Peterborough Transit

Peterborough Transit

File:Peterborough Transit Logo.png
250px
Founded	1978 (Originally 1893)
Headquarters	190 Simcoe Street
Locale	Peterborough, Ontario
Service area	Urban area
Service type	Bus service, Paratransit
Routes	12 main routes, 3 express routes
Hubs	Downtown Transit Terminal
Fleet	47 buses
Fuel type	Diesel
Operator	City of Peterborough
Website	Official Site

Peterborough Transit is the public transport operator for the City of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.

The majority of their system consists of twelve regular routes within the urban area of the city. There are express routes to both Trent University and Fleming College. An additional express route, which only operates weekday mornings and afternoons, serves the industrial area in the southeast. For those who are physically unable to use the regular transit bus there is a special Handi-Van paratransit service. Regular transit bus routes operate Monday to Friday between 6:00 am and 11:20 pm, Saturday from 6:40 am to 11:20 pm and Sunday from 8:00 am to 7:20 pm. The new mayor, Daryl Bennett, owner of Capitol Taxi, proposed changes that would result in the cancellation of Saturday service after 6:00 pm. However, on January 31, 2011. Peterborough city council voted against these transit cuts because of the overwhelming number of complaints from residents,and because of the perceived conflict of interest for the mayor.

History

Transit originally began in Peterborough as a streetcar service with the Peterborough and Ashburnham Street Railway Company, which was established in 1893 and operated until 1898. This was followed by the Peterborough Radial Railway Company, which operated from 1902 until 1927. This ended the streetcar era in Peterborough.

Cooney and Joplin was briefly the only transit company in the city during 1927 after the Peterborough Radial Railway Company ceased operations. Later during 1927, Border Transit Limited started. They operated through until 1978 at which point the present day Peterborough Transit began operations and continues today.

Routes

Peterborough Transit Terminal
File:Peterborough Transit terminal in 2008.jpg
Location	190 Simcoe St., Peterborough, ON
Coordinates
Owned by	City of Peterborough
Bus operators	Peterborough Transit GO Transit
Other information
Station code	GO Transit: PETB
Fare zone	30

There are twelve main routes, two Trent Express routes, a Fleming Express route and paratransit service.

Main routes

All core routes operate 7 days a week at 40 minute headways. Each of these routes terminates at the Peterborough Transit Terminal, which is at the intersection of Simcoe Street and Aylmer Street in the downtown area.

Regular Routes
No.	Name	Terminus	Other Destinations Served
1	George North	Trent University	Northcrest Plaza
2	Chemong	Chemong & Milroy	Northcrest Plaza
3	Highland	Portage Plaza	Brookdale Plaza
4	Jackson Park	Glenforest & Weller	Peterborough Regional Health Centre
5	Charlotte	Lansdowne & The Parkway	Peterborough Regional Health Centre
6	SSFC/Kawartha	Sir Sandford Fleming College
7	Lansdowne	Sir Sandford Fleming College	Lansdowne Plaza
8	Monaghan	Monaghan & Crawford	Lansdowne Plaza
9	Nicholls Park	Armour & Nassau Mills
10	Collison	Collison & Bensfort	Market Plaza
11	Ashburnham	Willowcreek Plaza
12	Major Bennett	Major Bennett & Jameson	Lansdowne Plaza, Market Plaza

Trent University Express Routes

File:Peterborough Transit Trent Express East Bank.jpg

Peterborough Transit bus 14 on Trent Express East Bank service.

Trent University routes connect the school with downtown and run at 10-minute headways daily during the Fall and Spring semesters, with reduced service during breaks and the Summer semester. The service is directly paid for by the students through their tuition fees.

Trent Express Routes
Name	Terminus
Trent East Bank Express	Otanabee Residences
Trent West Bank Express	Bata Library

Other express routes

The Technology Drive route operates during the weekday rush year round. The Fleming College route operates during the weekday rush only when school is in session. Both routes terminate in downtown

Express Routes
Name	Terminus
Sir Sanford Fleming Express	Fleming College
Technology Drive	Ashburnham & Technology

Fares

Age group	Individual Fare	10 Ride Card	30 Day Pass
Children (Under 2)	Free	n/a	n/a
Children (Ages 2–12)	$2.50	$22.00	$40.00
Students in secondary school	$2.50	$22.00	$55.00
Adults and post-secondary	$2.50	$22.00	$60.00
Seniors (65 years of age and older)	$2.50	$22.00	$40.00

Sir Sandford students must pay $200.00 for a semester pass, while Trent students have the cost paid for in their student interest fees. In addition, a new day pass has been created allowing up to two adults and four children unlimited rides for a day, this pass is $8.00. There's also a fare for their "TransCab", which is for people with; wheelchairs, scooters, etc. the fare is $3.00 per trip.

Fleet

Make	Model	Quantity	Notes
General Motors	Classic	1
Nova Bus	LFS	36
Motor Coach Industries	Classic	8
Ontario Bus Industries	Orion VI	4
Leased buses		6

Criticisms

Many Peterborough Transit riders have criticized buses for being repeatedly late. Since 2005, Peterborough Transit has been slowly implementing changes to improve bus schedules. In 2006, buses began running every 40 minutes, rather than every 30 minutes, since buses would often run every 35–45 minutes anyway. This way, buses could at least meet their schedules.

Peterborough Transit is also frequently criticized for not having buses run late enough. During weekdays, the last bus departs from the terminal at 10:40, even though many riders need buses until around 1:00 am. Until recently, they were also criticized for not offering Sunday service, a problem that was fixed in 2006.

See also

• Coach Canada
• Greyhound Canada

External links

• Peterborough Transit
• Drawings and photos of Peterborough Transit buses
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons