Rationale

Issue

Students should have access to reliable, high-quality local and interregional public transit. It is critical for their day-to-day activities such as commuting to school, work, grocery stores, and social engagements.

Our Research

Public Transit Importance:
  • Essential for trips to school, work, grocery stores, social engagements, etc.
  • Over 60% of students use Grand River Transit (GRT) several times a week.
  • Around 40% use GO Transit several times a month.
Inter-regional Transit:
  • Usage: Primarily for visiting family and friends, attending classes, and essential trips.
  • Barriers: Route coverage, frequency, trip length, and temporal coverage.
  • Service Issues: Overcrowding, denied boarding, and long travel times during off-peak hours.

Local/Regional Transit:
  • Service Accessibility: Route frequency, geographic coverage, lack of late-night service, trip length.
  • Funding: Public funding for transit in Ontario is relatively low, primarily sourced from fare revenue and municipal funds.
  • Network & Route Design:
    • Issues: Geographic coverage, temporal coverage, and route design.
    • Current Network: ION and iXPress routes have limitations with late-night service.
    • Frequency: Inadequate headways during evening and weekend hours.
    • Access: UPass provides affordable access, but real-time information and micro-mobility support are crucial.
    • Reliability: Issues especially during peak times and worker strikes.

  • Public Transit Use: Over 60% of students use GRT several times a week.
  • Inter-regional Transit Use: Around 40% use GO Transit several times a month.

Our Position

WUSA advocates for increased public funding and improvements in local and inter-regional public transit to ensure accessible, reliable, and high-quality services for students.

  • Advocate for Increased Public Funding: Reduce reliance on fare revenue.
  • Improve Geographic and Temporal Coverage: Address gaps in service area and temporal coverage.
  • Enhance Late-night Service and Route Frequency: Ensure usability during all hours.
  • Support Micro-mobility Options and Active Transportation Networks: Complement public transit and promoting and enhancing smaller, sustainable modes of transportation (like bikes, scooters, and e-bikes) as well as the infrastructure that supports walking, cycling, and other forms of non-motorized travel.
  • Address Reliability Issues: Improve infrastructure and staffing to prevent disruptions.
Read the full Advocacy Position Statement here.

Student Resources

UPass

Provides affordable transit access.

Learn more about the UPass Program

Grand River Transit Real-time Information

Enhances usability and reliability of transit services.

Learn more about Grand River Transit’s Schedule Maps

Engage KW Micro-mobility Options

Support for active transportation networks.

Learn more about Engage KW Micro-mobility Options

Campaigns

  • A yellow school bus is parked in a lot surrounded by trees with fall foliage. The text on the image reads, "Moving on Up: Handing over the Stratford School Bus Service." Logos for "WUSA" and "Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association" are at the top right, emphasizing quality school transportation.
    Moving on Up: Handing over the Stratford School Bus Service

    This semester marks the end of WUSA’s Stratford School pilot bus service. […]

Education

Further Reading and Resources

Deloitte Welcome to Generation Z (External)