Regional council passes motion to temporarily bring back night transit route

Students and advocacy got a partial win for transit options as regional council passed a motion to bring back at least one Grand River Transit (GRT) “late-night loop” route.

The motion, brought forward by regional councillor Colleen James, will temporarily bring back route 91 for three days a week; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, before Sept. 2.

As many as 16 delegates appeared before regional council, the majority of which were students, calling for council to pass the motion. One delegate, Joshua Beech Flashaw, a graduate of the University of Waterloo, said that night transit offers services for people who work late shift work and overnight hours, alongside students. He also recited a story where he once had to use the late-night transit route to get a friend to Grand River Hospital after being hit in the eye with a floor hockey ball.

“While he suffered no permanent damage, he required medical attention,” Flashaw said. “This would not have been possible without the night services that GRT offered at the time, as my friend was not discharged until the early morning.”

Another delegate, Damian Mikhail, the co-president of the University of Waterloo NDP Club and one of the organizers of the Night Transit Student Advocacy Group, said that students like himself would miss the last bus when studying late on campus. He added that some students could not afford other options, like Uber, when going out.

“Often times, plans would be cancelled altogether based solely on the fact that there was no safe way home,” Mikhail said.

An open letter was also given to council signed by 15 student and advocacy groups asking to bring back the routes.

GRT discontinued routes 91 and 92 during the pandemic due to a lack of passengers. Before it was discontinued, route 91 covered stopped including Grand River Hospital, Uptown Waterloo, the Charles Street Terminal, both local universities and the Lakeshore and Columbia area communities.

James’ original motion asked for routes 91 and 92 to be brought back and to run seven days a week, year-round and in 20-minute intervals. It also directs staff to look at extensions to public transit options for next year’s budget.