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sjc said:
I expect Porter is glad to be out of there. Even when it was possible to access it, nobody could find it. Next to the Royal York is a much better and much more visible location for their bus.
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Yes...but they should pay their rent....no?
 
^^ That and it sounds like they were in negotiation to work out some sort of settlement that went bad and wound up in court. Obviously if your Bus pickup depot can't be accessed by any vehicle then you have no use for the space, right?
 
Woodbridge_Heights said:
^^ That and it sounds like they were in negotiation to work out some sort of settlement that went bad and wound up in court. Obviously if your Bus pickup depot can't be accessed by any vehicle then you have no use for the space, right?
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Right....but your issue is with the guy who closed the road (the city) not the landlord!
 
sjc said:
I expect Porter is glad to be out of there. Even when it was possible to access it, nobody could find it. Next to the Royal York is a much better and much more visible location for their bus.
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I don't think so. A Porter bus travelling Queens Quay, Simcoe, Station, York, Bremner, Rees, Queens Quay can avoid most of the traffic of rush hour. By going north of York they lengthen their route and put themselves into areas with greater chances of congestion. Probably the best place for them is at the new south entrance to Union station where they can avoid going north of the tracks altogether.
 
I'd like for them to lease out a spot in the GO bus terminal and maybe even another spot at the Bay Street bus terminal.
 
Farther north is better for those that are walking to the bus from their offices in the downtown core. If they take wellington west to Simcoe and then south on Simcoe, they shouldn't have too much traffic problems.

What is the Porter bus route these days?
 
They should also consider adding a few more pick-up points enroute instead of the single stop service they have today.
 
If they ran it up to Queen street, they could ensure that the big Porter logo on top on the bus goes by David Miller's office window several times an hour.

I like the idea of it stopping a few places downtown. Just make the union/royal york close to the last stop so current customer's journeys are not lengthened (maybe one stop along Queen's Quay)
 
kEiThZ said:
It also shows how ridiculous the argument is that having an airport would necessarily attract jet airplane noise. Legally speaking there is zero restriction on jet operations over downtown Toronto or the waterfront. If Air Canada has the money to burn and the will to do it, they could do high speed passes of the beach with a 777 all day long. That may sound far-fetched but it seems to me most people didn't notice the noise when the CF was running combat air patrols over Toronto with fully loaded Hornets for months following 9/11. They even used the Island and Downsview as turn points while conducting patrols (below civilian clearance altitudes).
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War monger! Apparently this letter writer a the Star disagrees:
As I stood on my apartment balcony yesterday morning watching two sleek warplanes thundering in a steep bank toward the lakeshore, I wondered why we still glory in a technology designed to bring misery and death wherever it is deployed. Perhaps it is time to reconsider their inclusion as part of the entertainment in our annual air show at the CNE.
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I can't help but visualize this guy as the hippy teacher in Beavis and Butthead. Apparently the good folks at Now Magazine are equally upset at the possibility of militarizing downtown Toronto. I am surprised they didn't start talking about the secret chapter of NAFTA that lets the US use YTZ as a nuclear staging point. Guam of the Great Lakes it is.
The Island Airport’s looking weirdly like a base for military operations these days. Hercules C-130 cargo planes are not the only military craft using the airport for unspecified training flights. Earlier this month, Canadian Armed Forces Airbus A310s, planes used for midair refuelling, were spotted doing circuits around the airport, one with its landing gear deployed making an approach as if preparing to land. The defence minister has yet to respond to a letter from the TPA’s McQueen about the department’s military plans, if any, for the Island Airport. Noise complaints are down, says the TPA, so a few jets can’t hurt, right? Stay tuned.
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First, the article I read about the late flights didn't say how late they were. I know planes have come in minutes after curfew, but I can't imagine that would cause this much of a stir. If it's hours after than there's a problem, but I think it would be sad if people were literally watching their clocks to see if the plane got in at 10:59 or 11:00.


Second, about the space at Union Station, Porter was there until this spring. I used to work there sometimes. It was a waste of money for the company, but an easy way to make a paycheque. You could count on one hand the number of people who used the kiosks there daily, and most of the time the only people who would come in were people wondering how to get to the ACC or the CN Tower. I love talking to tourists, so that was great, but I don't think porter is in the tourist info booth business.

The shuttle stop moved to the Royal York Hotel when construction on Simcoe started. They won't consider extra stops because it's meant to be express and add to the value of flying with them. If people want extra stops, take the 509 or 510 streetcars.

Also, the Porter bus route isn't the same all the time. They change it based on traffic and the driver's preferred route. Sometimes it goes down Bathurst to Front, while other times it uses Queens Quay.
 
^ What I was suggesting is that Porter diversify beyond the current single bus route that it has. The way I see it, they should offer at least two routes: one from Union station (hopefully by leasing a bay from GO - much more identifiable location than in front of Royal York for transit users) and one from the Bay street bus terminal. They could even combine the bus: start at Bay/Dundas and then go to Union and proceed from there. As for adding stops, I understand the "express" nature of the buses. But we are talking about one to two stops at most. At worst that would add 5 mins. But the added convenience for passenges in the catchment area of each stop would pay-off, I think. Plus it would fit Porter's image of convenience and service much better than making patrons take the TTC. Perhaps they could offer an express and non-express shuttle buses if they are worried about customer service.

Adding a few buses can't be that big a deal, especially given the rate at which Porter is growing. And if they do tie into the Bay/Dundas bus depot, they could even partner up with Greyhound for example to offer some combined (or even code-share) services.
 
jn_12 said:
First, the article I read about the late flights didn't say how late they were. I know planes have come in minutes after curfew, but I can't imagine that would cause this much of a stir. If it's hours after than there's a problem, but I think it would be sad if people were literally watching their clocks to see if the plane got in at 10:59 or 11:00.
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You've obviously never chatted or observed some of those Community AIR activists. They are just the type of people who would file complaints for a Q400 shooting its approach at 2301 hrs.
 
^ ya I know. I had to walk through their dwindling Friday protests a couple times. Luckily I worked the morning shift usually so i didn't have to deal with them often.

Also, I had the "pleasure" of talking to one as one of my urban planning classes went on a field trip to the island to get a tour and hear this guy make up stuff about the island airport. At one point a gun went off in this distance making a loud BOOM in order to scare of birds and he was like "see that's from the airport." The class totally fell for it. It was actually from Leslie Spit in the total opposite direction. I've been within a hundred metres of the guns they use at the airport to shoo away the birds and this was literally like comparing a shack to a mansion. They're willing to use anything they can to change public opinion. Luckily on the ferry ride back everyone asked me about my opinion of the day since I didn't think it was worth it to stand up to some old guy who was nice enough to invite us into his home, so I was at least able to give the other side of the story.

I think it's ironic that the islanders were unwanted for nearly 100 years and had to fight to stay, and this is the same group that now wants to force another group off. It's a bit hypocritical really.
 
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