Almost everyone who rides GO Transit buses or trains should carefully check their schedules, before setting out to the station or bus stop, starting Saturday, April 3.
The Toronto Star reports that, for the first time in 40 years, GO is revising all of its schedules to better reflect real trip times and to respond to an increasing number or riders. GO is adjusting the times of about 40 train trips by one to eight minutes — three minutes on average.
GO’s ridership has grown from about 36 million passengers in 1998 to about 55 million each year. More riders means trains have to stop longer as passengers board and exit. GO is also operating longer, 12-car trains on the Milton route and expects to operate 12-car trains on half of the Lakeshore trains later this fall, after it finishes its project to build a third set of tracks along the lines. Longer trains mean more people getting on and off the trains and that means trains need more time at each station.
In some cases, passengers gain more service, such as an extra Monday-to-Friday morning rush hour train between Oshawa and Union Stations.
But, in many cases, that also means less service for passengers. We already posted information about less service along Yonge Street. GO is also canceling bus service midday Mondays to Fridays between Old Cummer and Union Station, midday train service between Bramalea and Union, and service seven days a week between Toronto Pearson International Airport and Square One.
GO says it’s only canceling the midday trains on the Georgetown line from Bramalea temporarily to allow work crews better access to the tracks. (GO is expanding the corridor to accommodate future all-day, two-way service and service to the Airport. Twenty-two buses will replace those trains.)
GO is encouraging commuters who are losing their regular service to use local transit agencies to travel.
Transit Toronto will publish full details closer to April 3. In the meantime, GO has published a summary of the changes here.
From the Transit Toronto Newspaper Article Clippings Archive, read:
- Toronto Star article, “GO adjusts schedule to reflect real trip times”, here.
- GO Transit news release, “GO Transit making changes to meet increased demand”, here.
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