Room: Mississauga
Sponsor(s)
 
Session Description
The Bus as the Secret Weapon: Lessons in BRT Implementation and Climate-Driven Service Planning in Practice
Stream: Operations
Moderator: Marisa Espinosa, AECOM
‘1. Region of WaterlooÂ’s Secret Weapon for a Sustainable Future: The Bus
Speaker: Jeremy Cohen, Arcadis and Adam Fraser, Grand River Transit
What does it take to design the future of transit for one of CanadaÂ’s fastest-growing regions? In 2024, Grand River Transit (GRT) tasked Arcadis with developing their Conventional Bus and Train Business Plan, which provides a roadmap for the next 10 years of fixed-route transit service and supporting investments. Preparing to grow to 1 million by 2050, and part of CanadaÂ’s leading technology cluster supported by three post-secondary institutions, the Region is presented with immense opportunities for transit. Arcadis will share innovative approaches used to forecast service requirements based on Council-directed emissions reduction targets, develop a future-ready transit network, and adapt to a changing study context. GRT will outline strategies/engagement tactics that support transit investment as the easy choice for the public and decision-makers.
The Plan provided GRT with a coherent strategy to grow service over the next decade. By closely tying to Council priorities and GRT internal objectives, the Plan was able to secure buy-in from staff, riders, key contributors, and politicians to advance to approval in June 2025. Arcadis developed capital/operating budgets and a phased service implementation plan, to support GRT in actioning Plan recommendations via the RegionÂ’s annual municipal Budget process.
2. BRT Success Story
Presenter: Marisa Espinosa, Aecom
Bus Rapid Transit implementation is happening across the country with small, medium and large complex organizations at various stages of maturity in their BRT journey. Pulling together lessons learned from different phases of the BRT journey, we welcome you to hear from our panel how they have managed some of their key learnings to truly make BRT “quick wins” a reality.
Speaker(s) / Presenter(s)
Bio:
Jeremy is a Sr. Transit Planner at Arcadis (formerly IBI Group), helping governments and transit agencies plan effective transportation networks and develop strong business cases for transit projects.
Adam Fraser – Principal Planner, Transit Development Transportation Services Department, Region of Waterloo – Grand River Transit
Bio:
Bio:
With over 20 years of experience leading strategic planning and multi-modal transportation projects in Vancouver and the San Francisco Bay Area, Marisa brings a wealth of expertise spanning bus, rail, and infrastructure development.
Most recently, she served as Director of Major Studies for TransLink Planning and Policy, where she led transformative projects that integrate transportation and land use to advance TransLink’s Regional Transportation Strategy—including one of the first corridors identified for Bus Rapid Transit between Metrotown and the North Shore.
MarisaÂ’s passion for transportation equity and community-focused infrastructure will help drive the next generation of sustainable mobility solutions across Canada.
Moderator(s)
Marisa Espinosa – Director Bus Rapid Transit, AECOM