Guelph to Owen Sound bus service continues to grow

It has been a smooth ride so far for a public transit service between Guelph and Owen Sound.

Guelph Owen Sound Transit (GOST), is a inter-community transit service that began two years ago after receiving a grant from the province. A GOST bus fits 16 to 18 people and the service runs twice a day, every day of the week.

In 2020 and 2021, the ridership numbers for the GOST bus were 175 riders per month and over 250 riders per month. Now, the total number of riders in 2022 is on track to see their largest ridership yet. 

“In all of 2021, we’ve had 33,089 riders take the bus, and so far up to July of 2022, we’ve had 29,005 take the bus. We’re only 400 off and still have one, two, three, four, five months to go this year, so we will certainly surpass 2021 for sure," said Rick Chappell, acting supervisor of environmental services for the City of Owen Sound.

Chappell notes the busiest month for the GOST bus was July 2022.

"We had 641 people take the GOST bus."

Chappell cites the increase in ridership is partly from the easing of COVID restrictions and word of mouth. He said another reason for the increase is their partnership with Voyago Transportation, who is the service provider.

"A lot of people know them with patient transfers, but they also operate a number of small municipal transit systems as well," Chappell said about the company. “They are pretty reputable and they're very good, from a quality perspective, as well as customer service, and working with a company like Voyago has certainly helped increase ridership."

The ridership results are also good news for the future of the transit service route. Previously, there was a Greyhound bus route between Guelph and Owen Sound, but it ended the service in 2013. Chappell said the grant given by the Ontario government for the GOST bus was renewed from April 2023 to April 2025. 

"It's always great for people to use the service, because after the government funding runs out of money for the service, I think whether someone decides whether the service will continue, I think it will be based on ridership," continues Chappell, "and so obviously, based upon the ridership, if private sector companies say, 'Hey, there is a market for that Owen Sound to Guelph run,' then hopefully they will continue the service for the long-term."

The GOST is the only Guelph specific public transit option, said Chappell. He often receives emails from transit users who ask about the GOST bus schedule and how visitors from out of town, or the country, can get a ride on it. The service is used mostly by students and people who don't have access to a vehicle.

"Whether you're a student or you just don't drive, it was important for us to ensure that those people living between Owen Sound and Guelph were able to access the system and have a means of transportation, whether it's go to Owen Sound to shop or to Guelph to shop," said Chappell. 

Using feedback from transit users, Chappell notes small changes were made to the service, including changing the time the GOST bus leaves Guelph and adding bike racks to the buses, which will happen this week. 

“A lot of people like to either have their bikes and commute or want to come up and bike in this area, so based upon that feedback, we’re hoping to have bikes installed either this week or next week, to have them installed on a couple of the GOST buses," said Chappell. 

"It seemed to be working for people, I haven't heard of any outcry for any other service enhancements."