More Public Transit Talk

I spent my morning enjoying a coffee while reading through the Region of Waterloo’s Moving Forward 2031 Transportation Master Plan (pdf). It contains some very interesting information related to last week’s post on the feasibility of light rail transit here in the Region of Waterloo.

The report reviews the justification for some sort of rapid transit system, discusses three alternative plans for the building of such a system, the tax burden imposed by each, and the justification for settling on a north-south light rail line supported by a series of east-west iXpress-like bus routes. One of the most interesting pieces of information in the document concerns the current rate of rapid transit growth, as reported by the GRT:

Since 1999, annual transit ridership has increased from 9.5 million rides in 2000 to 16.5 million rides in 2009; a 75 per cent increase or 6.3 per cent annually. This increase is significant compared with the population increase of 1.85 per cent per year in the region. The commitment to funding increased service levels and new initiatives such as the iXpress has played a key role in ridership increases.

It also contains a map of the region upon which the proposed upgrades to our public transit system have been superimposed:

A map of proposed improvements to the transit system here in Waterloo Region (Click to Enlarge)

Finally, the document announces three public consultations to be held this month in Cambridge, Kitchener, and Waterloo. The meetings will present current plan for the future of transit in our region, and accept public feedback on the proposed improvements. The meetings are as follows:

Thursday, April 8, 2010
United Kingdom Club
35 International Village Dr.,
Cambridge

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
54 Queen St. N.,
Kitchener

Thursday, April 15, 2010
First United Church
16 William St. W.,
Waterloo

Check out the to the TriTAG Blog for related information on the future of transit in the Region of Waterloo.