GO celebrates 45 years of growth in transit in the region

TORONTO, May 23, 2012 /CNW/ - GO Transit today celebrates its 45^th year in operation, and recognizes that milestone with a reflection on its history and successes.

Today, GO service supports 219,000 passengers on an average weekday compared to the 8,000 riders who used the service on its inaugural day of operation back in 1967. Ridership numbers have consistently grown as more passengers choose an easier commute by using GO service each year.

Expansion of GO service and station locations has been one of the most significant accomplishments. In 1967, GO's service area included 14 stations, over 94 kilometres of railway along the two Lakeshore lines. In 1970, GO expanded to serve more customers across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) in 1970 with the introduction of bus service. Today, GO's rail network has grown to include 62 train stations over seven rail corridors, covering 444 kilometres of railway connecting passengers from as far away as Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Kitchener-Waterloo, Milton, Barrie, Richmond Hill, Stouffville and Oshawa to downtown Toronto. GO Buses provide service to 53,000 passengers on a typical weekday through more than 2,100 weekday trips.

GO is most proud of the growth of its commitment to providing exceptional customer service. In November 2011, GO formally pledged five commitments to passengers through its first-ever Passenger Charter. The five promises reinforce the commitment by every GO employee to ensure that every customer has a safe and easy experience when using GO service.

Since 2009, GO Transit has been an operating division of Metrolinx, the regional transportation agency for the GTHA. GO's expertise in project delivery and implementation, transit operations and service execution, and customer service excellence will now serve as a model for Metrolinx's future operating divisions.

We promise, visit gotransit.com/promise.

For specific schedule information, please visit gotransit.com/schedules, or call 1.888.GET ON GO (438.6646) or 1.800.387.3652 TTY.

GO Transit is Metrolinx's interregional public transit system linking Toronto with the surrounding regions of the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. GO carries about 62 million passengers a year in an extensive network of train and bus services that spans over 10,000 square kilometres. Metrolinx is an agency of the Province of Ontario. Follow GO on Twitter and Facebook.

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Backgrounder

GO Transit turns 45!

Stories from GO passengers and employees:

I rode the GO Train on the very first day of operation. I was still in school at the time. When I heard the Premier (Mr. Robarts, I believe) announce that the first day's rides were free, I went to Union Station after school and took a train west to Oakville and back to Union. I did not become a frequent rider of the GO system until 1970 when I moved near the Long Branch GO Station. I was a daily user when working downtown, but still a frequent user when not working downtown. I continue to use the GO Train, and occasionally trains and buses to other destinations than Union, about three round trips a week.

~ David (GO passenger)

The service began on Tuesday, May 23, 1967 and achieved 8,000 riders on the first day and within eight months 15,000 riders per day. One day during the first year of service to the Exhibition, GO carried 24,000 passengers. Within 30 years, GO Transit achieved 100,000 riders per day. Many of the original parking lots had to be expanded right away.

GO had proved that automobile commuters would switch to an alternative commuter rail service provided it was reliable, clean and maintained a consist level of on time performance. Before the two year demonstration was up, the provincial government deemed the GO service a great success and that it was here to stay. If GO Transit had a problem in the early years it suffered from its own success and it took years to catch up to meet the growing demand it has finally achieved today.

May 23, 2012 - GO Transit celebrates its 45th anniversary and continues to grow.

~ Joe (GO employee: April 1967 - September 1995)

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Help us celebrate 45 years of service by sharing your stories, memories and photos from GO passengers and employees over the years at gotransit.com.

Did you GO in 1967?

Contact us at [email protected] if you or someone you know rode the GO Train 45 years ago.

GO shares its notable milestone year with other 1967 milestones, including:

• Caribana, now the Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival, made its debut in 1967.
• In 1967, McDonald's opened its first location outside the U.S. - in Richmond, B.C.
• The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Boston Red Sox to become the 1967 World Series Champions.
• The Toronto Maple Leafs last won their 13^th and last Stanley Cup in 1967.
• The most prominent event was Expo 67 in Montreal, the most successful World's Fair ever held up to that time, and one of the first events to win international acclaim for Canada.

- May 2012

Media enquiries - Vanessa Thomas, [phone], or Malon Edwards, [phone].