My girlfriend is attending UW and I plan to visit her at least once a month or so. I check Google Maps which indicated a 3 hour trip via public transportation. I really dont want to be sitting in buses for 3 hours on the way there and back. Is there a better alternative that is faster and not too expensive?

to my knowledge it would be bus to mississauga square one and bus to waterloo with go bus. Maybe theres a greyhound/megabus?

theres usually a megabus that leaves about once a week from mac and is only a one hour trip.
but the most frequent transportation is with the go bus, but like you said its a 3 hour trip since you'd have to transfer busses going to mississauga square one then to waterloo

On the bright side, you can use that time to read your textbooks or listen to podcasted lectures...

Take the Coach Canada bus from Mary Keyes Residence (leaves 6 times daily, see schedule on Coach Canada site) to the Kitchener Bus Terminal (15 Charles St W.) That bus ride takes 1 Hour 20 min. From there you can take a local GRT (Grand River Transit) city bus to UW, that takes about 25 Min. The entire trip is about 1 Hour 45 min. compared to the 3 hour alternative.

There might be a way to take the megabus/greyhound to Cambridge and from there catch a bus to Waterloo. This seems like a more direct route rather than going all the way out to Mississauga

If you're comfortable with it, you can check Kijiji for ride shares. There's also a big UW rideshare Facebook group for students looking for rides to/from the city.

Originally Posted by ashleighp

On the bright side, you can use that time to read your textbooks or listen to podcasted lectures...

That is the bright side to you??? I'm am actually at a loss for words right now

You can buy megabus tickets at the compass desk. The bus goes right to Waterloo on Fridays but every other day the fastest way is to take it to Kitchener and hop on a city bus from there