On-demand bus service coming to Breslau next spring

A trial bus service in Breslau will be available to residents this upcoming spring. The pilot project will be an eight-month trial, and it will operate as an on-demand service to residents. The pilot project will also take riders to the regional airport as well.

Peter Zinck, Director of Transit Services for Region of Waterloo, said the Breslau area is fast-growing. However, the current transit service doesn't get across the river and into Bresleau. This prompted an interest in serving the area as well as creating a unique type of service.

“It is not a conventional bus service with a fixed route or a full GRT bus. This will be a mid-size vehicle, perhaps up to 20 passengers. We will circulate within the community and connect with services on the conventional route just on the border of Kitchener and Breslau,” he said.

The transit service is looking into creating an app or web access for people to request the service.

“The vehicle would come to a bus stop in your area at a corner of or an intersection. There will also be a calling number for those who don't have a cellphone or app connection. The software would then pool trips together to provide an efficient connection to those customers,” said Zinck. 

As they continue to provide the on-demand bus service, Zinck adds they will be doing it in a “graduating” way so ridership can be built over time. 

“The objective is to provide a fixed service on a regular schedule over a period of time once ridership increases. This is a way for us to try out an on-demand service, build ridership, and moves toward a more permanent fixed-route service in the future.”

While other options for fares are being explored, the pilot bus service will require average Grand River Transit fares. Metrolinx provided $175,000 in funding for the trial period. More details about the service can be found here.