February 17, 2025
The imminent closing of Burlington Transit’s central bus terminal is causing anxiety among downtown seniors despite the system’s efforts to replace the facility with a service location at City Hall.
Seniors living at Wellington Terrace immediately beside the Terminal have deluged BFAST Steering Committee member Glenna Cranston with concerns since City Council approved the closure in November, despite efforts by Burlington Transit to provide the same services at City Hall.
“The Terminal is open until 6:00 but City Hall closes at 4:30,” said Cranston. “And there is no service on weekends. This is causing problems for a lot of people.”
She said many residents had come to depend on the Terminal and, especially for those with mobility issues, City Hall is not a good alternative.
The Terminal is expected to close by the end of March. Burlington Transit’s customer service centre will move to the Burlington GO station, but transit staff will also be stationed at City Hall to help with Presto cards and other issues.
BFAST urged City Council to wait before approving the move to measure and cushion its effects. But negotiations with Metrolinx over lease terms and physical changes at the GO station had already reached the final stage.
Good luck getting help with your Presto card at the new customer-service counter in the Appleby GO station.
Since the closing was announced, Burlington Transit has moved to mitigate its effects with the services offered at City Hall. They are also studying the possibility of opening satellite customer service operations in existing municipal facilities throughout the city.
One of the crucial customer services provided at the current Terminal is helping people with their Presto cards, especially since GO Transit has completely eliminated staffing at some of its stations, such as Appleby. While Presto cards are supposedly available at Shoppers Drug Mart locations, the only comment BFAST gets is that “nobody there knows anything about it.”
“Presto really needs to get their act together with Shoppers,” said Cranston. “The company should provide training to their cashiers.”