Dundas West/ Bloor Mobility Hub +interconnected hub network (Metrolinx)

[rdaner]

Seems rather absurd - but that's Metrostinx for you.

Though I'd have thought the biggest usage would be people entering the subway from the east, rather than walking all the way to Dundas.

As I live 20 seconds to the east from here I can safely chime in. Surprisingly I would say that those using UPX are evenly split between airport users and those, like myself, that use it like a new subway line. This latter group will keep increasing as the Eglinton stop opens and development continues. As far as whether most people transfer east or west I don’t know but do know that a lot of riders are coming to this specific area as it is rapidly developing.

 

[evandyk]

If you were coming from say Islington or Royal York and were willing to pay an extra fare for a faster trip downtown, would it save you time to get out of the subway at Dundas W, walk to the UP platform and take that downtown?

 

[livesquid]

If you were coming from say Islington or Royal York and were willing to pay an extra fare for a faster trip downtown, would it save you time to get out of the subway at Dundas W, walk to the UP platform and take that downtown?

yes! It's remarkable - 6min to Union station, and you can time it because it's on the 15mins by the clock.

 

[bearcat]

If you were coming from say Islington or Royal York and were willing to pay an extra fare for a faster trip downtown, would it save you time to get out of the subway at Dundas W, walk to the UP platform and take that downtown?

The UP Express train is scheduled at 8 minutes to Union, the subway at 19 minutes. Switching trains at St. George is like 1 min at most, so 20 min total. Assuming the walk from the subway to UP Express is 3 minutes, the shortest time to get to Union via changing to UP Express is 11 minutes, the longest is 26 minutes (just missed a train and have to wait 15 minutes). On the subway the shortest time is 20 minutes, the longest is also 26 minutes (assuming maximum 6 minutes between Line 1 trains).

Also, it's possible the transfer with the new connection will be shorter than 3 minutes, so the times for UP Express might be less.

The two also arrive at different locations at Union Station, so the walk to your final destination will also make a difference.

Essentially, for certain trips it maybe be faster on average to take UP Express, not sure if it would be worth the cost.

Now once Kitchener GO line is more frequent, and if the fare integration stays the same, then the extra cost would only be $0.40. Though the Kitchener GO is currently scheduled at 12 minutes to get to Union, so that changes the calculation a bit.

So no clear winner IMHO.

 

[nfitz]

Is think in the long term, once there is GO service every 5 to 10 minutes a peak (I assume thatthe express trains will continue to stop at Bloor)

 

[rdaner]

If you were coming from say Islington or Royal York and were willing to pay an extra fare for a faster trip downtown, would it save you time to get out of the subway at Dundas W, walk to the UP platform and take that downtown?

Don’t know! People who seem to use it are often going to areas adjacent to the UPX stations like me. When Eglinton opens it will have a direct connection so it will be an option for those on the Eglinton line. The other thing is that there are also frequent GO trains which you can just as easily catch. Between UPX and GO there is basically something every 10 minutes.

On a bit of a separate note I personally get utility from UPX as there are so many options now at Union that it makes it a really convenient meeting point!

 

[grammin]

Used it today, love it! Union to Bloor. Dundas West toward Kipling. Home in half an hour. ~$8.30. Although a little later and could have Go trained it straight to Kipling. Gosh I wish we had frequent 15 minute all day service on the Milton Line, would take a tonne of strain off line 2 I think and bunch of happy commuters.

 

[Bojaxs]

Whatever time savings you get from taking the GO or UP at Bloor versus taking the subway, will be chipped away to "0" at the rate they're adding stops to the Kitchener line in Toronto.

 

[evandyk]

A few years ago, while we were doing renovations in my apartment we stayed with a friend at Bloor and Sterling for a week, and I took the UP downtown every day. It was really nice as a commuter service. But have always wondered how useful it is as a connection to the subway to head further west.

All day frequent service on all the Go lines, as well as functional Via service to K-W, London and beyond would do a lot more for congestion in Toronto than Dougie's $100B tunnel, and would be a lot cheaper too.

 

[Ratazana]

The UP Express train is scheduled at 8 minutes to Union, the subway at 19 minutes. Switching trains at St. George is like 1 min at most, so 20 min total. Assuming the walk from the subway to UP Express is 3 minutes, the shortest time to get to Union via changing to UP Express is 11 minutes, the longest is 26 minutes (just missed a train and have to wait 15 minutes). On the subway the shortest time is 20 minutes, the longest is also 26 minutes (assuming maximum 6 minutes between Line 1 trains).

Also, it's possible the transfer with the new connection will be shorter than 3 minutes, so the times for UP Express might be less.

The two also arrive at different locations at Union Station, so the walk to your final destination will also make a difference.

Essentially, for certain trips it maybe be faster on average to take UP Express, not sure if it would be worth the cost.

Now once Kitchener GO line is more frequent, and if the fare integration stays the same, then the extra cost would only be $0.40. Though the Kitchener GO is currently scheduled at 12 minutes to get to Union, so that changes the calculation a bit.

So no clear winner IMHO.

KW GO & UP will be the clear winner once frequency is there. Even with the extra stop at Liberty Village, KW GO/UP will only have 2 stops after DW. There are 12 points of failure along line 2 and line 1. We all have experienced the frequent disruptions due to track/equipment/human issues in the subway.

 

[evandyk]

There are enough disruptions on line 1 and 2 these days that if I lived walking distance from the UP station, I'd take that to work rather than the subway despite it costing more.

 

[facepalming_brooklynite]

There are enough disruptions on line 1 and 2 these days that if I lived walking distance from the UP station, I'd take that to work rather than the subway despite it costing more.

Yes, the only "slow zone" on the UP is in the approach to Pearson

 

[Natika33]

A few years ago, while we were doing renovations in my apartment we stayed with a friend at Bloor and Sterling for a week, and I took the UP downtown every day. It was really nice as a commuter service. But have always wondered how useful it is as a connection to the subway to head further west.

All day frequent service on all the Go lines, as well as functional Via service to K-W, London and beyond would do a lot more for congestion in Toronto than Dougie's $100B tunnel, and would be a lot cheaper too.

☝ This last paragraph is so relevant & I'd add that building the high speed train through Peterborough & beyond would help a tonne too (if they'd actually do it!).

 

[Garuda]

KW GO & UP will be the clear winner once frequency is there. Even with the extra stop at Liberty Village, KW GO/UP will only have 2 stops after DW. There are 12 points of failure along line 2 and line 1. We all have experienced the frequent disruptions due to track/equipment/human issues in the subway.

Glad you enjoy it! I know some travellers like to avoid the craziness at Union and will transfer at Bloor to Dundas West to avoid downtown and reach their final destination.

This connection cannot come soon enough.

 

[Ratazana]

Here’s a real personal story illustrating the intermodal-ness of Dundas West/Bloor.
I think it was spring or summer of 2023 when I had to catch a VIA train from Toronto to Montreal. The 6pm last train.
From home, my usual route is Jane bus to Jane subway and then subway all the way to Union. Pretty straightforward right?
Well, by the time my Jane bus arrived at the subway station, I saw a pandemonium around the intersection with loads of people exiting the station…of course, Line 2 was completely down from Ossington all the way to Jane.

I have conservatively budgeted my commute time but it was already 5:05 by the time I got to Jane. I thought to myself…there’s no way I can use the shuttle bus to get from Jane to Ossington and then subway and still make it to Union for my 6pm VIA…
And the Toronto traffic would also make taking a Uber out of the question (it would take the Uber likely 15 min to even get into the madness caused by the subway shutdown). I was almost going to give up and rebook my VIA and pay through my nose….

Then suddenly I figured it out:
I quickly found a Communauto car just a block north of Bloor and Jane. Drove it across Annette and arrive on the side streets east of Dundas West station. Ran like a mad person into the UPX platform and just managed to make the 5:30 UPX down to Union.

I was looking at my watch the whole time on the UPX…and I ran like mad again from the UPX terminal to the VIA platform.
Got there with only 3 min before the train left for Montreal.

Now that’s the power of intermodal connections.