GO Transit Goes for Free WiFi on Buses and Trains

The government of Ontario in Canada has rolled out free passenger WiFi on all of the province’s buses and just over half of its trains. According to the government, the service, which launched this week, forms a key part of its commitment to improve public transit across the region.

GO Transit is a division of Metrolinx and serves a population of around 14.6 million residents in the greater Toronto and Hamilton areas. It carries over 70 million passengers annually.  

According to Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation "More than 80% of GO customers named WiFi as their most desired amenity, and our government is committed to make life easier for the people of Ontario by keeping commuters connected throughout their journey.”

The Ontario administration said that the remainder of the fleet of GO Trains will be fitted out to offer the service by early next year. For the moment, riders will have free access to 10Mb of data per trip over a four-hour period.

Passengers will have access to GO WiFi Plus, a user-friendly portal that offers free WiFi as well as a variety of entertainment content. Once connected, riders get free data and will have unlimited access to the GO WiFi Plus content portal where they can access TV shows, audiobooks, e-books, music and podcasts.

Those signing in with their reloadable PRESTO fare-cards will receive more data, at 50Mb per trip, according to the release, while customer access to the GO WiFi Plus content portal does not count towards the data limit.

Metrolinx has signed an agreement with Icomera Canada Inc. to connect all 1,399 GO buses and trains to WiFi.