Batman
Aug 18, 2009, 1:22 AM
Coach Canada leaving Guelph/Hamilton route being pulled
Kaz Novak, the Hamilton Spectator
McMaster student John McIntyre figures a lot more cars will drive between Guelph and Hamilton, now that Coach Canada plans to cancel bus service between the cities in October.
Coach Canada spokesperson Brian Morehouse said the Guelph-Hamilton line has been a money-loser for years, but users say it quite often is full.
Buses leave Guelph for Hamilton up to five times a day. From Hamilton, buses pick up and drop off at McMaster University and from the downtown Hamilton GO bus terminal. In Guelph, buses leave from the University's transit loop in front of the University Centre.
Commuter Norman Kearney is going to find it hard just to get from Hamilton to Waterdown. When the service stops, it will take him over an hour using city of Hamilton and Burlington buses.
The service cut begins Monday. Coach Canada will cancel the five daily runs and run one trip each week on Tuesdays until the service ends completely Oct. 21.
"It's a huge inconvenience for all students, whether commuting or just visiting home regularly," says McIntyre, a bio-psychology student. He said it was not uncommon for the buses to be loaded up, with standing room only as Guelph and Hamilton students went home for the weekend or back to class.
McIntyre said if he takes GO Transit, the bus heads to Mississauga before arriving in Guelph or Hamilton. A one-hour trip via Coach Canada becomes about 2.5 hours on GO. He has sent a letter to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, asking if something else can be arranged, such as expanded GO bus service, but he isn't hopeful.
"Maybe in the summer I could bike it," he said. "I'd go the back ways and it might take three hours but it would be healthy."
Kearney can't see why the provincial transit authority Metrolinx can't cobble together a service.
-- With files from John Burman, The Hamilton Spectator
Kaz Novak, the Hamilton Spectator
McMaster student John McIntyre figures a lot more cars will drive between Guelph and Hamilton, now that Coach Canada plans to cancel bus service between the cities in October.
Coach Canada spokesperson Brian Morehouse said the Guelph-Hamilton line has been a money-loser for years, but users say it quite often is full.
Buses leave Guelph for Hamilton up to five times a day. From Hamilton, buses pick up and drop off at McMaster University and from the downtown Hamilton GO bus terminal. In Guelph, buses leave from the University's transit loop in front of the University Centre.
Commuter Norman Kearney is going to find it hard just to get from Hamilton to Waterdown. When the service stops, it will take him over an hour using city of Hamilton and Burlington buses.
The service cut begins Monday. Coach Canada will cancel the five daily runs and run one trip each week on Tuesdays until the service ends completely Oct. 21.
"It's a huge inconvenience for all students, whether commuting or just visiting home regularly," says McIntyre, a bio-psychology student. He said it was not uncommon for the buses to be loaded up, with standing room only as Guelph and Hamilton students went home for the weekend or back to class.
McIntyre said if he takes GO Transit, the bus heads to Mississauga before arriving in Guelph or Hamilton. A one-hour trip via Coach Canada becomes about 2.5 hours on GO. He has sent a letter to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, asking if something else can be arranged, such as expanded GO bus service, but he isn't hopeful.
"Maybe in the summer I could bike it," he said. "I'd go the back ways and it might take three hours but it would be healthy."
Kearney can't see why the provincial transit authority Metrolinx can't cobble together a service.
-- With files from John Burman, The Hamilton Spectator