Welland Transit

Welland Transit provides public transport services in Welland and Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. Upon its inception in 1973 the bus service was operated by a private company, known as "Metro Niagara Transit," funded by the city of Welland, which assumed full operation of the transit system in 1977. [1]

Welland Transit

Slogan	"Going Your Way"
Parent	Niagara Region Transit City of Welland
Founded	1973 as Metro Niagara Transit 1977 as Welland Transit
Headquarters	75 Federal Road
Locale	Welland, Port Colborne
Service area	Niagara Region
Service type	Bus service, Paratransit
Alliance	Amalgamated Transit Union, Local 1633
Routes	8 daytime routes in Welland, 2 daytime routes in Port Colborne, one link between the two cities
Hubs	Downtown Terminal Port Colborne City Hall Niagara College Welland campus Seaway Mall
Stations	Welland Transit Terminal
Fleet	16 30-40 ft units, 8 accessible 28.5 ft units
Fuel type	Diesel, Gasoline, HEV
Operator	City of Welland
Chief executive	Dave Stuart (Supervisor), Frank Campion (mayor), Chris Moore (union representative)
Website	Welland Transit [www.facebook.com/wellandpublictransit]

Eight scheduled routes provide Monday to Sunday daytime service with staggered services during off-peak times and evening service (between 6-11 pm Monday to Saturday). Weekday service is provided on three routes to destinations outside the city to Port Colborne, Niagara Falls, and St. Catharines, under Niagara Region Transit. Additionally, Welland Transit operates two community shuttles for the city of Port Colborne. For outlying areas of the city not on current transit routes, a service called Trans-Cab offers taxi connections to the conventional bus service for a small additional fee. Accessible services for people unable to make use of regular buses are available within the city or across the region.

Facilities

Transit Offices and Garage

Address: 75 Federal Road

Coordinates: 42°58′07″N 79°15′28.5″W

Functions: Operations and administration, bus charters and bus maintenance/storage. [2]

Transit Terminal

Address: 160 East Main St.

Coordinates: 42°59′34″N 79°14′47″W

Opened: January 19th, 1994

Functions: Hub for all city bus routes and provision of intercity services

• Niagara Region Transit service to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls
• Megabus/Coach Canada service to Toronto with local stops along the way

Services

Bus routes

Welland Transit operates the following routes;[3]

Regular service

Core routes operate Monday through Friday from approximately 6:30AM to 11:00PM, on Saturday from approximately 7:00AM to 10:00PM, and Sunday from 10:00AM to 6:00PM.

• 501 Broadway
• 502 Rice Road
• 503 First Avenue
• 504 Fitch Street (a trans cab was used from July 2012 to July 2, 2013)
• 505 Lincoln-Wellington
• 506 Ontario Road
• 508 Woodlawn Road
• 509 Niagara Street

Former Services

• 23. Brock University Link provided September to May service between Niagara College in Welland and Brock University in St. Catharines, where there are bus connections available to St. Catharines, Thorold and Niagara Falls at the Brock University Hub. The route was taken over by Niagara Region Transit in September 2019, and renamed 70/75A - St Catharines Express via Pelham.
• 34. Niagara-on-the-Lake Link provided September to May service between the two campuses of Niagara College. This route was taken over by Niagara Region Transit in September 2019, renamed 40/45A - Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL) Express.

Special Services

• Route 25 - Port Colborne Link makes trips daily (except Sundays) and operates as a flag stop route as it connects downtown Port Colborne with downtown Welland.

Port Colborne routes

• 701 Port Colborne East
• 702 Port Colborne West

Trans-Cab

Extends service to areas with insufficient traffic to warrant a regular bus route by means of a taxi connection to the existing bus network. Suburbs served are Cooks Mills, Dain City, Hunters Pointe, and Quaker Road Trans Cab Connections.

Well-Trans

Well-Trans (formerly Handi-Trans), provides accessible service for those not able to use a regular transit bus, for qualified pre-registered clients. The service operates between 7:15 am and 7:00 pm on weekdays and from 9:30 am to 6:15 pm on Saturdays, with service from 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday. [4]

Niagara Specialized Transit

This service, operated by the Canadian Red Cross, is for eligible residents of Niagara Region who need to travel between municipalities for medical appointments, employment or education purposes.[5]

References

1. Welland Transit History
2. Municipal Handbook, as of January 17, 2008
3. Routes and Schedules (PDF), retrieved 2009-01-15
4. Cityof Welland, WellTrans
5. Niagara Specialized Transit

External links

• Welland Transit official website
• Drawings and photos of Welland Transit buses