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 Stance

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.

Student Resources

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