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Niagara Region Transit


Orion VIII

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Compared to other regional transit systems in Ontario it's expensive. For GRT and DRT it's the same fare across the board. And what if your trip starts somewhere other then where a regional bus goes, say Fairview Mall in St. Catharines for example? You have to pay the local fare then another 6 bucks for the regional fare. They wonder why no one's using it. For that price I'll stick to driving.

Oh, $6 for REGIONAL FARE! Thought you meant $6 for LOCAL fare, nearly fainted for a second LMAO

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Oh, $6 for REGIONAL FARE! Thought you meant $6 for LOCAL fare, nearly fainted for a second LMAO

Like someone said already, even for regional fare it's a little on the pricy side; GO style.

YRT you only add an extra $1 ($2 for 3 zones) to cross a zone. DRT you can go from east to west in one local fare. With Presto, you can go within 2h from MIssissauga to as far west as your 2h limits you.

And also the NRT buses ain't anything spectacular to say. From interior photos I've seen so far, they use crappy standard seats with little to no padding.

Even ZUM, VIVA, MiExpress, 2010+ MiLcal buses are more comfortable than NRT buses and they use local fare.

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Like someone said already, even for regional fare it's a little on the pricy side; GO style.

YRT you only add an extra $1 ($2 for 3 zones) to cross a zone. DRT you can go from east to west in one local fare. With Presto, you can go within 2h from MIssissauga to as far west as your 2h limits you.

And also the NRT buses ain't anything spectacular to say. From interior photos I've seen so far, they use crappy standard seats with little to no padding.

Even ZUM, VIVA, MiExpress, 2010+ MiLcal buses are more comfortable than NRT buses and they use local fare.

the Falls-operated NG's seats are quite comfortable, just the seats on the Welland and St.Catharines units are not, make me stiff when i get up.
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  • 4 months later...

Some news on NRT from the St.Catharines Standard.

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2012/12/10/riders-up-revenue-sluggish-for-region-transit

The riders continue to come for Niagara Region Transit, but the dollars, not so much.

The inter-city bus line hit 13,430 riders in September as thousands of students wielding U-passes piled aboard for the new semester. That’s a big jump from its start last autumn, when it drew 4,641 riders in October - its first full month.

But the Region still expects to fall short of its $651,000 revenue goal. A report received by regional council last week figures the system will rake in $460,000 once the year is done.’’

“Nobody likes to lose money,” said Regional Chair Gary Burroughs. “But we do a lot of things that cost the Region money for the betterment of the residents of Niagara.”

Burroughs said the pilot project, which is set for a three-year term, has shown it has a part to play.

“I think what is being established is the inter-municipal part of the service is needed in the community,” he said.

Though ridership is climbing, revenues stayed stagnant from the second quarter of 2012 to the third. They climbed just 2% because more riders used student U-passes and fewer than expected bought multi-ride passes.

At the start of the year the system was getting 69% fewer riders than expected and 59% less cash. That’s improved to 56% fewer riders and 38% less money.

“I’ll be honest with you. I couldn’t expect any more,” said Grimsby Coun. Debbie Zimmerman, an early transit proponent.

Beyond September, she said, the Region saw 13,302 riders in October, but that jumped to 15,220 in November. The system has also crossed the 100,000-rider threshold.

Ridership dropped off a bit in the summer but picked up again as students returned with their passes.

“This is not unusual. All transit systems experience this,” said Kumar Ranjan, the Region’s associate transportation director.

The system’s first year has shown that connectivity with local bus lines is an issue, he said. So is finding space for the buses at parking areas.

He said revenue is growing but “we’re still not there yet.

“The fact that it keeps growing month over month gives us hope that the system is coming.”

Zimmerman figured combining Niagara’s bus lines into one system could close the rider and revenue gap.

“You’ve got parallel systems running. You need to integrate these systems,” she said. “The only way you’re going to see the true benefits of transit is if it’s integrated.

“Why not a Niagara regional transit structure? Why not?”

Port Colborne Mayor Vance Badawey said the Region needs to look into having one bus system. Once it’s there, “it’ll simply grow and grow. It’ll grow even more,” he said.

He said the system’s early ridership and cash struggles weren’t unexpected.

“It’s growing pains,” he said.

“It goes without saying with many services that government provides. And yet, they’re still essential.”

Badawey figured the political will exists for the triple majority vote required for the Region to run transit itself. At the moment it’s the responsibility of the local municipalities, and the Region’s system is actually run by transit providers in St. Catharines, Welland and Niagara Falls.

Changing that would mean winning the votes of a majority of regional councillors plus a majority of local councils representing a majority of voters in the last election.

Burroughs said a triple majority isn’t achievable. He figured many communities in Niagara would have misgivings.

Transit is still critical, he said.

“The fact that there is service needed in Niagara, I think this pilot is starting to show it.”

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  • 7 months later...

I'm sorry to say, NRT has been an unmitigated disaster. What they should have done was routed it correctly (make a stop in Brock, despite "competition" from the municipal systems) and not charged people $6 for one fare. It should have been a uniform fare agreed on by all three cities (and Fort Erie). Also, schedule the Fort Erie bus to try and eliminate the five hour gap between trips.

As nice as it was to see an Orion VII in St Catharines and Welland or New Flyer Xcelsior in Niagara Falls, most of these buses were completely empty. Unfortunately, decent ridership has not been and probably will never be achieved.

Also, NRT does not run the Port Colborne Link. Don't advertise it as such, as the cutaways it runs with don't have Regional decals.

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I'm sorry to say, NRT has been an unmitigated disaster. What they should have done was routed it correctly (make a stop in Brock, despite "competition" from the municipal systems) and not charged people $6 for one fare. It should have been a uniform fare agreed on by all three cities (and Fort Erie). Also, schedule the Fort Erie bus to try and eliminate the five hour gap between trips.

As nice as it was to see an Orion VII in St Catharines and Welland or New Flyer Xcelsior in Niagara Falls, most of these buses were completely empty. Unfortunately, decent ridership has not been and probably will never be achieved.

Also, NRT does not run the Port Colborne Link. Don't advertise it as such, as the cutaways it runs with don't have Regional decals.

I have to agree, and to also mention that you can't transfer from a municipal bus to a regional, that will also contribute to the eventual demise in my opinion.

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I have to agree, and to also mention that you can't transfer from a municipal bus to a regional, that will also contribute to the eventual demise in my opinion.

I thought that this transfer was possible. I sent an e-mail to the Region of Niagara about a year ago and they stated that you just pay the higher fare on the local transit bus and then they will give you a transfer to get on the Regional bus.

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Well, to be specific, I had a 10-ride card which of course, allows 10 rides with St.Catharines. I did ask one operator that even with one, you can't ride the regional service as the fareboxes on NRT are those used with Niagara Falls Transit. It is one problem that I believe will contribute to the end of this system.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 6 months later...

If people do want to shop nearby, otherwise it's crossing to the other side of the border!

Im thinking more tourist who come to the Canadian side of Niagara and are not from the USA, lots of times depending on the country they are from they would need another visa if they left Canada to go to the USA then returned back to Canada.

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  • 1 month later...

I was informed by a Niagara Falls operator this morning, that as of July 2nd, the 50/55 will no longer go to the bus terminal at Bridge Street. A stop at the Outlet Collection in N.O.T.L. will be added and the route will run from the St.Catharines bus terminal to the Target Plaza.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yup, I saw a posting on the region's website about the changes to 50/55 to include the Outlet mall! Quite pleased with that, as a transit rider. However, I have to wait until September to use my UPASS with it to really take advantage of it. $12 round trip to and from the mall is a bit steep in my opinion. I wish they would just amalgamate into a regional system with a comprehensive regional pass so I could just buy that and be covered without having to be in school. I bet it would be popular with everyone!

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Yup, I saw a posting on the region's website about the changes to 50/55 to include the Outlet mall! Quite pleased with that, as a transit rider. However, I have to wait until September to use my UPASS with it to really take advantage of it. $12 round trip to and from the mall is a bit steep in my opinion. I wish they would just amalgamate into a regional system with a comprehensive regional pass so I could just buy that and be covered without having to be in school. I bet it would be popular with everyone!

The Region would have to get into funding the system better before that can happen.

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