GO ridership from Kitchener jumps 40 per cent, Metrolinx report says

The number of people boarding GO trains and buses in Kitchener has jumped 40 per cent between April and December of 2019, a new report from Metrolinx says.

In a blog post, Metrolinx says there has been record-breaking ridership numbers for GO Transit. A full report is expected to be presented at the Metrolinx board meeting on Thursday.

In Kitchener, the average daily ridership is 328 people. Between April and December 2019, there were more than 64,000 riders.

As well, Guelph saw an increase of 20 per cent of riders during the same time period while Acton, the next stop on the line, saw a 15 per cent jump.

Metrolinx said the increase of ridership is due largely to increased offerings both during rush hour and at other times of the day. In September 2019, Metrolinx added 84 more weekly trips to the line.

Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster says he's not surprised by the increase.

"I've always said very publicly it's one of my three or four top objectives to increase GO services along the Kitchener corridor because that corridor is so economically important for the region," he said. "There's huge demand."

Need for trains 'can't be denied'

Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworsky says he hopes these numbers will encourage Metrolinx to invest more on the Kitchener GO line.

"I think the need for all-day, two-way GO train service to Kitchener-Waterloo can't be denied," he said. "I think that these growth numbers certainly show that if you build it, they will come."

The increase in ridership, plus news from Statistics Canada that shows the census metropolitan area of Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge is the fastest-growing in the country, shows just how much need there is for the service, he said.

Jaworsky says he believes the numbers also reflect the economic benefits of investing in the line and that having two-way, all-day GO trains will benefit both Toronto and Waterloo region.

The numbers show "if you build it, they will come," he said.

"The more that they build, the quicker that they can get it done, the sooner we can all see even more benefits."

An email from Metrolinx media relations to CBC Kitchener-Waterloo said that Metrolinx "continues to target 2025 as the start date for two-way, all-day service." A new timeline for two-way, all-day GO was also approved by the Metrolinx board in November and it says the goal is to have service by 2025.

But Vesper would not confirm that date and said they are not publicly giving a date for the start of service.

He said they can't give a date because there are contracts that need to be approved and awarded to do work along the corridor.

"There's no way we can confirm a date at this stage but rest assured we're targeting a date as soon as possible," he said.