Charles St. Transit Terminal
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Charles Street Transit Terminal
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| Location | 15 Charles Street West Kitchener, Ontario Canada |
| Coordinates | 43°26′58″N 80°29′32″W / 43.44944°N 80.49222°WCoordinates: 43°26′58″N 80°29′32″W / 43.44944°N 80.49222°W |
| Owned by | Region of Waterloo |
| Operated by | Grand River Transit |
| Bus stands | 25 |
| Bus operators | |
| Construction | |
| Structure type | Ticket office, washrooms, waiting room, restaurant, covered platforms |
| Bicycle facilities | Yes |
| Disabled access | Yes |
| Other information | |
| Station code | GO Transit: KITB |
| History | |
| Opened | 1988 (City of Kitchener) |
The Charles Street Transit Terminal at 15 Charles Street West in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada is the main bus station and downtown hub for local Grand River Transit (GRT) bus services for Kitchener and Waterloo. This terminal is also used by a number of intercity operators, including Greyhound, GO Transit, Coach Canada and Aboutown.
It is the largest public service facility run by GRT, with the Cambridge Ainslie Street terminal being the only other staffed bus station.
The building was completed in 1988 by the City of Kitchener, which operated Kitchener Transit, GRT's forerunner, at the time. It replaced a facility at Duke and Scott streets, which had become overcrowded. Ownership has since transferred to the Region of Waterloo, GRT's operator.
The main terminal building contains the ticket desk, plus washrooms and administrative space on the upper level; the lower level has a licensed restaurant and walk-in cafe, plus an ATM. Access between the floors is by escalator or elevator. Access to the GRT bus platforms from the entry structure is by an enclosed, elevated walkway. Each of the two island platform groups have a 'pod' containing stairwells and an elevator, which also serve as enclosed, climate-controlled waiting space for passengers, with a total of 20 bus stop locations.
The Greyhound and Megabus stops are beside the main terminal building, with GO transit buses using a platform at the northwest corner of the facility effective April 8, 2017. A small modular office handles Greyhound sales outdoors beside the platform during service hours. All other intercity operators are handled by the GRT service desk.
The possibility of the Charles St. Terminal becoming redundant in the near future has been broached by a pair of Regional plans: first, on implementation of a rapid-transit backbone which would decentralize bus routes and require fewer platforms at a single downtown location; and second, the plan to build a multi-modal hub at King and Victoria streets to handle train, bus, and rapid-transit services, which would also probably integrate the railway station. The Ion rapid transit service is scheduled to debut in 2017 and the stop at the terminal does not yet have a firm date for completion.
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