Suspension of unvaccinated workers could affect Guelph GO bus and train service

Make sure you check the Metrolinx service updates before you leave your home as buses and trains across the province will be cancelled this week.

Metrolinx’s mandatory vaccination policy kicked off on Monday which resulted in the suspension of unvaccinated employees and the cancellations of services across Ontario. 

There are 214 weekly GO bus trips in Guelph as of September. While no buses were affected as of Monday afternoon, things might change.

“Things change daily so it’s hard to say which routes will be affected in the days to come. But we are communicating cancellations with as much notice as we can,” said Suniya Kukaswadia, communications officer at Metrolinx.

“We had hoped to avoid all service impacts but it appears that we will need to cancel a limited number of bus trips and some train trips today and likely the rest of the week as our mandatory vaccination policy comes into effect,” said Suniya Kukaswadia, communications officer at Metrolinx. 

Kukaswadia said Metrolinx is urging riders to check out their On the GO Alerts, the GO Bus Twitter account and the GO website to see what trips (if any) were cancelled. 

She said two to three percent of 4,600 staff who do not have a medical exemption and are unvaccinated have been placed on unpaid leave. And while it seems like a small number, she said it is enough to have an impact on riders. 

Kukaswadia said as of Monday, it will be necessary to cancel approximately six per cent of  1,417 daily bus trips around the province.

“There may also be intermittent train trips cancelled as crews are not available,” said Kukaswadia. 

“We expect the impact to be minimal as we are working hard to strategically choose a variety of trips across the region have low ridership and have other bus and rail options available for customers."

Our priority continues to be to ensure our service can get people to where they need to go safely and to minimize any impact to their schedules.”

Kukaswadia said the majority of Metrolinx employees are vaccinated and as of Friday, over 97 per cent of employees completed their attestation that showed over 95 per cent of employees are fully vaccinated, nearly three per cent are partially vaccinated and two per cent are unvaccinated.  

She said Metrolinx will know the final percentage of staff who remain unvaccinated late Monday.