THE NITTY-GRITTY ON WATERLOO’S LRT
LRT plan Stage 1 — 19-kilometre LRT with 16 stops to open between Kitchener and Waterloo in late 2017. Stage 2 — LRT will be extended by 17 kilometres when the Cambridge bus rapid transit (BRT) is converted to LRT. The region is just beginning the provincially mandated assessment process. It hopes to have it complete by 2017. It must also complete a business case to apply for federal and provincial funding. Bus Rapid Transit Opened in September, the six-stop BRT connects the Cambridge transit terminal with the Fairview Park Mall terminal in Kitchener with comfortable “coach style” buses. 58,246: Ridership in September 72,642: Ridership in October What’s in the name? ION comes from the Greek eimi or go “An atom, molecule, or group that has lost one or more electrons or gained one or more electrons” — The Canadian Oxford Dictionary Also part of the word “regION” Service Every eight minutes during the morning and afternoon rush and every 10 to 15 minutes the rest of the day.
Once ridership matures, it’s likely fre- quencies will increase to five-minute service.
A trip between the two terminus points of Conestoga Mall and Fairview Park Mall will take about 40 minutes. The LRT won’t initially shorten the trip much but it is expected to be more reliable because it runs in its own lane separated from traffic. The vehicles The light rail vehicles (LRV) are similar to the air-conditioned, low-floor Bombardier models that will furnish Toronto’s Eglinton and Finch LRTs. The LRVs can be joined together in trains. Waterloo officials are keeping an eye on the Bombardier production issues that are affecting delivery times on the TTC’s new low-floor streetcars. 165: Number of people who can comfortably ride each LRV. 200: Maximum number of people who can squeeze in. The money $818 million: Cost of Phase 1 construction ($253 million from the region; $300 million from the province; $265 million from Ottawa). $29.9 million: Approximate annual value of 30-year operations and maintenance contract with a private consortium, GrandLinq. $1 million: Amount region is investing each year for 10 years to build BRT ridership and encourage transit-oriented development along that route.