GO Transit is piloting a six-month program that introduces free WiFi onboard 10 of the 407 West and Waterloo/Mississauga GO buses. The pilot began June 3 and may expand based on customer feedback.
<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6666666666667px; white-space: pre-wrap; line-height: 1.38; background-color: transparent;">According to Vanessa Barrasa, spokesperson and senior advisor for Metrolinx, “Metrolinx continues to explore ways to provide WiFi technology to customers while on the GO system in keeping with our Passenger Charter...and in response to the high number of customer requests for this service.”</span></p>
In order to provide this service “buses will have a small receiver and router installed on it that is able to pick up wireless cell signals,” Barrasa explained.
To access the WiFi network, GO riders simply connect to the “Free WiFi at GO” network from their wireless devices and accept the terms and conditions.
Initial reaction to the news from GO Bus riders was positive.
“That’s great! Now I can work on buses,” said Jiyoon Kim, a 2B Accounting and Finance Management student. She added that “[it’s] especially [useful] when I realize that something is due that day and I need Internet access in order to finish it.”
GO may need to invest more in advertising this program to university students as Kim said she hadn’t heard that WiFi was being introduced on GO buses.
Whether this program will expand to the rest of the GO Transit fleet really depends on customer satisfaction.
“Metrolinx is taking a holistic approach to determining the success of the pilot project. Customer feedback will help determine whether or not the pilot project will be rolled out to a larger part of GO's fleet,” Barrasa stated.
