Sunday, August 24, 2008

Bolton wants to "Get on the GO"

A letter in the Caledon Enterprise, combined with some conversations with the author of the letter has left me thinking about the Bolton GO bus service. There's no doubt that this improvement is revolutionary for Caledon, and aside from the fact that a stop at the main intersection of Bolton was left out for no good reason, I don't have any issues with the bus in Caledon. Michael Chobrok's criticsm (which I back) lies with the bus' route once it crosses into Brampton.

The Bolton via Highway 50 GO Bus connects to Malton GO station, where passengers can transfer to the Georgetown line trains. But, why is this connection at Malton? Why not move the connection to Bramalea GO station? In my opinion, the benefits are clear:
  • Bramalea offers transfers to buses going to York U, Finch Terminal, Square one and points west, while Malton offers no GO bus connections.
  • Bramalea offers a full complement of Brampton Transit buses in the terminal, and the connecting fare is only 50 cents. At Malton, connecting passengers have to pay full fare and have to walk to the street.
  • Bramalea's ticket counter has longer hours, and has indoor waiting areas even after the station is closed. Malton station closes after the rush hour. 
  • There would be no noticeable decrease in service though Malton, as Mississauga Transit services would pick up the slack. 
  • The increase in travel times from Bolton to Union Station would increase by 120 seconds, based on time time it take for the Brampton-Highway 27 GO bus takes to cover almost the same stretch.
From my point of view, making this change makes sense. I'm very glad to see there are others in Caledon who have an interest in improving transit in the town, and I Michael Chobrok all the best in his studies. To his cause, I offer this google map.

The bus saves 3 minutes by running to Bramalea, so it will have to depart Bolton 2 minutes earlier to meet the train which departs 5 minutes earlier. In my humble opinion, I don't think such a schedule change is a "disastrous scheduling problem."

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