Welcome news for many, and another reason Kitchener-Waterloo considered a desireable area in which to leave - as is evidenced from our stable real estate market.
This article from the Waterloo Region Record outlines the details of the new GO Transit operation.
A welcome boost for GO trains
History will be made next Monday when the first GO train pulls out of the station in Kitchener headed for Toronto. For the first time ever, people will be able to use this commuter service to travel between Waterloo Region and Canada’s biggest city. This is a great step forward for this community. But, if the service is to truly catch on, GO will need help.
In part, this is because when the service starts on Dec. 19, only two trains a day will run during the work week from the Kitchener station to Union Station in Toronto, and two trains will make the return trip in the afternoon. The journey will take about two hours each way. Originally, GO Transit intended to operate more trains each day.
From the start, many local commuters will welcome the GO trains. To its credit, Waterloo regional council is doing its best to make the service work better for them while persuading even more people to use it.
The region has agreed to provide free parking near the Victoria Street train station, and to operate a shuttle van service between the station and the Charles Street bus terminal. The region, which operates Grand River Transit, has also arranged to sell 50-cent bus tickets to passengers going to or from the GO station and to have GO Transit reimburse the region for the remainder of the price.
These incentives will obviously cost the region and GO Transit some revenue. Yet the money will be well spent. The region should indeed encourage people to use the GO Trains. The service will have to be efficient and convenient if it is to live up to its potential.
In fact, the best way to increase the level of service in the future will be to make sure the trains that do operate are either full or close to full.
Ideally, the provincial government would have enabled GO Transit to launch the GO service with a more complete schedule and faster trains. But the government is running a heavy deficit and lacks the cash to launch a more comprehensive Go service.
GO Trains serve a public good that goes beyond transporting passengers. By giving the region’s residents going to Toronto an option other than getting into their vehicles, the GO Trains should ease congestion on Highway 401 while making the commute more manageable for many people.
In time, GO’s goal should be to have more and faster trains serving this community. The region’s welcome incentives to commuters can play a role in making this happen.
In part, this is because when the service starts on Dec. 19, only two trains a day will run during the work week from the Kitchener station to Union Station in Toronto, and two trains will make the return trip in the afternoon. The journey will take about two hours each way. Originally, GO Transit intended to operate more trains each day.
From the start, many local commuters will welcome the GO trains. To its credit, Waterloo regional council is doing its best to make the service work better for them while persuading even more people to use it.
The region has agreed to provide free parking near the Victoria Street train station, and to operate a shuttle van service between the station and the Charles Street bus terminal. The region, which operates Grand River Transit, has also arranged to sell 50-cent bus tickets to passengers going to or from the GO station and to have GO Transit reimburse the region for the remainder of the price.
These incentives will obviously cost the region and GO Transit some revenue. Yet the money will be well spent. The region should indeed encourage people to use the GO Trains. The service will have to be efficient and convenient if it is to live up to its potential.
In fact, the best way to increase the level of service in the future will be to make sure the trains that do operate are either full or close to full.
Ideally, the provincial government would have enabled GO Transit to launch the GO service with a more complete schedule and faster trains. But the government is running a heavy deficit and lacks the cash to launch a more comprehensive Go service.
GO Trains serve a public good that goes beyond transporting passengers. By giving the region’s residents going to Toronto an option other than getting into their vehicles, the GO Trains should ease congestion on Highway 401 while making the commute more manageable for many people.
In time, GO’s goal should be to have more and faster trains serving this community. The region’s welcome incentives to commuters can play a role in making this happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment