Getting around Waterloo Region after 65

Transit is one factor among many in choosing a home, and it is easy to overestimate before you move. Ride a route at the time of day you would use it before you decide. Introductions from Waterloo Downsizing go to agents on the operating team at eXp Realty, so this is not a search of the whole market.

This guide is general information, not advice. Fares, schedules and eligibility change. Confirm everything with the agency named before you plan around it.

GRT buses and ION light rail

Grand River Transit (GRT) runs buses and ION light rail across the Region. The Region says ION runs 19 kilometres between Conestoga Station in Waterloo and Fairway Station in Kitchener, per its GRT and ION page. For the stops between, GRT's station maps page offers a PDF for each station showing bus stop locations, ION platforms and trail connections, including Waterloo Public Square Station, University of Waterloo Station and Kitchener Train Station. That page lists bus stations alongside ION, so use GRT's trip planner and system map for which stations are on which line.

If you are buying near a stop, check the walk from your door to the platform in winter, and check that the route reaches the places you go. The Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge guides give each area's context.

Fares for older adults and the Affordable Transit Program

Check GRT's older adult page for current older-adult fares. Offers there have included time-limited ones, so read the dates before you plan around any of them.

GRT's Affordable Transit Program is for Region residents age 18 or older who are not full-time students and who meet household income limits. It offers discounted passes or stored value. The page gives an application route and a phone number for when the online application is down. GRT's older adult page also mentions Ontario's Seniors' Public Transit Tax Credit. Ask an accountant or the CRA how it applies to you.

Accessibility on buses and trains

GRT's accessibility page says its buses are low-floor and can kneel, and that all vehicles deploy ramps for wheelchairs and other mobility devices. It describes priority seating near entrances on buses and trains, marked with blue decals, and on ION trains a priority area with padded backrests and flip-down seats. Interior announcements name approaching stops, and exterior announcements give the route number and destination as a bus arrives.

Two related services are worth knowing about. GRT's travel training is a free program for people new to transit, covering trip planning, reading maps, boarding, fare payment and transfers, including training with mobility devices and one-on-one coaching. The Transit Support Person program is for people who, because of a disability, need regular or occasional help while travelling on GRT buses, MobilityPLUS or ION. The support person travels free, and GRT says it will send a letter with its decision after you apply. Both are useful to know before a spouse or parent stops driving.

MobilityPLUS

MobilityPLUS is for people with a disability that affects using GRT buses or ION in urban Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo. GRT says registered users get door-to-door service, taxi coupons and free conventional transit. An application is required. Contact GRT at 250 Strasburg Road, Kitchener, 519-585-7555.

Kiwanis Transit and the townships

GRT's township specialized transit page says MobilityPLUS serves North Dumfries residents for trips to North Dumfries and Cambridge, with a booking line of 519-744-2241. It says Kiwanis Transit serves Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich, and both need an application. Kiwanis Transit describes specialized transportation for eligible residents of Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot townships, from 13 Industrial Drive, Unit C, Elmira. Phone 519-669-4533.

If you are considering Woolwich, Wilmot, Wellesley or North Dumfries, ask how you would get to appointments and shopping without a car, and confirm eligibility for these services before you commit.

GO trains and buses, and VIA Rail at Kitchener

Metrolinx describes the Kitchener line as a route between Kitchener GO Station and Union Station, with an expansion adding service incrementally. See its Kitchener line expansion page. We give no schedules here. Check gotransit.com before you plan a trip. GO's seniors page says riders 65 and older save on train and bus fares using a PRESTO card or GO E-ticket, and that the senior fare type can be set on a PRESTO card at Union Station or a customer service outlet.

VIA Rail serves Kitchener station at 126 Weber Street West. VIA's station page lists wheelchair access and a hearing loop, and says a wheelchair lift needs 48 hours' notice by calling 1-888-842-7245. Station staffing hours and trains change, so check the page.

Planning a trip with GRT

GRT's pages link to a trip planner, real-time departure information and a system map, and its Contact Us details list a phone line at 519-585-7555. GRT posts a system map for each season, so check which edition you are looking at. Before you commit to a home, plan three real trips from its address, one of them a medical appointment. Check how many transfers each needs and what the walk looks like in January. If someone else will do the driving for a few trips, say so honestly in your plan rather than counting on it forever.

Mixing modes is common: a bus to the ION, a friend's car for groceries, a taxi after dark, a family member for the airport. Two or three dependable options beat relying on one. For a couple, ask what happens if the driver cannot drive. That answer is often what decides between a house on a quiet street and a unit within a short walk of services.

Region of Waterloo International Airport

The Region of Waterloo International Airport is at 1-4881 Fountain Street North, Breslau. Airlines and destinations change from season to season, and the airport's site lists the current ones. Ask your airline about assistance before you travel.

Driving, licence renewal at 80 and accessible parking

The Government of Ontario's seniors transportation guide says licence renewal at 80 is every two years instead of five, with a vision test and an in-class cognitive screening exercise, and possibly a road test or medical documentation. The licensing line is 1-800-267-8097.

The same guide says an accessible parking permit is free, valid for up to five years and needs certification by a health professional. The line is 1-800-387-3445. Ask your condo corporation or retirement home how designated accessible parking is handled there.

If you may drive less over time, look at what a home needs: a parking space you can use in winter, an entrance close to it and nearby shops, pharmacy and clinic. A short walk is a feature that no listing photo shows, so walk it.

Walking and sidewalk snow rules by city

Your walk to the bus stop depends on neighbours clearing their sidewalks, and your own sidewalk is your responsibility if you own a freehold home.

For the townships and for condo or land lease communities, ask the municipality or the corporation who clears what. Assisted snow programs, where they exist, are described in aging in place or downsizing.

Planning for the year you drive less

Few people choose the date they stop driving, so it helps to look at a home as if the car were gone. Which services are within reach on foot or by a short ride: a pharmacy, a clinic, a grocery store, a place of worship, a community centre? The Region of Waterloo's older adult health page includes information on accessible transit alongside its seniors services, and the cities run older adult programs of their own. The City of Waterloo lists a community pavilion on its senior services page, and its home support listing includes rides. Community Support Connections, at 519-772-8787, also provides community supports for seniors and adults in the Region, and you can ask what transportation help exists where you live.

None of this replaces a ride you can count on. Write down the five trips you make most often and work out, with a real trip plan, how each would work without a car. If one of them is hard, that tells you something about the location, and it is information to weigh against price and layout. It is not a verdict on a neighbourhood.

Choosing a home with getting around in mind

• Take the route you would use for a week at the times you would travel.
• Walk from the door to the stop in winter conditions if you can.
• Ask what specialized transit applies where you would live, and apply early.
• Check GO and VIA on their own sites, not on a listing.
• Compare areas on the neighbourhood guides and adult lifestyle communities, and see the step-by-step plan and resources page.

If you would like an introduction to an agent while you compare areas, you can ask to be matched.