Labour Day Picnic took place at Sunnidale Park in Barrie on Monday
Hundreds of people gathered at Sunnidale Park on Labour Day Monday to show their support for unions and their efforts to support workers.
Hosted by the Barrie and District Labour Council, the annual event included fun events for youngsters as well as displays courtesy of various organizations.
“It’s important that everybody celebrates Labour Day and to acknowledge what we have won for labour for people in the work force,” said Derrick Smith, council vice-president and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “We need to work together to improve situations in the work place.”
City rolls out improvements for Barrie Transit
Changes are coming to Barrie Transit to help improve the service for riders in the city.
Bus routes between Georgian College, Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre and the downtown jumped 36 percent since the universal bus pass was introduced last year. The city says some buses have been operating at full capacity.
Buses on express routes are currently operating at half-hour intervals that will be shortened to 22 minutes. Several of the current routes will change as well.
Ontario investing $110K in transit and road infrastructure in Barrie
Barrie residents may be moving more efficiently around the city soon.
The Ontario government will provide $110,000 in funding to the municipality, for the construction of two lay-by lane bus stops at the downtown transit hub, through the “Public Transit” and “Rural and Northern” streams of the Investing in Canada infrastructure program, Barrie-area MPPs announced in a press release Aug. 16. The stops will be capable of accommodating six buses at one time.
“This is an exciting initial announcement that will be supported by additional transit investments in the near future,” Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte MPP Doug Downey said. “Families in Barrie depend on reliable and efficient public transportation. Our government wants to ensure they receive the best service possible.”
New LINX transit routes to connect more communities in Simcoe County
Simcoe County launched two new LINX transit service routes on Tuesday, connecting Wasaga Beach to Barrie and Orillia to Barrie.
The new Route 2 will connect Wasaga Beach to south Barrie, with stops in Clearview and Essa, while the new Route 3 will connect Orillia to north Barrie, with stops in Oro-Medonte.
Route 1, which runs from Penetanguishene and Midland to Barrie, launched in 2018, and according to Simcoe County, has seen ridership increase on a monthly basis.
New Orillia-Barrie LINX bus starts rolling on Tuesday
NEWS RELEASE
COUNTY OF SIMCOE
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Starting Aug. 6, 2019, Simcoe County is launching two new LINX Transit Service routes and assuming the operations of an existing connecting link between Collingwood and Wasaga Beach.
The new routes complement the successful launch of Route 1, Penetanguishene/Midland to Barrie, which launched in 2018 and has seen ridership increase on a monthly basis.
Barrie Transit to implement route changes in August
The changes will provide faster and more frequent services and are being made with no additional operating or capital costs, according to the City of Barrie
“In the fall of 2018, ridership in Barrie experienced significant growth with the implementation of a U-Pass,” Brent Forsyth, Barrie’s transit director, told Global News. “What we’ve seen is kind of in the northeast quadrant of the city, ridership has grown exponentially.”
The Georgian College U-Pass costs $86 per semester and is added to students’ fees. Regularly, a student bus pass would cost $255 per semester.
Ontario ready to invest in Midland transit
MPP Jill Dunlop was in Midland to announce help for the town’s transit service.
“Almost $40,000 for a transit project in Midland,” Dunlop said.
The funding announcement was made on Friday under the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan.
Transit changes expected to help with city’s busiest bus route
Changes to the city’s transit system are on the way and for the busiest route in Barrie it should bring much-needed relief for riders.
Starting on Sunday, Aug. 25, the city’s express route will be getting a boost of four buses, up from the current one. Wait times will drop to 22 minutes instead of the regular 30.
Brent Forsyth, the City of Barrie’s transit director, tells BarrieToday that about a year ago there was a spike in ridership, particularly the northeast part of the city, and the changes being made should help accommodate those extra people.
How to stop a GO train in its tracks – the momentum of science and skill behind aligning with a platform perfectly
As passengers, we can’t wait to get to our train stop. But, amid occasional platform overshoots and safety reminders to stay off the tracks, few of us know how complicated stopping a train can be. And that each stop starts long before the brakes are ever applied.
For passengers, the effort of arriving at a GO station amounts to gathering up any bags and stepping onto the platform. It can burn, if lucky, about five calories.
Doug Ford can’t be trusted with uploading Toronto’s subway
The Doug Ford Conservative government is planning to pull off one of the most ambitious power grabs in recent memory — taking the entire subway system away from the TTC and the people of Toronto.