Grand River Transit

Grand River Transit

File:Grtshadow.png
Wheelchair-accessible low-floor buses such as this Nova LFS now form the majority of the GRT fleet. The bus is also equipped with a bicycle rack on the front grille
Founded	2000
Headquarters	250 Strasburg Rd., Kitchener, ON
Service area	Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, St. Jacobs, Elmira
Service type	Bus service, Paratransit
Fleet	259 buses
Daily ridership	40,000
Operator	Region of Waterloo
Website	www.grt.ca

Grand River Transit, or GRT, is the public transport operator for the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It operates daily bus services in the region, primarily in the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge.

It was named for the Grand River, which flows through the Region; the naming also echoes the Grand River Railway, a former electric railway which served the area in the early twentieth century. GRT is a member of the Canadian Urban Transit Association.

Overview

On January 1, 2000, the Region of Waterloo created GRT by assuming the operations of the former Kitchener Transit (which also served Waterloo) and Cambridge Transit from these cities. By the end of that year, operations had been fully synchronized and buses began running between Cambridge and Kitchener; as a result, ridership in Cambridge improved dramatically,and there have been increases in service, including Sundays and late evenings Monday-Saturday.

In recent years, many new low-floor, wheelchair-accessible buses have been purchased, principally from Nova Bus, Orion, and New Flyer, and these now constitute the majority of the fleet. Most operating buses are less than twenty years old, though a few older buses are used primarily for high-school special runs. GRT has installed bicycle racks on the front of its buses in order to encourage the use of sustainable transport; all standard and express buses now have these racks.

Service to less dense areas is provided by the busPLUS system, large vans which take regular fares on scheduled routes to new neighbourhoods and more remote facilities; if ridership is sufficiently high, these services can later be replaced with regular buses, as happened with the 71 Melran route in Cambridge.

GRT also operates MobilityPLUS, which provides specialized transit for disabled patrons using minibuses equipped with wheelchair lifts.

The GRT fleet consists entirely of motor-buses. Kitchener Transit operated trolleybuses earlier in its history, but they were withdrawn from service during the 1970s, well before the systems were merged. GRT has continued operating 23 compressed natural gas-driven buses inherited from Kitchener Transit but has not expanded this fleet; these buses are to be retired before the end of 2009. Until the 1950s, the area was served by electric passenger and freight trains run by the Grand River Railway, which even earlier in the 20th century had run streetcars on city streets before the separated railway lines were built.

Effective September 1, 2007, all undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo purchase a non-refundable 4-month U-Pass in their tuition for less than a quarter of the equivalent adult monthly pass.

On February 14, 2008, the members of Canadian Auto Workers 4304, which represents GRT employees, planned to go on strike. However a tentative agreement was reached before the deadline of 12:01 am and the strike was averted.

History

Public transit in the Grand River area began with private operators and slowly gave way to municipal run service. Interurban and streetcar service were the earlier modes and by the mid 20th century bus transit became the norm.

Kitchener-Waterloo

• Berlin Gas Company 1888-1894 horsecar
• Berlin Street Railway 1894-1906 - electric car
• Berlin and Bridgeport Railway Company 1904-1906
• Berlin Public Utilities Commission 1906-1916
• Kitchener Public Utilities Commission 1916-1973; operated streetcars, buses and trolley cars
• Kitchener Transit 1973-2000
• Grand River Transit 2000–present

Cambridge

Public transit was provided to Galt and Preston before Cambridge was formed.

• Grand River Railway Company 1919-1957; bus and interurban electric service
• Galt, Preston City and Suburban Transit Co. 1921-1929; transit bus service
• Dominion Power and Transmission Company 1929-?; transit and interurban bus service
• Canada Coach Lines 1950-1962; transit bus service
• Galt Public Service Commission 1962-1973; transit bus service
• Cambridge Transit 1973-2000; transit bus service

Elmira

Elmira had bus service to Kitchener that ended in 1997. Route 21 now travels to Elmira from Conestoga Mall in north Waterloo. Riders can then transfer to another bus to get to Kitchener.

• Elmira-Kitchener Bus Lines 1922-1929
• Lishman Coach Lines Limited 1929-1979
• United Trails Incorporated 1975-1997

New Hamburg

Starting April 25, 2016, Grand River Transit will start operating route 77 which connects The Boardwalk and the Wilmot Township (Petersburg, Baden and New Hamburg) during the AM and PM peak periods. This new route will be a BusPlus route and because of the length of the route, route 77 will operate every 75 minutes. GRT is using Voyager Transportation Services to operate the new route.

Grand River area also had interurban railway service from 1894 to 1955 by various operators.

iXpress

Main article: iXpress

An iXpress bus

The iXpress bus rapid transit operated by GRT consists of four routes along main corridors in Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge. The older route, Route 200 (then known solely as the iXpress without a route number), was launched in September 2005, and runs from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo and Ainslie St. Transit Terminal in Cambridge primarily along King Street in Kitchener and Waterloo and Hespeler Road in Cambridge. The second route, route 201, runs from Forest Glen Terminal in Kitchener to Conestoga Mall in Waterloo, primarily along Fischer-Hallman Road in both cities. The third, route 202, runs in a crosstown fashion through Waterloo, primarily along University Avenue, between the Boardwalk shopping centre and Conestoga Mall. The fourth iXpress route, route 203, opened on April 28, 2014. It runs from Cambridge Centre to Sportsworld Terminal. An extension of the 203 to Conestoga College is made during the AM and PM peak periods when classes are in session. The fifth iXpress route, route 204, which began service September 2015. The 204 iXpress runs from Ottawa and Lackner to the Boardwalk via Victoria Street, Highland Road, Ira Needles Boulevard and Downtown Kitchener. Route 204 operates every 15 minutes during the week and every 30 minutes during the evening and weekends.

Future expansion

Grand River Transit has purchased six diesel-hybrid buses which began service in late August 2008. To get the best use of their powertrain, these buses run on routes like Route 7 Mainline, which have frequent stops and heavy usage.

Rapid transit

Main article: Ion rapid transit

The Region of Waterloo is preparing for the implementation of rapid transit in the area, under the brand name ION, which would boost more compact urban growth along the main corridor. A light rail line is expected to run from Conestoga Mall in Waterloo to Fairview Park in Kitchener, and a bus rapid transit line from Fairview Park in Kitchener to Ainslie Street Terminal in Cambridge.

Fares

Buses accept cash fares and paper tickets; transfers are available for 90 minutes of travel following payment of a single-use fare. Monthly passes consist of a card purchased for service for a calendar month, accompanied by a photo ID card. Specialized passes for corporate or school purposes will generally consist of a limited-time photo card.

A new system using an electronic fare card, to be called the EasyGO Fare Card, is set to be introduced in 2016, in anticipation of the Ion light rail launch.

Conventional transit fares

Grand River Transit Fare Change effective Tuesday, July 1, 2014, as approved by Regional Council.

Category	Cost	Comments
Cash Fares	$3.00	Children under 5 ride free to a maximum of 3 children per paying adult customer
Adult Tickets	$12.35 (for 5)	Sold in strips of 5
Reduced Tickets	$10.70 (for 5)	Sold in strips of 5, available for seniors, elementary and high school students
Adult Monthly Pass	$76.00	Valid for adults, college students and university students, with GRT photo ID
Reduced Monthly Pass	$64.00	Valid for seniors, elementary and high school students, with GRT photo ID
Corporate Pass	$61.00	Payroll deduction for employees of participating employers
College Pass	$257.00	Valid for 4-month term
Conestoga College Pass	$218.00	Valid for 4-month term
Student Summer Pass	$108.00	Valid July and August for elementary and high school students
U-Pass	$77.29	Cost deducted for each semester directly through tuition paid by university students
Day Pass	$7.00	Valid for 1 customer for regular weekday and Saturday service; valid for 2 adults and up to 3 children, or 1 adult and up to 4 children on Sundays and Statutory holidays
T.R.I.P. Pass	$42.00	Transit for Reduced Income Program

MobilityPLUS urban area fares

Item	Cost (CAD)	Comments
Cash Fare & Ticket Price	2.50	Permanent registered MobilityPLUS users ride conventional transit for free

MobilityPLUS rural township area fares

Item	Cost (CAD)	Comments
Within Township	2.50	--
First Boundary Crossed	4.75	--
Secondary Boundary Crossed	7.00	--

Routes

Route listing effective September 7, 2015. All standard routes are marked with and operated with low-floor, wheelchair-accessible buses. BusPLUS routes are not accessible.

Cross-service area routes

Route		Service Limitations	Terminals	Major Destinations	Notes
52 Fairview Park Mall - Ainslie Street Terminal		(Service every day)	Fairview Park Mall Ainslie Street Terminal	Freeport Health Centre, SportsWorld Crossing, Cambridge Memorial Hospital	Alternating weekday trips between Cherry Blossom Road loop and Preston Parkway loop. All weekend trips travel along Preston Parkway loop.
61 Conestoga College - Cambridge Centre		Weekday service only	Cambridge Centre Conestoga College Main Campus	Conestoga College Cambridge Campus
72 Cherry Blossom BusPLUS		Weekday rush hour service only	SportsWorld Crossing Cambridge Business Park.		One trip per day in each direction extends to Research in Motion plant.
111 Ainslie Street-Conestoga College Express		Weekday rush hour service only	Ainslie Street Terminal Conestoga College Main Campus	Conestoga College Cambridge Campus	Service runs September to April, except for the Christmas schedule period.
200 iXpress Conestoga Mall - Ainslie Terminal		(Service every day)	Conestoga Mall Terminal Ainslie Street Terminal	Waterloo Research & Technology Park, University of Waterloo, Laurier University, Waterloo Town Square, Grand River Hospital, Charles Street Terminal, Fairview Park Mall, SmartCentre Cambridge, Cambridge Centre	Bus rapid transit service.

Kitchener-Waterloo service area

Route		Service Limitations	Terminals	Major Destinations	Notes
1 Queen-River		(Service every day)	The Boardwalk Terminal Fairview Park Mall	Charles Street Terminal Stanley Park Mall	The Boardwalk, Highland Market Place, Driftwood Centre, Highland Hills Mall (board on Queen Street), Charles St. Terminal, Krug Street Plaza, Stanley Park Mall, Fairview Park Mall
2 Forest Heights		No Sunday/holiday service	Charles Street Terminal Highland Hills Mall	Driftwood Centre	Forest Hill Shopping Centre	Highland Hills Mall (Board at Fischer-Hallman and Queens)
3 Ottawa South		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal Forest Glen Plaza	Laurentian Centre
4 Glasgow		No Sunday/holiday service	Charles Street Terminal The Boardwalk Terminal
5 Erb		(Service every day)	Bridgeport The Boardwalk Terminal	Westmount Plaza, Westside Marketplace, Bridgeport Plaza
6 Bridge		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal Conestoga Mall Terminal
7A Fairview via Connaught		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal Fairview Park Mall.		Arrives at Fairview Park Mall via Fourth and Connaught. Typically, buses return to Downtown Kitchener as Route 7B.
7B Fairview via Weber		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal Fairview Park Mall		Arrives at Fairview Park Mall via Weber and Fairway. During the daytime on weekdays and Saturdays, buses return to Downtown Kitchener as Route 7A. On Monday through Saturday evenings and on all Sunday and holiday runs, they return as Route 7F.
7C Conestoga Mall via King		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal Conestoga Park Mall.	Grand River Hospital, Waterloo Town Square, Wilfrid Laurier University	Limited service to Regina Street loop.
7D University of Waterloo via University		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal University of Waterloo	Grand River Hospital, Waterloo Town Square, Wilfrid Laurier University	Arrives at University of Waterloo via University Avenue. Typically, buses return to Downtown Kitchener as Route 7, or Fairview Park Terminal as Route 7A, 7B, or 7F.
7E University of Waterloo via Columbia		No Evening, Sunday/Holiday service	Charles Street Terminal University of Waterloo	Grand River Hospital, Waterloo Towns Square, Wilfrid Laurier University	Arrives at University of Waterloo via Columbia Street. Typically, buses return to Downtown Kitchener as Route 7, or Fairview Park Terminal as Route 7A, 7B, or 7F.
7F Fairview via Wilson		No Evening Sunday/Holiday service	Charles Street Terminal Fairview Park Mall.		Arrives at Fairview Park Mall via Fourth and Wilson. During the daytime on weekdays and Saturdays, buses return to Downtown Kitchener as Route 7F. On Monday through Saturday evenings and on all Sunday and holiday runs, they return as Route 7B.
91 Late Night Loop		No Monday-Wednesday OR Sunday/holiday service	Charles Street Terminal University of Waterloo	Grand River Hospital, Waterloo Town Square, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo Research & Technology Park.	Information on this route is found in Route 7 schedules; Route 91 is not shown on the destination signs. Service provided on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 1230 am to 2 am from September to June. This route is marketed towards university frequenting bars in Downtown Kitchener and Uptown Waterloo; it serves residences at both universities, as well as the Lakeshore neighbourhood, which contains the majority of private off-campus student housing.
8 University via Weber		(Service every day)	University and King Charles Street Terminal
8 University via Westmount		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal University and King	Westmount Plaza, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University
8 Fairview via Courtland		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal Fairview Mall
8 Fairview via Franklin		(Service every day)	Fairview Mall Charles Street Terminal		Evening and Sunday service travels via East Avenue instead of via Weber Street between Ottawa Street and Frederick Street.
9 Lakeshore		(Service every day)	Conestoga Mall University of Waterloo	Wilfrid Laurier University	At University of Waterloo, buses change to route 13 Laurelwood, except when Route 13 does not operate; at these times (weekday late night and weekend evenings), buses short-turn at University and King. Limited service extension to Elmira Poultry plant.
10 Conestoga College		(Service every day)	Fairview Park Mall Conestoga College Main Campus		Evenings, weekends, and holidays service extends to Bechtel Drive loop and Conestoga College residences quarter.
11 Country Hills		(Service every day)	Charles Street Terminal Forest Glen Plaza		Sunday and holidays service travels along Ottawa Street and Strasburg Road instead of Alpine Road.
12 Conestoga Mall - Fairview Park Mall		(Service every day)	Conestoga Mall Fairview Park Mall	Forest Glen Plaza, Westmount Plaza, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University	Due to the total length of Route 12 and varying service demands over different sections of the route, various short-turns are used. Short-turns are performed at: Forest Glen Plaza, the University of Waterloo, University and King, and University at Lincoln.
13 Laurelwood		(Service every day)	University of Waterloo The Boardwalk Terminal		At University of Waterloo, buses change to Route 9 Lakeshore.
14 Waterloo Industrial		Weekday rush hour service only	Conestoga Mall Waterloo Industrial Park
16 Forest Glen		Weekday service only	Conestoga College Main Campus Forest Glen Plaza		Midday service extends to Blehn and Kilkerran from September to April. No Summer Service on Kilkerran extension.
20 Victoria-Frederick		(Service every day)	The Boardwalk Stanley Park Mall Frederick Street Mall		Though serving Downtown Kitchener this route does not enter the Charles Street Terminal. Connections are available to many other routes serving the Terminal.
21 Elmira		No Sunday/Holiday service	Conestoga Mall Church and Maple	Waterloo Factory Outlet Mall	Only route that travels outside the boundaries of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge. Serves the Woolwich Township communities of St. Jacobs and Elmira.
22 Laurentian West		Sunday/Holiday service west of Forest Glen only	Highland Hills Mall Charles Street Terminal	Laurentian Centre, Forest Glen Plaza	On Sundays and holidays, interlines at Forest Glen with 11 Country Hills
23 Idlewood		No Sunday/Holiday service	Fairview Park Mall Stanley Park Mall		Fairview Park, River Road Plaza, Lackner Woods Plaza (Fairway/Lackner), Lackner Plaza (Ottawa/Lackner), Stanley Park Mall
27 Chicopee		(Service every day)	Fairview Park Mall Quinte and Morrison
29 Keats Way		(Service every day)	The Boardwalk Terminal University and King	Westside Marketplace, University of Waterloo	Some weekday trips short turn at Fischer-Hallman and Keats Way
31 Columbia		Weekday service only	Clair Hills Conestoga Mall Terminal
33 Huron		Weekday rush hour service only	Forest Glen Plaza		Two round trips per day bypass Strasburg Road and extend to Groff Place.
34 Bingemans		Weekday rush hour service only	Charles Street Terminal	Bingemans
76 Doon South BusPlus		Weekday rush hour service only	Conestoga College Doon Pioneer Plaza	Route 76 services the Doon South neighbourhood connecting the Pioneer Plaza and Conestoga College Doon Campus.
Route 77 Wilmot BusPlus		Weekday rush hour service only	The Boardwalk Castle Kilbride No Frills Store	Service connects The Boardwalk Petersburg, Baden and New Hamburg during the weekday AM and PM peak periods.
52 Fairview Park Mall - Ainslie Street Terminal		(Service every day)	Fairview Park Mall Ainslie Street Terminal	Freeport Health Centre, SportsWorld Crossing, Cambridge Memorial Hospital	Alternating weekday trips between Cherry Blossom Road loop and Preston Parkway loop. All weekend trips travel along Preston Parkway loop.
61 Conestoga College - Cambridge Centre		Weekday service only	Cambridge Centre Conestoga College Main Campus	Conestoga College Cambridge Campus
72 Cherry Blossom BusPLUS		Weekday rush hour service only	SportsWorld Crossing Cambridge Business Park.		One trip per day in each direction extends to Research in Motion plant.
73 Northlake BusPLUS		Weekday rush hour service only	McCormick Community Centre Lake Louise and Conservation
110 Fairview Park Mall-Conestoga College Express		No Saturday, Sunday or holiday service	Fairview Park Mall Conestoga College Main Campus		Service runs September to April, except for the Christmas schedule period. Morning trips from Conestoga College to Fairview Park and afternoon trips from Fairview Park to Conestoga College service Pioneer Park Plaza.
111 Ainslie Street-Conestoga College Express		Weekday rush hour service only	Ainslie Street Terminal Conestoga College Main Campus	Conestoga College Cambridge Campus	Service runs September to April, except for the Christmas schedule period.
116 Forest Glen-Conestoga College Express		Weekday rush-hour service only	Forest Glen Plaza Conestoga College Main Campus		Service runs September to April, except for the Christmas schedule period.
200 iXpress Conestoga Mall - Ainslie Terminal		(Service every day)	Conestoga Mall Terminal Ainslie Street Terminal	Waterloo Research & Technology Park, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo Town Square, Grand River Hospital, Charles Street Terminal, Fairview Park Mall, Sportsworld Crossin, SmartCentre Cambridge, Cambridge Centre	Bus rapid transit service.
201 iXpress Conestoga Mall - Forest Glen		(Service every day)	Conestoga Mall Terminal Forest Glen Terminal	University of Waterloo, Highland Hills Mall	Bus rapid transit service.
202 iXpress Conestoga Mall - The Boardwalk		(Service every day)	Conestoga Mall Terminal The Boardwalk Terminal	University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, RIM Park	Bus rapid transit service.
203 iXpress Cambridge Centre/Sportsworld Crossing - Conestoga College		Monday to Friday Service.	Cambridge Centre Terminal Sportsworld Crossing Conestoga College	L.G. Lovell Industrial Park, Fisher Mills, Cambridge Industrial Park	AM and PM peak period service to Conestoga College during the Fall and Winter terms only.
204 iXpress Highland/Victoria		(Service every day)	The Boardwalk Terminal Ottawa at Lackner	Charles Street Terminal	Bus rapid transit service

Cambridge service area

Route		Service Limitations	Terminals	Major Destinations	Notes
51 Hespeler Road		(Service every day)	Ainslie Street Terminal Hespeler Street Terminal	Cambridge Centre Terminal, SmartCentre Cambridge	Route 51 was modified into 51A Hespeler Rd. to Fischer Mills 51B Hespeler Rd. Melran. Some trips short turn at Cambridge Centre Terminal.
52 Fairview Park Mall - Ainslie Street Terminal		(Service every day)	Fairview Park Mall Ainslie Street Terminal	Freeport Health Centre, SportsWorld Crossing, Cambridge Memorial Hospital	Alternating weekday trips between Cherry Blossom Road loop and Preston Parkway loop. All weekend trips travel along Preston Parkway loop.
53 Franklin		No Weekend /holiday service	Ainslie Street Terminal Cambridge Centre Terminal	South Cambridge Shopping Centre
54 Lisbon Pines		Service 7 days a week	Ainslie Street Terminal Champlain and Christopher	South Cambridge Shopping Centre	At the Ainslie Street Terminal, buses change to Route 58 Elmwood.
55 St. Andrews		(Service every day)	Ainslie Street Terminal Grand Ridge and Oak Hill	Southworks Mall, Westgate Centre	Sunday service extends along Grand Avenue and Main Street. At the Ainslie Street Terminal, buses change to Route 59 Christopher.
56 Dunbar		(Service every day)	Cambridge Centre Terminal Westminster and King		At Cambridge Centre Terminal, buses change to Route 67 Lovell Industrial during the weekday peak periods and changes into route 60 Northview Acres on Weekends.
57 Blair Road		No Sunday/holiday service	Ainslie Street Terminal Blair and Bismark	Westgate Centre	At Ainslie Street Terminal, buses change to Route 54 Lisbon Pines on Saturday.
58 Elmwood		(Service every day)	Ainslie Street Terminal Elgin and Avenue		At Ainslie Street Terminal, buses change to Route 62 Woodside.
59 Christopher		(Service every day)	Ainslie Street Terminal Champlain and Elgin		At Ainslie Street Terminal, buses change to Route 63 Champlain. Sunday and holiday trips do not serve Edgemere Drive loop; these trips instead extend to South Cambridge Shopping Centre
60 Northview Acres		(Service every day)	Cambridge Centre Terminal Saginaw and Burnett	Northview Plaza	At Cambridge Centre Terminal, buses change to Route 203 iXpress during the week and route 64 Langs on Saturdays. On Sundays route 60 and route 56 Dunbar interline.
61 Conestoga College - Cambridge Centre		Weekday service only	Cambridge Centre Conestoga College Main Campus	Conestoga College Cambridge Campus
62 Woodside		No Sunday/holiday service	Ainslie Street Terminal Cedar and Woodside	Westgate Plaza	At Ainslie Street Terminal, buses change to Route 58 Elmwood.
63 Champlain		No Sunday/holiday service	Ainslie Street Terminal Champlain and Christopher	South Cambridge Shopping Centre	At Ainslie Street Terminal, buses change to Route 55 St. Andrews.
64 Langs		No Sunday/holiday service	Cambridge Centre Terminal Rose and Lowther		At Cambridge Centre, buses change to Route 56 Dunbar.
67 Lovell Industrial		Weekday rush hour service only	Cambridge Centre Terminal Lovell Industrial Park		One round trip per day extends to SmartCentre Cambridge.
71 Melran		No Sunday/holiday service	Hespeler Street Terminal Ellis and Kerwood		Evening, Sunday, and holiday service travels directly to Ellis and Kerwood via Winston Churchill Boulevard; these trips bypass the Franklin Boulevard, Cooper Street, and Queen Street service areas.
72 Cherry Blossom BusPLUS		Weekday rush hour service only	SportsWorld Crossing Cambridge Business Park.		One trip per day in each direction extends to Research in Motion plant.
75 Saginaw		Weekday regular service	Cambridge Centre Terminal Townline and Coulthard
111 Ainslie Street-Conestoga College Express		Weekday rush hour service only	Ainslie Street Terminal Conestoga College Main Campus	Conestoga College Cambridge Campus	Service runs September to April, except for the Christmas schedule period.
200 iXpress Conestoga Mall - Ainslie Terminal		(Service every day)	Conestoga Mall Terminal Ainslie Street Terminal	Waterloo Research & Technology Park, University of Waterloo, Laurier University, Waterloo Town Square, Grand River Hospital, Charles Street Terminal, Fairview Park Mall, SmartCentre Cambridge, Cambridge Centre	Bus rapid transit service.
203 Conestoga College-Cambridge Centre iXpress		(Service everyday)	Conestoga College Cambridge Centre Terminal	Cambridge Centre Sportsworld Crossing Conestoga College Doon Campus and Cambridge Campus	Service to Conestoga College operates from September to April ONLY during peak periods. Bus rapid transit service.

Numbering notes

Route 8 is so numbered because its travelled route forms a rough figure 8 through Kitchener and Waterloo, with the Charles Street terminal as the central point.

Many routes in the Kitchener-Waterloo area had their numbering split in the early 2000s as interlining was handled differently, to allow more flexibility. The separated sections usually had major route or schedule changes at the time. Routes split were:

Route before splitting	Year of split	Routes after splitting
1 Stanley Park - Queen South	2003	1 Stanley Park 25 Queen South (Combined again in 2015 as 1 Queen-River)
2 Forest Hill - Glencairn	2004	2 Forest Heights 22 Laurentian West
3 Ottawa South - Idlewood	2004	3 Ottawa South 23 Idlewood (23 later disconnected from Downtown service in 2015)
5 Erb West - Lancaster - Eastbridge	2007	5 Erb West 35 Eastbridge (Combined again in 2012 as 5 Erb)
10 Conestoga College - Chicopee	2003	10 Conestoga College 27 Chicopee 110 Conestoga College Express
11 Country Hills - Victoria Hills	2002	11 Country Hills 20 Victoria-Frederick
15 Forest Heights West - Frederick	2003	15 Frederick 24 Highland (Combined again in 2015 as reworked iXpress 204)

Many Cambridge-area routes are based on their former Cambridge Transit numbers, with 50 added to the number. Thus, the 51 is the former Cambridge Route 1, and the 52 is the former Route 2 Coronation which was extended from Preston Parkway into south Kitchener by merging it with the former Kitchener Transit Route 20 Sportsworld/Gateway Park. (The route number 20 has since been reused in Victoria Hills); Cambridge Route 14 became 56, 17 became 60, and since 2000, additional routes have been numbered in the 60s.

Numbers above 100 are reserved for express-level service. Those in the 100s operate under standard branding (and, currently, all serve Conestoga College); the 200s operate under the iXpress branding.

During the Kitchener Transit - Cambridge Transit merger, many short-lived, experimental, or interim routes existed. One was the route 20 Sportsworld/Gateway Park, which was later merged with Cambridge Transit route 2 Coronation to form the route 52. At one point, a very short-lived route 61 existed as a satellite route operating from Highland Hills Mall. Soon after, this route was changed to a long-since forgotten route: route 41 Laurentian West - Highland West BusPLUS. This route did not last long, and its service area was later covered by routes 19, 20, and 22. Route 21 St. Jacobs started by running to St. Jacobs Market from Conestoga Mall via Northfield Drive and Weber Street.

School specials

GRT also provides school specials to most secondary schools in the Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge areas. The purpose of these routes is to help alleviate overcrowding problems on regular GRT routes, and supplement regular GRT routes by adding extra and/or short turn trips. The main function of many of the specials is to provide services between schools and neighbourhoods where limited or no regular service is available, or where multiple time-consuming transfers would be required. These specials usually operate on completely or partially different routings than regular GRT routes. Any other school bus services are yellow school bus services.

Bus fleet

Main article: Grand River Transit bus fleet

Grand River Transit has a fleet of 259 buses and an additional 30 MobilityPLUS vehicles in their fleet.

Facilities

Charles Street Terminal, the main K-W station

Major transit terminals are operated and staffed in both Downtown Kitchener (Charles Street Terminal) - (Routes 1,2,3,4,6,7A,7B,7C,7D,7E,7F,8,11,15,18,22,200,204) and the Ainslie St. Transit Terminal at Galt City Centre in Cambridge - (Routes 51,52,53,54,55,57,58,59,62,63,111,200).

Unstaffed off-road satellite terminals are also in place at Waterloo’s Conestoga Mall (Routes 6,7C,9,12,14,21,31,32,200,201,202), The Boardwalk (Routes 1,4,5,13,20,29,202,204), Kitchener’s Fairview Park Mall (Routes 1,7A,7B,7F,8,10,12,23,27,52,110,200), Forest Glen Plaza (Routes 3,11,12,16,22,33,116,201), Stanley Park Mall (Routes 1,20,23), Sportsworld (Routes 52,72busPLUS,200,203) and Cambridge Centre (Routes 51,56,60,61,64,67,75, 200, 203 iXpress Sportsworld).

Other significant transfer points include King Street/University Avenue (Routes 7C,7D,7E,8,9,12,200,202), the University of Waterloo (Routes 7D,7E,8,9,12,13,29,31,200,201,202), Uptown Waterloo (Routes 5,7C,7D,7E,200), Holiday Inn Drive/Hespeler (Routes 51,53,65,66,71), Conestoga College-Doon Campus (Routes 10,16,61,110,111,116) and the Preston Towne Centre (Routes 52,56,61,64).

Grand River Transit has two garages:

• Strasburg Road Transit Operations Centre / North Division at 250 Strasburg Road - indoor garage built in 1976 stores 167 buses in the Kitchener-Waterloo fleet, and all central operations and GRT headquarters (across from the Laurentian Power Centre)
• Conestoga Boulevard Transit Operations Centre / South Division at 460 Conestoga Boulevard - 64 bus garage for Cambridge fleet (behind the Cambridge Centre).

A third garage site is planned on Northfield Drive in Waterloo.

External links

Media related to Grand River Transit at Wikimedia Commons

• Official web site