Opinion, Point vs. Counterpoint

PCP: Should the 7D/7E bus routes be removed? (Negative)

Note: This article is hosted here for archival purposes only. It does not necessarily represent the values of the Iron Warrior or Waterloo Engineering Society in the present day.

GRT is considering changing its service for 2015, to prepare for the new ION Light Rail that is currently under construction. GRT bills this as a “2015 Grand River Transit Service Improvement Plan.” However, as it stands, the changes are not likely to improve service at all.

In the first place, this is the 2015 plan, to take effect on September 7, 2015. However, the ION Light Rail service is not scheduled to start until 2017; and of course, this is subject to delay. While GRT argues that certain routes are made redundant by the introduction of the Light Rail, eliminating certain bus routes for that reason before the Light Rail is completed makes no sense.

GRT also suggests that passengers affected by the cancellation of the 7D/E could use the 200 iXpress instead, which would also be made more frequent. However, the entire point of the iXpress is that it travels directly and does not stop often. This will not be good for University of Waterloo students who use the 7D/E to get to campus. The 7D/E stops frequently and is less direct, which is admittedly inefficient – for someone who wants to travel from one end to the other. However, most students who live in the affected areas will actually find themselves living further from the nearest bus stop if they are forced to rely on the iXpress. This will make total travel time longer.

GRT is also considering re-aligning Route 8 to run, in part, along the current route of the 7A, which in this option would be eliminated. Franklin St, which is currently served by the 8 would be picked up by the 23. The logic behind this change is that Route 8 would be more direct. However, this also means more connections. The change is also completely pointless, because it provides no new coverage and is not even more efficient, given that the “more direct” 8 would only replace the current 7A, and those previously served would need to transfer. Furthermore, there is already a fast and direct route that runs between Fairview Terminal and Charles Street Terminal – the 200 iXpress, which is not scheduled to be changed.

Buses are not highways. University of Waterloo students take the bus for the most part because the majority of us do not own cars. Streamlining the routes will maybe make travel more efficient for people who live near the streamlined routes, but others will be left without convenient service. Direct routing is for the iXpress. The other routes should cover a wide area. Passengers want to be picked up near their homes and deposited near their destination, without numerous transfers and long walks.

The ION Light Rail is a very good investment that will definitely improve transit in Kitchener-Waterloo and the Region in general. However, there is no reason to change the current, perfectly adequate bus service two years before the Light Rail is complete. Secondly, the proposed changes are unnecessary, redundant, and miss the entire point of having a widespread bus service.

When the Light Rail is complete, it will certainly render some bus routes redundant. Some routes should probably be eliminated, and others adjusted. But to anticipate the arrival of the rail by gratuitously shifting the bus routes so that they render each other redundant is just silly.

Leave a Reply