Peterborough Blogs
Handi-Van service will also run during the same hours. Handi-Van trip requests from eligible clients will be accepted until 12:20 a.m. and service will continue until 3:20 a.m. Bookings are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Riders wishing to travel during peak times are encouraged to reserve their trips in advance.
Trent University Is First Canadian Post-Secondary Institution To Green Light Digital Transit Passes
/Kudos to Trent University, which has become the first Canadian post-secondary institution to green light digital transit passes.
The downloadable show ‘n go pass has eliminated thousands of plastic cards and yearly student lineups. The smart technology, ease and convenience, and the added benefits of a more sustainable option were key factors in Trent taking this initiative.
Photo courtesy Trent University
This pilot project program is a collaboration between Trent University, the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA) and the City of Peterborough.
"Our new digital transit pass is an effort to keep transit service in the palm of student’s hands,” says Brandon Remmelgas, president of the TCSA. “Our goal is to prevent students from having to carry around a different card for each service they need to access, and it has the added bonus of reducing the number of plastic cards being printed on an annual basis.”
Since rolling out in September, more than 4,000 passes have been downloaded from the digital ID card app available on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Created by tech company ID 123, the passes are renewable online each year.
Click here to learn how to download the pass.
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New Free Trolley Service Launching Downtown This Summer
/In a unique, innovative move, the Downtown Business Improvement Area has announced they are offering free trolley rides from downtown to Del Crary Park for Peterborough Musicfest concerts. The trolley will start June 30th and run through August 25th.
"We wanted to support Musicfest in a way that also helps our downtown," says DBIA Executive Director Terry Guiel. "The San Francisco-style trolley car really takes people back in time and that is the charm we wanted to capture."
Photo of trolley courtesy DBIA
The Trolley is owned and operated by Michael Bryant of Dromoland out of Little Britain. Michael will bring in a trolley load of visitors with him from Kawartha Lakes each concert night and take them home after. The trolley will be driven by Peterborough's own transit drivers from Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1320.
Photo of trolley courtesy DBIA
According to local historian Elwood Jones, the real trolleys used to run downtown between 1904 and 1928, with a much earlier version in the 1890s. The trolley that will be used for these events is a converted bus made to look like a trolley.
Photo of trolley courtesy DBIA
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SERVICE
-> All stops will occur on the right side of George Street.
-> Trolley pickups will begin at Confederation Square (across from City Hall) and continue at the intersections with Brock, Hunter, Simcoe, Charlotte and King from 6 pm to 10 pm.
-> The trolley will finish at Del Crary Park, where it will swing around and loop back to City Hall.
-> The trolley is accessible and can hold 30 people seated and 15 standing. (Priority use of the trolley will be given to those with mobility issues, seniors and expectant mothers or parents with young children.)
-> The DBIA expects the demand for this free trolley will exceed its capacity (especially right after the concerts end) and ask that everyone appreciate that they may not be able to give everyone a free ride.
-> The trolley is not intended as a substitute for Peterborough Transit.
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New Community Bus Service Launches In Peterborough March 4th
/Peterborough Transit has a brand new Community Bus service that begins Sunday, March 4th at 10 a.m. The Community Bus will be available to all residents and is designed to provide an additional transit option for people that normally use the Handi-Van or find using the regular bus challenging.
“I am excited about the roll out of the Community Bus service and the increased accessibility to transportation services that it will provide,” says Councillor Don Vassiliadis, Chair of Transportation. “I see the Community Bus being especially needed and appreciated by people that are finding the regular bus a bit difficult to use but don’t need the door to door service of the Handi-Van and want to retain more independence.”
Photo courtesy City of Peterborough
The Community Bus will follow a set route. It will serve Lansdowne Place, grocery stores, seniors’ homes, medical clinics and the hospital.
The service will use a mini bus that has no stairs and seats 10 to 15 passengers, plus two spots for wheelchairs.
Photo courtesy City of Peterborough
The service will operate Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and holidays. Service will run on an hourly basis. Transit fares for the Community Bus are the same as for the regular transit service.
You can find more details about the Community Bus route and schedule at the Transit terminal and online here.
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Almost 2,500 Riders Used Peterborough Transit's Free Service On New Year's Eve
/For the 3rd consecutive year, Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers sponsored free transit services in Peterborough on New Year’s Eve.
This year, 2,476 riders used the service, down from about 3,000 last year, with bone-chilling weather playing a significant part in the decline this year.
Photo via @donvptbo
"This was the third year that I rode the buses on New Year’s Eve,” says Councillor Don Vassiliadis, Chair of Transportation. “The only difference between this year and the last two years was the weather. It was extremely cold. Riders were happy to have a warm and safe ride home."
Photo via @donvptbo
The George Street bus route saw the most riders, with 497 people accepting a free ride home on Peterborough Transit. On average, 206 riders per route took advantage of the free service.
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There Will Be Free New Year’s Eve Bus And Handi-Van Service For 3rd Consecutive Year
/The City of Peterborough has announced it is partnering with Wolfe Personal Injury Lawyers for the third consecutive year to offer late night transit service on New Year’s Eve. Approximately 6,000 riders used the free New Year’s Eve service in the first two years.
Transit service will be provided on all 12 regular routes and buses will run free of charge between 7:20 p.m. on December 31st and 3:20 a.m. on January 1st. The last bus will leave Peterborough’s downtown Simcoe Street terminal at 2:40 am. Route maps are available here.
Photo of transit users using the service on New Year's
Handi-Van service will also run during the same hours, with up to two vans in service. Handi-Van customer service staff will accept trip request bookings from eligible clients until 12:20 a.m. and service will continue until 3:20 a.m.
Handi-van bookings are accepted on a first come, first served basis. Handi-van riders wishing to travel during peak times are encouraged to reserve their trips in advance.
Don Vassiliadis, Chair of Transportation for City of Peterborough, riding a bus on New Year's Eve
Details regarding the hours of operation will be posted on the What’s New at Transit page here and at the downtown Transit Terminal.
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328 Paddlecraft Just Filled Both Tubs At Trent Severn National Historic Site In Epic Display
/Last year, 138 paddlecraft were jammed into one of the ginormous "tubs" at the Trent-Severn Waterway National Historic Site in Peterborough on Lock n' Paddle day, breaking the previous record of 101.
This is what it looked like at Lock 21 during last summer's Lock 'N Paddle...
June 26th, 2016
This year, Lock 'N Paddle upped their game even more, filling both tubs on a beautiful Saturday (June 24th) with more than 150 canoes and kayaks each (to mark Canada's 150 birthday) and lifting them 65 feet.
It was one heck of a jigsaw puzzle for organizers and Lockmaster Ed, seen in this video below...
But they did it. Look at this picture we took from mission control...
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
Here is the view from the front Trent-Severn Waterway tweeted out...
Here is the view from above photographed from a drone by Justen Soule for Parks Canada...
208 Likes, 13 Comments - Justen Soule (@justensoule) on Instagram: "Tub Tetris... Lock N' Paddle at Trent Severn's Lock 21. With some incredible coordination 328..."
And once the lock chambers were at an equal elevation, the Lock Master halted the lockage and participants and visitors raised their paddles and sang both O Canada and Happy Birthday in celebration of 150 years of Confederation.
Have a listen of the Happy Birthday...
Here is the moment the chambers aligned...
Here's a closeup of the East chamber tub filled...
PHoto by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
And here's a closeup of the West chamber tub filled...
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
360 panorama by Evan Holt, PtboCanada
UPDATE: Here is video our Evan Holt filmed from inside a canoe...
Well done Lock 21, well done Peterborough!
Photo by Neil Morton, PTBOCanada
