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Alternative Transportation
Whether you are travelling to get a late-night snack or to see all the city has to offer you, we have worked hard to partner with the Regions (Kitchener-Waterloo and Brantford) to ensure that you have options that work for you. For more information about how you can sign up for these alternative transportation methods, visit the Parking and Transportation Services page.
Depending on what you are doing there are a variety of benefits of using one of the many programs we offer:
- Public Transportation: We partner with the Region to provide you a discounted transit pass so you can get anywhere you need at an affordable price.
- Active Transportation: Choosing to use a bicycle to get around the city is a perfect way to get your daily exercise in and have fun while you are doing it.
- Vehicle Use: Sometimes you have farther to go and that is understandable. Consider the social benefit of choosing to carpool to your destination. Travel to where you've got to go, make a new friend and reduce your carbon footprint! We offer great opportunities to carpool through different organizations.
Public Transit
Public Transit (or public transportation) is an opportunity for large groups of people to travel to different locations using a set route. Transit passes are automatically loaded onto students accounts for upcoming school years and are ready to go to help students enjoy all the city has to offer themW
Riding the bus can be a lot of fun and easy to do if you plan it out right. It is important to note as of Summer 2019 your GRT bus pass also includes ION light rail service. Here are some simple steps to make sure that you are as successful as you can be:
- Plan your trip ahead of time
- The GRT has wonderful trip planning tools that can help you optimize your travel experience depending on when and where you are going.
- Find your stop
- Now that you have your trip planned out it is important that you make sure to get to your bus stop 3-5 minutes before the bus is set to arrive (this helps to make sure you don’t miss it should you be early or a little late).
- “Pay your fare”
- Your OneCard automatically is loaded with your bus pass so paying your fare is easy to do! Just step on the bus platform with your card in hand and tap it against the platform card reader and you are good to go!
- Ride the bus
- There are just a couple of rules that you need to keep in mind while you are on the bus. Make sure you stay behind the yellow line, don’t block the doorways and keep all belongings on your lap to seats are free for others. For your safety, it is also important to hold the poles, handrails and/or overhead straps when standing.
- Get off at your stop
- Each GRT bus should have automated stop announcements, be sure to listen in and signal when your stop approaches. The two ways you can signal to stop are: pulling the yellow cord, pressing the red stop button on the isle. When getting off of the bus there are two different versions of the rear doors: push bars and motion sensors. Push bars have vertical bars you need to press against to open the doors. Motion sensor doors require you to hold your hand in front of the “hand” sticker to open the door.
If you are a person who has disabilities, or you would like additional training on how to use the GRT, the GRT offers a travel training program that can help to further educate you on the ins and outs of travelling on the GRT.
Riding the bus can be a lot of fun and easy to do if you plan it out. Here are some simple steps to make sure that you are as successful as you can be:
- Plan your trip ahead of time
- Brantford Transit has a wonderful trip planning tool that can help you optimize your travel experience depending on when and where you are going.
- Find your stop
- Now that you have your trip planned out it is important that you make sure to get to your bus stop 3-5 minutes before the bus is set to arrive (this helps to make sure you don’t miss it should you be early or a little late).
- “Pay your fare”
- Your OneCard automatically is loaded with your bus pass so paying your fare is easy to do! Just step on the bus platform with your card in hand and pass it over the B-Card tag zone area where it says “touch here” and you are good to go!
- Ride the bus
- There are just a couple of rules that you need to keep in mind while you are on the bus. Make sure you stay behind the yellow line, don’t block the doorways and keep all belongings on your lap to seats are free for others. For your safety, it is also important to hold the poles, handrails and/or overhead straps when standing.
- Get off at your stop
- Each Brantford Transit bus should have automated stop announcements, be sure to listen in and signal when your stop approaches. The two ways you can signal to stop are: pulling the yellow cord, pressing the red stop button on the isle. When getting off of the bus there are two different versions of the rear doors: push bars and motion sensors. Push bars have vertical bars you need to press against to open the doors. Motion sensor doors require you to hold your hand in front of the “hand” sticker to open the door.
If you are a person that has disabilities and are not able to access the planned routes Brantford Lift has been specially designed to accommodate!
Active Transportation
We strive to provide a variety of options for students to engage in active transportation on and around campus. Active transportation is a great way to stay healthy, both physically and mentally, all while reducing your carbon footprint.
If you're looking for a usefull bicycle repair and maintenance guide, then check out BikeRide. It's an online cycling community that serves as a hub for cyclists to promote and join cycling events, as well as offering how-to repair guides, discussion forums and bike reviews with price comparisons.
- Waterloo WAT Click this tab to view content pertaining to Waterloo
- Brantford BRANT Click this tab to view content pertaining to Brantford
Here are some resources for location-specific routes:
In partnership with Parking and Transportation Resources, we are pleased to offer a number of resources for cycling commuters on campus. Laurier provides a number of bike rack stations across the Waterloo and Brantford campuses (Laurier's size makes it easy for you to check up on your bike). As a safety precaution, make sure you lock it with a high-grade U-Lock or equal alternative. Note: Bikes that are left unattended for a significant amount of time will be removed and recycled by Laurier's Special Constable Service.
Secure Bike Storage
For more information about secure bike storage and costs, visit Parking and Transportation Services.
Waterloo
Through a partnership with Facilities and Asset Management and Sustainability, Parking and Transportation Services introduced a secure bike storage facilities located on the south side of MacDonald House (beside lot 16) for up to 25 bikes. This is a gated facility allowing users entry using your One Card.
Brantford
Through a partnership with Sustainability and Residence Life, Service Laurier Brantford introduced a secure bike storage facility located in the Expositor Place parking garage. This is a gated facility allowing users entry using your One Card.
In partnership with Neuron Mobility, we offer students an e-scooter and e-bike share program to get you to and from the Waterloo campus.
E-scooters and e-bikes are available at five locations across the Waterloo campus, including:
- Next to the bike racks behind Lazaridis Hall.
- The accessible parking lot in front of the Dr. Alvin Woords Building.
- In front of the main entrance to the Athletic Complex.
- In front of the main entrance to the King St. Residence.
- At the Bricker St. entrance to the Science Building.
To use the vehicles, you can download the Neuron Mobility App from the App Store or Google Play and add a payment method.
On Lauirer's Waterloo campus, e-scooters and e-bikes can operate on select paths that lead to one of the designated areas listed above. Geofencing has been installed on campus to make sure the vehicles remain in the designated areas and are not used on greenspaces. Speeds have also been limited to 15 kilometers per hour on the designated pathways.
Did you know we are a proud organizational member of the Region of Waterloo's TravelWise program? As such, all Laurier students (such as you!) are able to access the private Laurier Student Carpool Network.
Carpooling is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to reduce your carbon footprint - and TravelWise makes this even easier! Using the online TravelWise Carpool tool, you can search for a carpool partner who's daily commute matches your own, and then connect with them online to see if it's a good fit before you decide to carpool. You can also log commuting trips to see their environmental impact and cost savings, and win prizes through regular competitions and challenges.
Do you not have a need for a car full time but do have the occasional long trip you have to make? Laurier has a CarShare vehicles located directly on campus (near Alumni Field and Northdale campus) and a number of vehicles located nearby provided by Communauto.
Communauto
Communauto provides you with car access without the burden of car ownership! They cover the cost of gas, insurance and maintenance at a super low cost to you! You can rent a car for a few minutes, an hour, a day or even longer!
They offer a variety of different plans and rates so there is bound to be something that works for everyone!
We are now proud to offer 14 level-2 EV charging stations across the Waterloo and Brantford campuses:
Waterloo
- 4 stations - Lot 32 - Lazaridis Hall
- 2 stations - Lot 12 - Peters Scglegal Building
- 2 stations - Lot 2 - Regina Administrative Building
- 3 stations - Lot 7 - Bricker Academic Building
Brantford
- 3 stations - Charlotte St. Lot
These charging stations are powered with solar photovoltaics (PVs), which amount to 12 kW/h of power and are connected to the university’s growing smart grid through our energy management system and future microgrid. For more information, visit Parking and Transportation Services.