150,000 people boarded Grand River Transit (GRT) per day during the first week of September with 130,000 on buses and the other 20,000 on ION light rail trains.

That’s like the max capacity of the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium, multiplied by 19, rode transit each day.

GRT’s previous high was 110,000 boardings per day, which was set earlier this spring.

Waterloo Region is pointing to the return to school as well as recent service expansions on evenings and weekend as reasons why ridership has increased. GRT also added 18,000 new hours of service in Cambridge earlier this month.

Several passengers at the Fairview Park Mall transit hub have been noticing packed buses lately.

“It is very crowded,” said Hazel, a Conestoga College student. “I think the entire crowd comes from Conestoga and goes to Conestoga. I feel if the number of buses from here to Conestoga increased that would be great. Otherwise we will have to keep waiting.”

“The one bus we were all packed in there,” said Brenda. “I phoned [GRT] because I don’t think it’s safe when there’s a crowded bus and people are standing. It’s so dangerous. If we were in an accident, there would be a lot of injuries.”

“Even at night, 11 o’clock, there are a lot of students waiting for the bus,” said Chaitanya. “There is no other option for us because we have to travel… it’s quite difficult.”

Director of Transit Services, Doug Spooner, said in the region’s announcement that ridership will likely continue to be significantly higher than last fall.

He stated that “we continue to monitor routes and trips for overcrowding and are ensuring we continually have all of our available buses on the road.”