This morning myself and @mfac19 were the third and fourth passengers on the first ever Züm departure from Brampton Terminal to York University at 4:45am. There was much fanfare and we all got swag. I am now near Islington heading back home, and here are a few thoughts:
The TTC's next round of service changes come March 29, and you can read all about them at their website. But, here are some interesting (or not) statistics I've pulled out of the data:
There are 23 instances where service will increase
The highest increase sees your wait drop by 15 minutes
The lowest increase sees your wait drop by 15 seconds
On average the wait for a bus will decrease by 4 minutes, 32 seconds
There are 68 instances where service will decrease
The highest decrease sees your wait increase by 10 minutes
The lowest decrease sees your wait increase by 11 seconds
On average, the wait for a bus will increase by 1 minute, 36 seconds
Overall, waits for a bus will increase by 3.5 seconds on average
An instance is defined as a change made to service during a particular time of the day (AM peak, for example). If service is changing during the AM Peak and late evenings, for example, this would be two instances.
While service decreases are never good, I wonder if the average rider will even notice. Even so, here's hoping that the fall brings better service to all transit agencies across the region.
In Toronto, there is demand to run the subway 24 hours per day - that's evident by the frequency of the 300 BLOOR-DANFORTH night and 320 YONGE night buses (every 7 minutes and every 3 minutes, respectively). The need for maintenance is the reason why it cannot be done until a new signaling system allows for the electrical power shutoff zones to be smaller and more targeted. Up in York Region, however, the situation isn't quite the same. YRT recently announced that they will be cutting service on their VIVA Blue bus rapid transit line after midnight due to low ridership. The 99 YONGE SOUTH and 98 YONGE NORTH buses will continue to operate along the same route, with the last northbound trip leaving Finch station at 2:15 am - but this route will make all local stops.
On the one hand, there isn't enough ridership to justify an express branch of a local route at that time of day, and the more frequent stops that the 99 offers what I think is a better quality of service in the context of it being 2 am - I'm not the kind to fear walking around after dark, but that doesn't mean I want to walk fifteen minutes when I can walk five. In addition, the time savings offered by VIVA's express nature aren't really an issue at that time due to fewer stop requests and almost no traffic. But, VIVA is York Region's flagship service and appears to have a better public perception than the regular YRT service. What weight should those facts carry in the decision making process?
Ideally both routes should continue to operate, but due to the odd way in which transit is funded in this province, the money just isn't there. Assuming that YRT local routes can provide a near identical service and if the region can clear up some of the lingering customer confusion over the relationship between YRT and VIVA then was the right decision made?
Adam Giambrone's Facebook profile is always interesting to read. Like a great blog, it generates dozens of comments on almost every post. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm jealous. But, this post isn't about his profile - it's about one particular comment posted a while back.
When the TTC chair posted that he was working on a note to explain why the subway cannot run 24 hours per day (due to necessary maintenance being conducted overnight), someone commented saying "One train an hour during off hours doesn't sound unreasonable... no? Or at least a train right after the bars let out!" Likely this would not fly as the power to the tunnels has to be cut entirely to ensure worker safety, but it got me thinking:
What is better from the perspective of the quality of service provided to the rider - a single subway train once an hour or a frequent night bus service every 10 minutes or better? Subways are viewed as a higher quality transit service than buses and would probably encourage people to stay out and enjoy the city later - in theory - but an hour is a very long time to wait for a train at 3am. If the choice is between waiting for up to an hour to get home and getting home immediately then I suspect that most people would choose the latter and take a cap or slug it out on the night bus. People will be willing to wait longer for a subway train than they will for a bus, but there is a limit. People will not use a service if it doesn't provide convenient departure times, and an hour between trains is really pushing it.
The same line of thinking can be applied to the off-peak train service on the Georgetown line. Currently there is an inbound train departure every two hours or so between 9 am and 2 pm and until recently, a departure every three hours after that. While the GO train is much more attractive than a GO bus, a departure every two hours has caused me to choose between arriving an hour-and-a-half early or a half-hour late to my appointments. From a quality of service perspective, buses running every half hour would be more convenient for the average user of the service.
But, what do you think? If our objective is to provide high quality transit service that is convenient for people to use then is it better to provide an infrequent train service or a very frequent bus service? Our aim should be very frequent train service, but as an interim measure should we invest our money in creature comforts or in frequency?
Yesterday, Alstom decided to leave the bidding process, leaving Bombardier and Siemens as the remaining firms vying for the next generation streetcar contract. These vehicles will be longer to carry more passengers, will be accessible to those with mobility devices, and will have all-door boarding to reduce the time at stops and help keep service on schedule.
In these trying economic times it makes sense to me to award the contract to Bombardier (lets face it, either way there will be a significant minority of work done off-shore. But, Bombardier at least has their global headquarters in Canada), and A Toronto Star article today reports on Bombardier plant workers begging for more work. In the first round of bidding, Bombardier's product was disqualified because they were not able to handle the tight curves of the system, primary at intersections. It is completely impractical to broaden these curves, as this could result in streetcars running onto the sidewalk or even requiring building demolitions. Awarding the contract to them would be irresponsible unless the vehicle they are proposing now is more capable.
A recommendation is expected to go to council on April 27th, and while I hope that we can use this contract to stimulate the economy within the province, it's pointless if the product we'll be receiving has a limited use.
In other news, the TTC is moving forward with their plan to eliminate free parking for metropass users at certain commuter parking lots. It's slightly unclear how people will respond to this measure, but I see it as being a factor of location. Drivers from the 416 will likely switch to feeder bus services, which are fairly frequent and will result in no additional cost. Those who must drive will have to make a cost-benefit analysis between parking at their workplace or parking at a commuter parking lot. In the 905, that same cost-benefit analysis will take place, but the feeder bus options are very limited due to poor coverage and poor frequencies on many routes compared to the 905. GO might become the preferred mode for some, but unless we improve bus service coverage in the 905, this move will be a net loss for our transit network.
Perhaps the worst kept municipal secret in the city of Toronto in 2008 are the February 17th TTC service adjustments. Since they aren't officially going to be released until a press gala on Friday, I'll leave it to the Mayor and the TTC Chair to bring the good news. However, I will say this. Photo-ops are a great way to get people excited about transit, which is admittedly not a very sexy subject. However, three days is not enough to get the word out to everyone.
Thankfully, since these are all improvements and not cuts, its unlikely that someone will become stranded from missing their bus. And, the inconvenience of schedules being shuffled around will be mitigated by the greater frequencies.
But, I would still be a little upset if I got to my stop on Monday morning only to find I could have left the house ten or fifteen minutes later and still be on time.
Longer Wait for Buses in Fall Doug Hallett, Guelph (Aug 7, 2007)
Guelph Transit says it can no longer manage to provide 30-minute bus frequency during peak travel periods and so will revert to 40-minute frequency next month.
"Overall customer demand has increased while traffic patterns have made it increasingly difficult to deliver connections on time," says a new report from Guelph Transit to city council.
It says 40-minute service intervals in the peak times will address longstanding customer complaints that buses fail to meet their connections in St. George's Square, forcing riders to wait 30 minutes for the next one to arrive.
As of Sept. 2, there will be 40-minute service from 7:15-9:15 a.m. and from 1:15-7:15 p.m. Outside of those hours, 30-minute service will be maintained.
Population growth in the city over the years has made it necessary for Guelph Transit to extend its routes, the report says. And "with the addition of more stop signs, stop lights and other traffic calming measures, the ability to sustain 30-minute service has been increasingly difficult."
Aside from ensuring connection times are met, the report says 40-minute service will mean increased schedule accuracy, will give bus drivers more time to complete their routes and could reduce the need for extra buses on various routes.
As well, it says, "our aging and disabled population often feel stressed and hurried to embark, disembark or make their transfer to a connecting bus." The 40-minute service interval will allow these people "to feel more comfortable riding conventional bus service during peak periods."
The change to a 40-minute service standard is one of several outlined in the report. Other changes, which also start Sept. 2, include:
* a new 54 Arkell route to meet needs in the area bounded by Arkell, Victoria, Clair and Gordon roads. This bus will connect riders with service into the University of Guelph
* Improvements in service to the U of G on the 51 Gordon route, made possible by time efficiencies on that route made possible by the new 54 Arkell route
* Better connections at the U of G from the perimeter route
* changes to the 52 University/Kortright route, including "express" routing at certain times of day to go along with continued 15-minute service on this route on weekdays.
I think that Guelph has the wrong idea here. Other than the fact that having less frequent service in the peak periods doesn't make sense to me at all, I believe that increasing frequencies are more important than co-ordinating transfers, mainly because increasing frequencies also minimizes the amount of time you have to wait at a stop for a connection. This service change may be more convenient for seniors, who generally are able to devote more time to their daily activities, but the agency runs the risk of turning away the rest of the population. University students are a key demographic that need to be attracted to transit early, as this is the age where they form habits which will last for the rest of their lives.
We have come to a fork in the road, where one of two chapters in the city will be written. To the left, we find a city which is more expensive to live in, but where we have excellent municipal services provided for us. To the right, we have a city which is more affordable, but where we have to provide ourselves with the services that we used to receive.
The issue of the budget crisis and its effect on the TTC has spawned unprecedented discussion on websites like BlogTO, Torontoist and Steve Munro's Website. Perhaps it is political grandstanding, and using a doomsday scenario to move civic leaders to action, but perhaps, this is the situation we face. We've known for years that the cost of providing city services we use was out-pacing revenue - and that eliminating free coffee at council meetings wasn't going to be enough to solve the crisis.
Truly, we have three clear options, because we cannot gamble on the province offering handouts. The cost of losing that bet is too great. The premier is on record saying that he will not offer any more financial support to Toronto - and although a provincial election looms, this is the devil we know.
That leaves us at service cuts, tax increases or a mixture of both.
It won't surprise you to know that I do not support any cuts to the TTC in particular, and hope that cuts to other city services can be avoided at all costs. We were just starting to build momentum in rebuilding the system, and the proposed action will bring us back to the Harris days. I don't buy the argument that raising taxes will cause a mass exodus into the suburbs. Money isn't the only reason people do what they do, and its not the only reason they live in the city of Toronto.
There is a movement at city hall to reopen the debate about the new taxes. If council is recalled, I hope that the elected officials ignore partisan lines, political gains and personal vendetta, and look deeply within themselves to answer to question: "What kind of city do you want to live in?"
Here are the October service changes for some of the GTA systems: TTC - October 15
23 Dawes, 15 Evans, 504 King, 102 Markham Rd & 73 Royal York all have increased service.
509 Harbourfront, 86 Scarborough, 85 Sheppard East & 165 Weston Rd North all have seasonal service reductions, due to fewer people going to Harbourfront, Metro Toronto Zoo and Canada's Wonderland, respectively.
192 Airport Rocket, 191 Highway 27 Rocket, 79 Scarlett Rd & 84 Sheppard West all have general schedule changes.
33 Forest Hill has been rerouted at the north end of the route for a trial period - again. Service is now 30 minutes instead of 20. Expect this to not be the last change this route sees.
Mississauga Transit - October 23
Accessible service comes to 1 Dundas, 1C Dundas-Collegeway, 8 Cawthra-Indian road & 68 Windsor Hill
5B Dixie-Meyerside, 24 University, 34 Credit Valley & 42 Derry all have either improved frequency, more coverage or both.
38A Creditview-Argentia & 6 Credit Woodlands-Westdale both ahve new Sunday service, though 38A Sunday will not serve the Meadowpine Industrial area.
Brampton Transit - October 30
Schedule adjustments come on 4 Chinguacousy (Saturday), 12 Grenoble (all days), 23 Sandalwood (all days), 53 Kingknoll (weekday) & 77 Finch Subway (weekday and Saturday)
York Region Transit - October 29
1 Highway 7 has its last two eastbound trips using highway 7 all the way to Markham-Stouffville Hospital.
4 Major Mackenzie stops serving Canada's Wonderland, and has changes to the first westbound trip.
9 Stouffville has more coverage in Stouffville, and changes to an afternoon rush trip.
20 Jane-Concord stops serving Canada's Wonderland, but like the 4, will return next year.
33 Wellington has changes to a morning rush trip to improve connections.
77 Highway 7-Centre, covered in the Brampton Transit section, has schedule changes in the afternoon rush and on Saturday.
91/91A Bayview South has changes to morning rush trips to improve connections.
300 Business Express will no longer serve Motorola, as VIVA does the job nicely. It's cut back to IBM with minor adjustments.
522 Markham Community Bus makes its debut, replacing Mobility Plus service in the area.
445 St Robert School Special has its morning 7:20 trip absorbed into the 82 schedule.
The TTC has released their September service changes, and I find it confusing that they would release them on the day the changes took place. Either way, here's a summary of the many changes:
Seasonal service ends on 6 Bay, 172 Cherry Street, 509 Harbourfront, 30 Lambton, 86 Scarborough, 85 Sheppard East and 92 Woodbine South.
Schedule changes to improve reliability will come to 11 Bayview and 28 Davisville
General service adjustments come to 49 Bloor West and 20 Cliffside.
Service increases come to 22 Coxwell, 113 Danforth, 23 Dawes, 25 Don Mills, 108 Downsview, 29 Dufferin, 111 East Mall, 34 Eglinton East, 39 Finch East, 308 Finch East Night, 36 Finch West, 309 Finch West Night, 100 Flemingdon Park, 38 Highland Creek, 191 Highway 27 Rocket, 37 Islington, 35 Jane, 41 Keele, 43 Kennedy, 12 Kingston Rd, 44 Kipling South, 54 Lawrence East, 52 Lawrence West, 58 Malton, 59 Maple Leaf, 16 McCowan, 129 McCowan North, 116 Morningside, 70 O'Connor, 86 Scarborough, 53 Steeles East, 24 Victoria Park, 68 Warden, 112 West Mall, 165 Weston Road North, 96 Wilson, 106 York University & 196 York University Rocket.
New accessible service will come to 22 Coxwell, 135 Gerrard and 12 Kingston Rd.
Also, service to Canada's Wonderland will continue on the 165 until the park closes for the year. The last day of service will be Sunday October 8th. On the 95 York Mills, buses will need extra time due to a city construction project on Ellesmere between Birchmount and Kennedy until December. Other routes affected by planned construction and closures can be found on the TTC website. Check the TTC for all the information.
Burlington Transit's September service changes are part of their new long-term transit plans, so there's a lot to cover. Here's what to expect, both on and off the bus.
Route 1 Plains/Fairview has two new weekday afternoon trips to Hamilton, one new morning round trip on Saturday, and two new Sunday round trips. In addition, route 1 and 10 will no longer be interlined.
Route 4 Pinedale will now go through the Central Park area, serving the Senior's Centre, Central Arena, Music Centre and Central Library. Also, service to Appleby GO station will run all day on weekdays, instead of only during peak hours.
Route 6 Headon Forest will now serve the 407 carpool lot at Dundas. Also, service gets extended to 10:44 pm on weekdays and Saturdays at 60-minute frequency. New Sunday service will operate at 60 minute frequency from 10 am to 6 pm.
Route 8 Harvester/North Service Road will be rerouted on Mainway and Sutton between Mainway and North Service road to better serve business in the area.
Route 10 New/Maple will no longer be integrated with route 1.
Route 11 Appleby has three new evening trips that meet the evening trains at Appleby GO Station.
Route 12 Upper Middle has increased morning service, midday headways halved to 30 minutes, and new hourly evening service and Sunday service to replace dial-a-bus service.
Route 13 New/Rebecca has a service adjustment to 30-minute frequency.
Route 15 Walkers is extended to the Dundas and 407 carpool lot, then along Dundas to the First Pro Plaza. Also, there will be two new northbound and three new southbound trips after 8:00 pm.
Route 61 Orchard will follow the 12 routing north of Upper Middle Road, then use the 11 routing beyond Pathfinder, with the reverse in the am.
Dial-a-ride routes 8A Burloak, 9 Lakeshore, 11 Appleby, 12A Upper Middle, and 15 Walkers Dial-a-Ride will have changes to the time they operate.
Outside of schedule changes, fares have increased. But, a 90 minute time-based transfer, identical to the ones used by the other systems, has been introduced to offer more value (which is a lot more value when you consider that Burlington Transit's ComboCard smart card doesn't deduct money after more than 3 rides in a day or 11 rides in a week. Also, a new Student Activity Pass will give high school students unlimited transit rides on the weekends and on weekdays after 5:00 pm. This is just a trial pass, and I hope it proves popular. Burlington has always been a step ahead of the other systems in the GTA in terms of fare collection innovation. The GTA Fare card which is coming into effect within the next few years is essentially the BT ComboCard on a large scale, so I would be surprised if any idea from Burlington doesn't go unnoticed.
In the long term, Burlington plans to install signal priority at key locations, buy replacement buses sooner, and finish installing bike racks on the Burlington Transit fleet.
For the Oakville Transit riders, you're getting some service upgrades this September which will make transit in the Town easier to understand and access. Here's what to expect:
Zone Express (dial-a-bus) service will be complimented by fixed routes on all days of the week, including holidays. The zone service will be complimented by routes 14, 19 and 24.
Route 26 will no longer enter Oakville Place. This might make the route faster overall, and hopefully will not result in too much longer of a walk.
Route 19 will now run until 12:25 am, replacing Zone Express in the area with a fixed route.
Routes 19 and 20 will no longer be interlined at the Uptown Core for the 7:25 pm and 8:25 pm trips.
In other news, Oakville Transit is holding a public meeting on September 13 at 7:30 pm at town hall. Aparently residents who live along Route 11 are unhappy about Oakville Transit buses operating on residential streets. Considering that buses always stick to the speed limit, are highly visible to anyone attempting to cross, and that the drivers are highly trained professionals (unlike some car drivers on the road), I submit that one bus on the street is much safer than twenty cars.
Greetings. I'm a graduate of Ryerson University's School of Urban and Regional Planning, and my interest in public transportation systems began at a very young age. Over the years, I've developed many ideas on how to improve public transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, and have been advocating for investment in public transportation, better urban design and more sustainable communities since 2003.
I am a writer, advocate and activist, and I have served on the Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan advisory committee, where I have been able to offer my opinion on transportation policy in the GTHA.
On this blog and its companion website, www.gttavisions.com, I will chronicle my observations, travels and visions for public transit in Canada's largest city-region.
I hope you enjoy what I have to say, and never hesitate to leave me a comment or write me an email at andrae@gttavisions.com
