By Pepper Parr
November 2nd, 2025
BURLINGTON, ON
Burlington, buses and traffic congestion.
They go together, and the residents seem prepared to put up with it – but complain nevertheless.
Burlington has yet to wean itself from driving their cars wherever they want to go.
The city struggles to come up with solutions, but never seems to be able to find and act on bold moves.
The Mayor wants transit to be free for everyone, while her constituents point to buses with fewer than five people aboard.
The leadership at Burlington Transit is on the thin side. At one point, there was superb leadership, but she left when assignments that had nothing to do with transit were put on her plate.
And the buses have suspension systems that make for uncomfortable rides.
There is a BURLINGTON TRANSIT STRATEGIC PLAN (2026-2030) underway. As well as a survey
The growth has been impressive. Usage – doesn’t seem as impressive as the growth.
Is there anything missing in the goals that are set out?
The graphic below is part of the survey. You can’t answer the question at this level. Survey can be found at Click HERE
You get to provide your views in the survey. Link to the survey is set out at the bottom of the article.
The data isn’t all that useful without knowing what the percentage of the population is for each of the groups.
Timeline for public input on the Transit Strategy.
A Burlington resident copied the Gazette on service issues:
I’m following up on the email I sent two weeks ago regarding Route 80 reliability, Appleby GO train connections, and the November timetable changes. I haven’t received a response.
To recap, I asked for:
The specific November changes to Route 80 (headways, timed-transfer policy at Appleby GO, on-time performance targets).
The real-time prediction accuracy targets for MyRide and how Burlington Transit plans to improve live tracking reliability.
The decision owner for holding Route 80 buses for GO Train connections during the PM rush.
I want to be clear that these aren’t abstract questions. I rely on Route 80 to reach Appleby GO. I’ve only been using this line for one week and the structural issues are obvious to a regular transit rider: missed train connections despite both services running on ~30-minute intervals, shifting ETAs that aren’t accurate, and no visible accountability when buses arrive late and the train leaves without us.
At this point I need to know who is responsible for fixing this.
Can you confirm whether you are still the point of contact, or if you have already submitted your retirement documents and begun transition? If the transition has started, who is taking over this file? I’m asking for a direct handoff: name, title, phone, and email for the person who will be leading Route 80 reliability / train-connection work going forward.
If you are still the accountable owner, please provide the details above yourself so riders understand what has changed in November and what performance standard Burlington Transit is committing to.
Silence is not an acceptable answer here. Riders are losing 30–60 minutes of their day when the bus/train handoff fails.
There is work to be done on the transit file. Catherine Badelli, the current Director of Transit will retire at the end of the year.
Click HERE t0 complete the survey
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I suggest that an outside consultant take a look at eliminating buses and using a subsidized Uber! They pick you up at your door when you want it.It can carry all your groceries etc.No need to freeze in a bus shelter.Etc Etc Etc.
The large city buses are mostly empty when operating in Burlington during the day.
The fleet should include smaller “mini” buses except at peak transit times when regular large buses should go into operation.
The City of Burlington is a bedroom community with most working adults commuting long distances to and from work – away from public transit hubs.
The population includes families moving a mixture of children, young adults, seniors and handicapped people and pets.
More than 50% of the Burlington residents are over 60 years of age.
Several points to make here.
Free is not “free”, when politicians claim “free” its a lie by omission, its paid for by tax payers. When something is “given away” it has no value, why not provide “free” parking? “Free” access to any other city service, pools, ice rinks, library etc.
Total trips of 3.6 million in 2024 seems impressive, let’s see how relevant that is. Using round numbers 200,000 people in Burlington, assume 80% have access to a car, those people make 2 trips per per day, which I think is conservative. That’s 117 million completed trips in a year. So busses represent 3% of completed trips in Burlington on a conservative bases – let that sink in, a lot of discussion for 3%?
Of course, no charts on cost, I guess financial sustainability does not matter, tax payers grow their money on trees?
I have no issue with public transit, charge a price that balances the budget for that service and don’t gas light me on the fictious benefits to those that don’t use the service.
In response to Philip. My friend and I do not drive and have relied on the buses to get around to work, shopping, visiting etc for years. As seniors we still have to rely on the buses as taxis and Uber are too expensive. It seems to me that there are a number of entitled vehicle drivers who think that cars are more important than running half empty buses. Well, let me tell you that if the buses don’t run there will be a lot of seniors walking in bad weather or becoming housebound. It is not only drivers who live in Burlington and the buses are a necessity.
“The Mayor wants transit to be free for everyone, while her constituents point to buses with fewer than five people aboard.”
If the Mayor truly wanted to provide free transit, it would have been done. As for the constituents who point to empty buses, why would anyone ride the bus when it’s unreliable or non-existent? Burlington transit riders are forced to stand in the weather waiting for a bus that never shows.
I would *love* to take public transit. But too many times I’ve been stood up by a bus while I wait in rain, snow or wind (Burlington doesn’t provide many bus shelters).
So on we go. Another study. More empty promises. And our roads are jammed with single-passenger vehicles.
I agree with Philip….We are definitely automobile centric in this city. The downside is horrific traffic congestion, especially between 3 & 6pm. It really boils down to convenience does it not? I have given some thought to other ways that we can perhaps efficiently utilize PT. Sometimes necessity is the mother of invention or at least inventive ideas. For starters, how about smaller vehicles or perhaps some kind of “on demand” requests. That would most likely require cell phone use (seniors?). I’m a good distance from the nearest bus stop. Not so bad a walk in good weather but I’d really hesitate to venture out on a bad weather day, This is a really complex question/situation with no easy answers.
For practical reasons I dont use BT that often and never around 4pm. In response to the comments, how on earth do you operate a public transit system in an environment that is handicapped by our east west routes during the 4 to 6 time period?
I reviewed the City of Burlington Survey on “Transit” as listed above. This is not the first time that the City of Burlington has asked personal questions that are not relevant, necessary or required by law to be answered under any circumstances by anyone!
These questions would never be asked in several different scenarios including a job interview. So why is our City of Burlington asking? Also, I find all of the Survey questions put out by the COB (on all different topis) always ask these irrelvant and personal questions; and the City never includes a number of the total population in Burlington who have actually responded to them?
A list of the questions that are irrelenant and completely inappropriate that are asked in this Transit Survey are as follows and illegal imo:
#6. What is your age range?
#7. What is your household income before taxes?
#8. Do you identify as a member of the following groups?: People with disabilities?; People who are part of a racialized community (i.e. black or people of colour); Indigenous; People who are 2SLGBTQIA+; Recent immigrants; or, I do not identify with any of the above.
#10. With which gender do you identify?
#11. Then the City specifically asks for your Postal Code so you can be personally identified!!
None of these personal questions should be asked or answered by any Resident. These questions are imo illegal and should not be asked or answered.
Everyone in the City of Burlington should be treated equally no matter what they earn or how they identify themselves !! This nonsense Must Stop!
Editor’s note: The writer doesn’t appear to understand the purpose of a survey.
Attention Editor:
I disagree. Racialized differences, Colour or Sexual orientation has no place or difference in a City Transit Survey.
The majority of buses in Burlington drive around nearly empty most of the time. Adding new buses and new additional drivers to Transit in Burlington adds a huge additional expense to Burlington Property Taxpayers, and should be carefully assessed prior to spending any further money on Transit in Burlington.
I totally agree with your valid points The City surveys are blatantly skewed to get the answers the City and the Mayor want . How many times can the City ask for engagement then ignore the results
What drives people’s choice of transportation? It’s two things—time efficiency and convenience. Ignore this reality at your peril. In Burlington, the automobile is the transportation choice that addresses this situation. Using myself as an example, I live in South Burlington (Walker’s Line and Lakeshore area). If I want to go to the Burlington Centre, it’s a 10 minute drive; I can easily carry my purchases and can make the trip comfortably in whatever the weather is. I’m a retiree, the bus could be a choice I can make—but I won’t. It’s a 10 to 15 minute hike to the bus stop, then I may have to wait for several minutes, then it’s 15-20 minutes by bus to the Burlington Centre. My time is worth more to me than wasting it on a less efficient transportation method. And of course, if the weather is not comfortable and if I’m carrying purchases, it’s even less convenient.
This same logic applies when I go to the Scotiabank Arena. I drive to the go-station and ride the go-train to Union Station. Far more time efficient and less stressful that driving and finding a parking spot. When I’m in London England, I don’t use a car–the Underground (or increasingly taxi) is more convenient and more time efficient. Both of these latter two cases involve public transportation because the circumstances of time efficiency and convenience dictate using them. Within Burlington, not a chance that public transportation will be the choice. We shouldn’t be surprised; Burlington was designed and laid out as automobile-centric. The people who live here are time poor. You can’t fight consumer choice.