After nearly 50 years of helping University of Waterloo students travel home and stay connected with family, friends, and their communities, WUSA will retire FedBus. The final service will run on December 6th, 2026. Students can view the remaining schedule on the FedBus webpage or ask the Turnkey Desk for assistance. 

FedBus has been and will remain an important part of the student experience here at the university. We are proud of the legacy that FedBus leaves behind and remain committed to advocating for affordable and reliable transportation options for students here. If you have any further questions or feedback, we invite you to connect with WUSA President, Samir Sharma, by email at pres@wusa.ca where he can speak further. 

Samir Sharma 
WUSA President 2026-27

A Service Built for Students 

For almost 50 years, FedBus provided affordable transportation between Waterloo, the GTA, and London. Thousands of students relied on the service to visit family and friends, travel home for weekends, and remain connected to their communities. 

The service offered direct, point-to-point transportation tailored to student schedules and reserved specifically for student passengers. With consistent pricing and fewer vehicles needed to move between destinations, the service provided a more affordable and environmentally friendly transportation option. 

When Fedbus was introduced, the expectation was that the service would pay for itself through fares rather than student fee revenue. However, as ridership declined and the cost per trip increased, the gap between revenue and operating costs widened. Maintaining the service would have required students to fund a growing share of the operations through their fees which is why the Board of Directors made the decision to begin the winddown of the FedBus service at the October 8th 2026 meeting. 

FedBus was created when students had fewer affordable and practical ways to travel between Waterloo, the GTA, and London. Since then, the transportation market has changed considerably. GO Transit has expanded its service, and intercity bus and carpooling services now give students more choices. As students increasingly used these alternatives, FedBus ridership declined, making it more difficult for the service to operate under its original break-even model.  

Why WUSA is retiring FedBus 

The decision comes down to two main reasons: 

1. Students now have more transportation options than when FedBus began, and continuing the service would require a growing subsidy from student resources.  

1. Ridership fell 48% from 16,228 in 2022-23 to 8,453 in 2025-26. Over the same period, revenue fell from $291,703 to $181,710.  

FedBus recorded a loss of $50,963 in 2025-26, equal to $6.03 for every ticket sold. If the service continued through 2026-27, the loss was forecast to grow to approximately $67,500, or $10.70 per ticket. 

If the service continued through 2026-27, the loss was forecast to grow to approximately $67,500, or $10.70 per ticket.

As fewer students used FedBus, WUSA reduced the number of trips offered. However, the cost of operating each trip did not decrease at the same rate. Each trip still required a chartered bus and a driver, whether the bus was full or had empty seats. This meant WUSA was spending more per ticket to maintain the service. 

Retiring the service allows WUSA to direct student resources toward programs and services that can benefit more students. This does not diminish the value FedBus provided. It recognizes that the service met an important need for decades, while today’s transportation market gives students more alternatives. 

Finding another travel option 

Students looking for alternatives to FedBus can visit our FedBus webpage for an updated list of routes, transportation services and available member discounts. 

Looking Ahead 

FedBus is part of WUSA’s history because students identified a need and built a practical response. As transportation choices expanded, the need for WUSA to operate its own service declined. WUSA will continue to advocate for affordable and reliable transportation and will focus student resources where they can have the greatest impact. 

Students with questions or feedback about FedBus can contact Scott Pearson, Director, Facilities and Member Programs, at spearson@wusa.ca. Students can also use WUSA’s feedback form to have their message directed to the appropriate team.