Proposed Guelph Transit Route Review Changes

Summary

The route review was approved by Guelph City Council as part of the Guelph Transit Business Service Review recommendations in 2019.

It looked at individual routes and frequency to meet current and future customer needs.
It identified potential opportunities to move from its current system that requires customers to transfer buses at a central hub to a more grid-like system with direct routes.

The route review outcomes were informed by data collection (e.g. ridership and stop activity data, and route-by-route on-time performance), industry best practices, and employee and public input.

The proposed transit system is a blended model that includes transit hubs, express routes, and routes that follow the city’s spine in a grid pattern as well as outer perimeter. It’s designed to get people to where they want to go with more route types (e.g. core, base, university express, on-demand, and industrial express), faster travel times, frequent service, and service reliability. Read the full Summary Document here.

Learn more about the proposed route changes

Watch an 8 minute video(External link) explaining how Guelph Transit got to this proposal and how to find the route details you are looking for.
Read the summary document to get a high-level idea of the changes being proposed
Read a more detailed Proposed Transit System document (330 pages) to find all of route-by-route and year-by-year details, including propose changes to routes and schedules.
Read a condensed version of the Proposed Transit System document focusing only on the proposed changes each year.
Explore the proposed routes by year in the interactive map (also posted below)
Attend one of two virtual town halls to learn from the Guelph Transit project leads directly (see the details below)
Check the FAQ page here to see if your question has been answered
Have a question not answered in the FAQ page, you can ask Guelph Transit here.

Year-by-Year Summary with links to Maps and Schedules

Below we breakdown the route-by-route and year-by-year details, including links to proposed changes to routes, schedules, and maps.

Year 1 Changes (Summary and Map)

Reinstate pre-COVID service levels with some modifications
Replace Hanlon on-demand service with conventional service Route 16 Southgate and Route 19 Hanlon Creek, if warranted
Merge Route 50U Stone, 51U Janefield, and 57U Ironwood into new Route 50U Scottsdale
Do not reinstate Route 40 Scottsdale Express.
Schedule Changes to Route 56U Colonial, Route 58U Edinburgh, and Route 99 Mainline.

Year 2 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Increase weekday midday frequency (increase from 30 minutes to 20 minutes) on Route 10 Imperial, 12 General Hospital, and 13 Victoria Road Recreation Centre.
Implement Route 3 Westmount new routing (now serves Walmart/North Hub) and modified schedule. (Saturday Service adjusted to match Sunday Service of 9:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.)
Increase Route 99 Mainline peak frequency (9 minutes or better) and Sunday service hours (7:15 a.m. to 10:15p.m.)
Reduce Route 99 Mainline evening frequency (reduced from every 10 minutes to every 20 minutes)
Minor late night/early morning reductions on Route 1 Edinburgh College, (Saturday Service changed to 9:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.) 3 Westmount (Saturday Service changed to 9:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.) and 7 Kortright Downey (Saturday Service changed to 7:15 a.m. to 10:15 p.m.) (Note: Normal Saturday service is 5:45 a.m. to 12:15 a.m.)
Split Route 16 Southgate into an A and B branch (16B extended down Southgate to dead end) Note: Route 16B only runs during a.m. and p.m. shift changes. When running, the 16B branch runs every other trip.

Year 3 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Implement new Route 98 Speedvale short-turn (Serves entire length of Speedvale with stops at West-end Rec. Centre and Guelph Centre Station (Scheduled for Monday to Saturday 5:45 a.m. to 12:15 a.m and Sunday 7:15a.m. to 10:15p.m.)
Implement Route 12 General Hospital new routing (now serving Inverness Drive and Wideman Boulevard replacing Route 17)
Implement Route 13 Victoria Road Recreation Centre new bi-directional routing (bus travels in both directions on a simpler more straight route.)
Remove Route 17 Woodlawn Watson from Inverness Drive and Wideman Boulevard (Route 12 General Hospital now services area)
Shift Route 20 Northwest Industrial from Marksam Road to Silvercreek Pkwy N.

Year 4 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Increase weekday daytime frequency on Route 8 Stone Road Mall (Every 20 minutes during day)
Increase weekday daytime frequency on Route 20 Northwest Industrial (Every 20 minutes during day)

Year 5 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Implement Route 98 Speedvale final routing
Connects at Elmira Road North and Paisley Road Hub.
Combine Route 17 Woodlawn Watson and Route 18 Watson Woodlawn into new Route 18 Watson Woodlawn
From University Centre via East Side of Guelph, and end at Smart Centres Walmart (North) Transit Hub.
Implement new Route 17 Fife (travels between hub at Elmira and Paisley to Stone Road Mall Transit Hub)
Discontinue Route 20 Northwest Industrial (Replacements below)
Implement new Route 20 Wellington-Imperial, 21 Willow, and 22 Curtis to replace Route 20 Northwest Industrial.
Runs every 30 minutes everyday Previous Route 20 was 20 minutes day and 30 minutes night).
Route 20 and 21 starts from from Guelph Central Station.
Route 22 starts from SmartCentres (Walmart) North Hub.

Year 6 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Implement Route 4 York new routing and scheduling (Every 20 minutes on Saturday Daytime)
Implement new Route 24 Stone
New Route runs both directions between Stone Road Mall Hub along Stone to University Centre and New Guelph Transit Headquarters (Connection with Route 4).
Monday to Friday: Every 20 minutes, Evenings every 30 minutes
Saturday: Every 20 minutes Daytime, Every 30 Evenings
Sunday: Every 30 minutes

Year 7 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Implement Route 9 Waterloo Silvercreek new routing
Now Serving Silvercreek Parking South (behind Manor)
Implement new Route 10 Paisley
Rename Route 11 Willow West to Route 11 Edinburgh
Remove Route 11 Edinburgh from Silvercreek Pkwy and extend to Woodlawn Smart Centre North Hub.

Year 8 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Implement Route 7 Kortright Downey new routing
No longer uses Gordon, continues on Kortright to Victoria Road and then University Centre.
Implement Route 13 Eastview Watson final routing
Implement Route 23 Watson Eastview final routing
Implement Route 59U Gordon Express new routing and increased frequency (Every 15 minutes and extended to South End Hub)
Rename Route 18 Watson Woodlawn to Route 18 Victoria
Remove Route 18 Victoria from Eastivew, Watson and York (Route 13 now serves those roads)

Year 9 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Combine Route 1 Edinburgh College, Route 2 College Edinburgh, and Route 11 Edinburgh into new Route 97 Edinburgh (Monday to Saturday 5:45 a.m. to 12:15 a.m. and Sunday 7:15 a.m. to 10:15 p.m.)
Convert Route 18 Victoria to Route 96 Victoria that continues to the South end (Monday to Saturday 5:45 a.m. to 12:15 a.m. and Sunday 7:15 a.m. to 10:15 p.m.)
Implement Route 5 Goodwin new routing (No longer goes to University Centre)
Discontinue Route 16A, making 16B the sole routing
Implement new Route 25 College Stone

Year 10 Changes (Summary and System Map)

Implement Route 5 Goodwin final routing
Implement Route 16 Southgate final routing
Implement Route 19 Hanlon Creek final routing
Implement Route 96 Victoria final routing
Implement Route 97 Edinburgh final routing
Implement Route 99 Mainline new routing

For the Year 10 Changes, final routing is to the new South End Tranait Hub in the Clair - Maltby Subdivision.

Condensed Proposed Transit System Document

All of the routes are detailed in the Transit Route Review: Proposed Transit System document (330 pages). We have created a condensed version highlighting the route changes each year as mentioned above.

Interactive Route Map

All of the routes are detailed in the Transit Route Review: Proposed Transit System document (330 pages), but in this section you can explore the transit system by each year as the changes Guelph Transit have proposed would be completed.

Use the menu button in the top left to show the list of map layers - Each of the 10 year plan has its own layer.
Click through each year to see how the proposed route changes would look.
Zoom in to see details like street names and businesses located along each route.
You can also click on individual routes within each year (either from the layer list list or by clicking on the coloured route lines) to show more information about the route and any changes occurring in that given year.

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=14jApjXh6-Mz3OrnlIrVlFE4Ad6mmDYIp&w=640&h=480]

Let Guelph Transit know what you think about their proposed plan on the survey or ask questions to Guelph Transit using the Q&A tool.

Full System Map (Year 10)

Have your say about these proposals

Tell Guelph Transit what they did right, what you like, if there’s something they overlooked, if something doesn’t quite work, or if something in the proposed transit system or implementation plan is going to cause you a lot of headache.

Take the survey online

View the interactive map, explore route by route, year by year, watch the video presentation, ask questions, and take the survey at haveyoursay.guelph.ca. Emailing transit@guelph.ca(External link) or calling 519-822-1811 are also options for providing input.

Attend a virtual town hall

Guelph Transit will be hosting two virtual town halls to share and discuss the proposed transit system and implementation plan.

Tuesday, June 8, 7–8:30 p.m.(External link)
Watch online using WebEx(External link) (password is transit), the City website(External link) or our Facebook page(External link).
Dial in at 1-416-216-5643 (access code: 173 453 0154)

Wednesday, June 16, 7–8:30 p.m.(External link)
Watch online using WebEx(External link) (password is transit), the City website(External link) or our Facebook page(External link).
Dial in at 1-416-216-5643 (access code: 173 538 0842)

What TAAG Membership is looking for

The Transit Action Alliance of Guelph is looking for the implementation of key themes from the Essential Elements to Good Transit, the Guide to a more frequent, affordable, and accessible transit system and our three priorities frequency, accessibility, and affordability.

The Board of Directors will be releasing its response to the proposed plan in the coming days. In the meantime, we invite Guelphites (riders, supporters, businesses, non profits etc.) interested in helping make transit accessible, affordable, and frequent to consider becoming a member.

Stay tuned! Join TAAG for a discussion around Transit including the Transportation Master Plan, the Route Review, the upcoming Transit Master Plan, Regional Transit, and other transit matters in general at one of our future online events and/or meetings. Sign up for details here or subscribe to our twice a month newsletter, On the Move, here.

Let Guelph Transit know what you think about their proposed plan on the survey or ask questions to Guelph Transit using the Q&A tool.

Have your voice heard. Your involvement can make a real difference. Whether it’s through volunteering, advocacy, or simply spreading the word, your contribution is valuable. Be a part of something bigger.