Mid-year report shows GRT ridership is down 9.6 per cent
Posted Aug 6, 2026 01:59:34 PM.
Last Updated Aug 6, 2026 03:31:55 PM.
A mid-year report on Grand River Transit (GRT) shows ridership has dropped 9.6 per cent from 2025 levels.
The report is included in the agenda for an upcoming regional committee meeting and puts ridership for buses and the ION at 10.3 million so far in 2026.
The tally is a decline from the 11.4 million riders who boarded local transit during the same timeframe last year, and a continued drop in the student population is being blamed for the slump.
The report directly points to new immigration policies and revised international student caps that were introduced by the federal government.
GRT first reported a student-linked ridership decline in 2024, following record ridership in 2023, and the trend continued through 2025.
The report estimates that year-end ridership for 2026 will come in at 20.2 million, which is down 8.6 per cent compared to 2025.
“Student enrolment projections appear to stabilize at this level for 2027 and beyond, but downtown office vacancy rates in Waterloo Region remain high,” the report reads. “These pressures will inform GRT’s future service plans.”
GRT responded to the declining student demand with service reductions along university and college routes.
Despite the measures, the report indicates that transit services are currently projected to end the year with an “unfavourable variance” of half-a-million dollars, primarily due to high fuel costs, although the total is also expected to be partially offset by other savings.
GRT will develop a proposed service plan for 2027 as part of budget planning and a year-end status report for 2026 will be presented to council in the first quarter of next year.
