Hamilton/Guelph Coach Canada service cancelation

[Batman]

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

[drpgq]

That`s sad. I wonder if two runs per day would work or maybe some runs on Friday and Sunday.

[jgrwatson]

How backwards and pathetic is Ontario that during the time of "green" this and "green" that, we are cancelling bus service!

I currently work in Guelph and when I didn't have a carpool, I relied on this bus route.

Sad, seriously just sad for Ontario yet again.

You would swear we were in middle-of-no-where Russia where transit is none existent.

I heard GO might pick it up, hopefully this happens.....

[adam]

Actually Moscow has a very extensive subway system!

[SteelTown]

We should have Hamilton to K/W to Guelph GO Bus.

[markbarbera]

Coach Canada is a private business, so we cannot expect them to continue to operate an unprofitable route.

Perhaps this route should be adopted by GO Transit. If I was scheduling buses, I would have the westbound 407 continue from the McMaster GO Terminal out to Guelph's university bus terminal, and the eastbound originate from Guelph, run to Mac's GO terminal, then continue on its easterly route.

If you use this route, I suggest sending an e-mail to GO Transit requesting the service. Thing is, GO is so Toronto-centric, seems like all their services are designed to feed the GTA.

[sofasurfer]

Originally Posted by adam

Actually Moscow has a very extensive subway system!

Yup. Apparently one of the most beautifully decorated, too...

To be fair, jgrwatson did say middle of nowhere in Russia... I suspect the arse end of the steppes might have the odd nomadic herd pass by, but not much more

Oh, and Moscow Domodedovo airport has a dedicated high-speed rail link to it. So do most "world-class" airports I've flown in and out of, come to think of it... I still can't believe there's not even a decent GO coach link connecting Pearson (the only thing I can find to date is to get a service to Square One and change... and that's hardly well publicised, IMO)

[omro]

Originally Posted by markbarbera

Thing is, GO is so Toronto-centric, seems like all their services are designed to feed the GTA.

Hopefully the emphasis will begin to change now...

Metrolinx and GO Transit have officially merged.

On May 14, 2009, GO Transit officially merged with Metrolinx.

The merger maximizes the two organizations’ strategy and planning expertise and implementation and operations know-how - to build rapid transit projects faster and improve customer service for the traveller in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA).

[markbarbera]

Area of Metrolinx mandate:



Guelph falls outside this mandated area, so how much attention a route like this would get from Metrolinx remains to be seen. Having said that, GO Transit does have intentions to expand bus service from Toronto to Waterloo, Guelph and Niagara this fall, so service obviously is not restricted to areas within the boundaries of their area mandate.