ION Light Rail Transit

This weekend, Kitchener-Waterloo's ION Light Rail Transit system has been made available for public transportation. This is a project that has been in development since I moved to Kitchener. So, at least seven years, with millions of dollars having been put into it. I'm sure I've complained on this blog about constant detours on bus routes due to construction.

Our traditional bus schedule will be available this weekend, as well as having the LRT running. This Monday though, all the bus schedules will be adjusted to accommodate the LRT. For two weeks, all transit costs are free.

Things I like about the new system:

-I appreciate that the city is making such an investment towards people who do no have access to a vehicle

-The new trains show up more frequently than the buses did, which means I don't have to worry about missing a bus

They run far more smoothly than a bus does

-Free WiFi on trains

-Slightly faster travel times

-The trains look kind of cool, I guess

Things I don't like about them:

-There is a station near where I live. Every time a train is approaching, it has to alert traffic to stop by going DINGDINGDINGDINGDING. I can barely stand to spend time in my backyard anymore

-They have barely any seating

-They're super narrow. I saw a couple of people miss several stops in a row because they couldn't get off the bus due to crowding. I managed to get a seat once. It was one of those situations where seats are facing each other. The only way me and a fellow passenger could fit was by playing Tetris with our legs, with each of us having a knee pointed to the others crotch. Violating my personal bubble space by a good degree

- On a bus, the driver can keep the bus from moving if he notices a passenger struggling, and the passenger can keep the bus from moving by keeping the motion-sensor on the door active. On the LRT, you get off or you can'

-I'm going to have to walk like ten minutes to the nearest stop, and then ten minutes from the place I get off to my work. This will work for me, but leaving this as the only option for somebody with a mobility issue?

-They're closing Charles Street Terminal, which was a building with overpasses and roads running through it, with most of KW's buses having stops there. It had an information booth, a restaurant, a bar, and a Greyhound station as well. It is being replaced by Central Station, which is a strip of road with only two bus stops, which is supposed to cover basically every bus in KW.

-I have no idea how they're going to verify payment to board the trains. They have machines where you can purchase bus passes and tap your card to verify payment, but what's stopping someone from boarding the train without tapping?

Now let's look at some time details

I made it from Fairview Station to Block Line (local mall to home) in 2 minutes. The bus would have taken 5.

I made it from Fairview to Central Station, my new work stop, in 24 minutes. Subtracting the 2 minutes it takes to get from Fairview to Block Line, this means I will be spending 22 minutes on transit instead of 30 (but like, plus 20 minutes walking)

To get to University of Waterloo was about 35 minutes, so that saves about 15 minutes, reflecting on  my time there.

To get to Conestoga Mall (furthest destination from place it starts) is 50 minutes. I think it took like an hour otherwise, so saves ten minutes.

Conclusion

The Light Rail sucks. It's far less accessible, far less comfortable due to how narrow it is, the lack of seating, and how close seating is.  It feels like people will be able to cheat the system by boarding without money. It contributes to noise (because of the dinging sound)

It feels like we made a big investment to be like Toronto, but wow, we weren't ready for it. One stupid, cramped, slow train, isn't going to put us on the map, apparently