A new Brantford GO Station and improved service to industrial areas are among the recommendations bus riders say will help improve local transit.
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Riders are also recommending increased regional service to areas like Paris, Ancaster, Cambridge, Waterloo, Simcoe, Ohsweken, Guelph and Mount Pleasant. Service to Mississauga, Brampton and Aldershot should come with a new GO station, residents say.
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The recommendations are from a public engagement process conducted by a team of consultants hired by the city of Brantford to develop a long-term plan for transit.
The process took place over three months beginning in October and included an online survey at Let’s Talk Brantford. Residents were also asked for their input at community pop-up events held at the Brantford Transit Terminal, Dollarama on King George Road and Lynden Park Mall.
The team of consultants also rode the buses, met with bus drivers and educators as well as city councillors.
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The recommendations gleaned from the various public engagement efforts are included in an interim report on the city’s Moving Forward initiative that councilors will review at a March 5 committee meeting. The Moving Forward project aims to overhaul and improve local transit.
A second round of public engagement is scheduled for March and April. It’s expected that a long-term plan for transit will be ready for city council to review in June 2024.
Residents told the consulting team that increased frequency of buses is a priority.
Some bus riders want longer service hours on Sundays and statutory holidays. Others want increased service from 7 am to 10 am, 4 pm to 7 pm, and after 9:50 pm for university students and staff.
Some riders are frustrated about buses terminating at Lynden Park Mall or the Brantford Bus Terminal for transferring and say more direct routes are needed.
Additional routes including a north-south one up Erie Avenue and Clarence Street West to Lynden Park Mall are also recommended.
Some transit riders said buses can often be overcrowded especially during what they called the high school student rush.
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