Charles St. Transit Terminal
Encyclopedia
The Charles St. Transit Terminal at 15 Charles Street West in Kitchener
, Ontario
, Canada
is the main bus station
and downtown hub for local Grand River Transit
(GRT) bus services for Kitchener and Waterloo
. This terminal is also used by a number of intercity operators, including Greyhound, GO Transit
, Coach Canada
and Aboutown.
It is the largest public service facility run by GRT, with the Cambridge Ainslie Street terminal
being the only other staffed bus station.
The primary structure contains this desk, plus washrooms and administrative space on the upper level; the lower level contains both a licensed restaurant and walk-in cafe, plus an ATM. Access between the floors is by either escalator or elevator. Access to the GRT platforms from the entry structure is by an enclosed, elevated walkway; each of the two paired platform groups have a 'pod' containing stairwells and an elevator, which also serve as enclosed, climate-controlled waiting space for passengers.
which would decentralize bus routes and require fewer platforms at a single downtown location; and second, the plan to build a multi-modal hub at King and Victoria streets to handle train, bus, and rapid-transit services (this would also likely make the railway station redundant). No timeline has been indicated on any such change, to date.
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is the main bus station
Bus station
A bus station is a structure where city or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. It is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can stop...
and downtown hub for local Grand River Transit
Grand River Transit
Grand River Transit, or GRT, is the public transport operator for the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It operates daily bus services in the region, primarily in the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge....
(GRT) bus services for Kitchener and Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
. This terminal is also used by a number of intercity operators, including Greyhound, GO Transit
GO Transit
GO Transit is an inter-regional public transit system in Southern Ontario, Canada. It primarily serves the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area conurbation, with operations extending to several communities beyond the GTHA proper in the Greater Golden Horseshoe...
, Coach Canada
Coach Canada
Coach Canada is the Canadian affiliate of Coach USA, and part of the North American operations of Stagecoach, the international transport group, with its headquarters in Perth, Scotland, UK....
and Aboutown.
It is the largest public service facility run by GRT, with the Cambridge Ainslie Street terminal
Ainslie St. Transit Terminal
Ainslie St. Transit Terminal is the main hub for local Grand River Transit bus services in Cambridge, Ontario. It was built as a replacement for the Mill Street Terminal, in response to a 1988 report, commissioned by the city, which concluded that the existing facilities were totally inadequate and...
being the only other staffed bus station.
History
The building was completed in 1988 by the City of Kitchener, which operated Kitchener Transit, GRT's forerunner, at the time. It replaced a facility at Duke and Scott streets, which had become overcrowded. Ownership has since transferred to the Region of Waterloo, GRT's operator.Facilities
Though served by Greyhound Canada, this is no longer their main ticketing location for the community; a commuter lot on Sportsworld Drive houses their primary customer service desk. A single ticketing agent with a portable device handles sales outdoors on the intercity platform during service hours. All other intercity operators are handled by the GRT desk indoors, on the upper level.The primary structure contains this desk, plus washrooms and administrative space on the upper level; the lower level contains both a licensed restaurant and walk-in cafe, plus an ATM. Access between the floors is by either escalator or elevator. Access to the GRT platforms from the entry structure is by an enclosed, elevated walkway; each of the two paired platform groups have a 'pod' containing stairwells and an elevator, which also serve as enclosed, climate-controlled waiting space for passengers.
Future
The possibility of the Charles St. Terminal becoming redundant in the near future has been broached by a pair of Regional plans: first, on implementation of a rapid-transit backboneRapid transit in Waterloo Region
Work has begun on the introduction of rapid transit service in the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, as an enhancement to Grand River Transit. As of 2009, an Environmental Assessment was underway to create a proposal of light rail though Kitchener and Waterloo, and adapted bus rapid transit through...
which would decentralize bus routes and require fewer platforms at a single downtown location; and second, the plan to build a multi-modal hub at King and Victoria streets to handle train, bus, and rapid-transit services (this would also likely make the railway station redundant). No timeline has been indicated on any such change, to date.
Grand River Transit
- Grand River TransitGrand River TransitGrand River Transit, or GRT, is the public transport operator for the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It operates daily bus services in the region, primarily in the cities of Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge....
routes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 15, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, and 200 iXpress; 20 bus emplacements on 4 platforms
Greyhound
- Toronto Quicklink
- Toronto / Guelph / London (local service)
GO Transit
- Milton for GO Train connections (twice each weekday) and Square One MississaugaSquare One Bus TerminalSquare One Bus Terminal is located on Station Gate Road, between Chapters and Playdium, in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This regional GO Transit facility is conveniently situated directly across from the Mississauga City Centre Transit Terminal at 200 Rathburn Road West, the main hub for local...
GO Bus http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/PDF/Timetables/CurrentBoard/Table25.pdf
Aboutown NorthLink
- NorthLink Route NL-2: Hanover / Walkerton / Harriston / Palmerston / Listowel / Linwood (local service)