Or how you’ll learn to stop worrying and love the bus
Guelph Transit is one of the most useful services commuting students can access. It’s cheaper than taking a taxi, and students of the University of Guelph have access to transit through an additional cost included in tuition.
At U of G, the price of the bus pass is included in student’s tuition. The price of the pass currently sits at just over $100 for the semester. While $100 may seem like a lot of money, the other option is for students to apply for the City of Guelph’s adult bus pass. The regular adult pass currently costs $80 a month, so it turns out that students are really getting the best deal possible when it comes to using public transit.
After harrowing bureaucratic negotiations last year between the Central Student Association and Guelph Transit, and a campus-wide vote potentially threatening the continuation of the transit fee, the Universal Bus Pass (U-Pass) sticker will continue to appear on thousands of student cards.
Many students will be coming from small towns where transit systems are impractical or non-existent. Others will be coming from bigger cities like Toronto, the Metropolis of Canada. Regardless of where you’re from, there are some basic guidelines to riding the Guelph Transit system.
Here are some tips, tricks, and twists to make riding the bus in Guelph a breeze.
You can find maps of each bus route on Guelph Transit’s website. If you ever want to know where you’re going or what bus to take, it is beyond helpful to Google your destination before hand. It’s always better to have an idea of where you will be going than guessing. If you are in a pinch and do not have access to the internet, Guelph Transit drivers are highly knowledgeable about the layout of the city and will be able to help you find out where you’re going. All you need to do is ask.
When you get on the bus, move to the back. It might sound funny, but it makes everyone’s life easier if you make room for your fellow students and Guelph natives who may not want to push through a crowd of people to find space.
Always yield the accessibility seats to people who need them—pregnant women, elderly folk, people with disabilities, or anyone else who may need the seat. Using a public service is not like getting in mom’s van. You need to make sure you are aware of everyone around you.
When you arrive at your stop and need to get off, do not push on the back doors. The doors at the back are motion sensitive, just hold your hand near them when the green light goes on. These doors are also the doors you should use to exit the bus when you can. If you try exiting through the front door when other people are getting on, you can slow down the bus route and make other people wait longer.
There are two main hubs for the transit system in Guelph: the University Centre and the downtown bus loop. At each of the locations the bus stops are numbered, but they do not follow an intuitive design pattern. For example, at the bus loop in front of the University Centre, the numbers on the signs will not correspond to the bus parked beside them, instead the busses tend to stop in an order that makes them the most useful. The busses closest to the University Centre are the express busses (50, 56, 57, 58). The express busses only run during the fall and winter semesters and are designed to specifically service the university.
The numbers for the downtown bus loop right next to Guelph Central Station also do not correspond to the busses that stop at them, however, all of the busses that will take you back to the university tend to stop in one area towards the far end of the platform.
Some students have found that the bus routes they use are highly crowded or the bus is often later than the time listed on the sign. While trying to use the transit system outside of campus, it is worth remembering that busses, just like any other vehicle are susceptible to stoplights and traffic and cannot always be precisely on-time.
Routes like the 5 that goes up and down Gordon St. have become very crowded in recent years. Always make sure you know where a secondary bus stop is, and leave enough time to get to school. If the bus drives by you ten minutes before a big test, you could be in trouble.
Lastly, always remember to thank the driver. It may be a small thing, but everyone appreciates being recognized for their work. Even if you’ve never seen the driver before, a simple “thank you” goes a long way. Plus, it’s the Gryphon way.