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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

crs1026 said:
..., but it's not like these folks were flying to take a cruise.

- Paul
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Perhaps not, though for some low-income people, the time and $ commitment, never mind if you have little kids in tow is not immaterial.

I would add, a fair few international tourists to Toronto want to make a 1-day side trip to see the Falls and may not pass by this way again for years (or ever).

That's not to say there was an easy solution; rather, I'm simply sympathetic to those who lost several hours of their time and a planned excursion.
 
Northern Light said:
That's not to say there was an easy solution; rather, I'm simply sympathetic to those who lost several hours of their time and a planned excursion.
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Lots of disappointment, certainly, especially for families with kids.

The saving grace is that the breakdown happened before the train got over the bridge. Had it happened with the load of people already at the Falls, and unable to get home, the issue would change from inconvenient to a much more serious situation.

I wonder what level of response GO can or would muster in that situation.

- Paul
 
Based on my experience the when my weekday Niagara local train failed to take me to St. Catharines a few years ago, GO won't refund the tickets, because the delay was CN's fault.

My experience:

The Maple Leaf a half hour earlier had apparently reported unsafe track conditions on the track in St Catharines station, so our train had to take the other track, which doesn't have a platform. They gathered everyone (20 people) accessibility car, and the plan was to unload across the other track using the station's asphalt crossings which are there for that purpose. But for whatever reason, they decided that they couldn't do that and ended up running non-stop to Niagara Falls. They said they would run a shuttle bus back to St. Catharines for us.

There was indeed a bus waiting in the parking lot of the train station, but upon exiting the parking lot (bottoming out on the steep ramp in the process) the bus just went to the bus terminal and started the regularly scheduled Route 12 trip to Burlington. So we stopped at Niagara College and were told that we'd need to transfer at St Catharines Fairview mall to another bus. The passengers basically revolted at this notion and demanded to be driven direct to St. Catharines Station. So the drivers arranged to instead swap buses at Fairview Mall, so the people heading to St. Catharines Station stayed on the bus, while people continuing on the 12 needed to get off switch to the other bus. There were a group of Route 12 customers upstairs who didn't speak English, but fortunately there was someone onboard who spoke Spanish and could explain to them what they needed to do.

I called GO afterwards to ask for a refund, and they told me that they wouldn't since the track conditions were CN's fault, not theirs. They only refunded the difference between the trip to Niagara which I had been forced to take, and the trip to St Catharines which I had been trying to take.
 
Allandale25 said:
Display board issues at Union? Or they can't upload the data fast enough?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1545720743677333504
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The angry face is for this bit:

1657414937307.png


Lets be perfectly frank, this likely would never happen to me (or many who frequent UT); sure, because in all likelihood we paid our way; but also ...

I (and many here) speak in a certain way that conveys the ability to get the media's attention, a lawyer, create hassles and reports and name-drop someone's bosses' boss.

And equally can soft peddle any offense ( check my card, I always pay, I'm sure the machine simply failed to read the card properly)

I want to be clear, I'm not suggesting giving anyone a free pass entirely, without extraordinary cause, for breaching fare payment, or any other rules.

Rather, I'm simply thinking that if this person (arguably fare evader) was a Muzzo.........at worst, they'd be laughing off the $100 in the face of the inspectors and more likely not getting a ticket at all.

Yeah, I know, I sound like some of the angrier posters at UT right now, when I pride myself on moderation; but I very much dislike bullies and those lacking common sense; and even less so those who manage to manifest both traits.
 
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Northern Light said:
The angry face is for this bit:

View attachment 412709

Lets be perfectly frank, this likely would never happen to me (or many who frequent UT); sure, because in all likelihood we paid our way; but also ...

I (and many here) speak in a certain way that conveys the ability to get the media's attention, a lawyer, create hassles and reports and name-drop someone's bosses' boss.

And equally can soft peddle any offense ( check my card, I always pay, I'm sure the machine simply failed to read the card properly)

I want to be clear, I'm not suggesting giving anyone a free pass entirely, without extraordinary cause, for breaching fare payment, or any other rules.

Rather, I'm simply thinking that this this person (arguably fare evader) was a Muzzo.........at worst, they'd be laughing off the $100 in the face of the inspectors and more likely not getting a ticket at all.

Yeah, I know, I sound like some of the angrier posters at UT right now, when I pride myself on moderation; but I very much dislike bullies and those lacking common sense; and even less so those who manage to manifest both traits.
Click to expand...

What the **** is going on with Metrolinx today?!?!
 
Allandale25 said:
So is this going to become a regular practice for them I wonder? Don't remember happening a lot before covid.
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I think it's because of the lane closure (maybe 2 lanes?) on Lakeshore which is a fairly recent thing and causing these backups.

City of Toronto website indicates that it started June 22 and ends July 16.
 
JasonParis said:
I'd also say it's just too many people driving into the city due to a somewhat irrational fear of COVID on transit. I see it at work all the time. Many former transit-riding colleagues now always drive.
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Yep. I actually saw someone in full PPE on the subway this week. Double masked with gloves.

Many people are still paranoid and while I'm supportive of their choices it is time for a reality check.

Covid-19 isn't going anywhere. It is like Polio, TB or SARS. They are all bad but they all still exist. Do you see everyone wearing masks since 2003 because they might catch Sars, TB or the Spanish Flu?

At some point, transit will pick up. We can't just live under a rock in fear.
 
Northern Light said:
Rather, I'm simply thinking that if this person (arguably fare evader) was a Muzzo.........at worst, they'd be laughing off the $100 in the face of the inspectors and more likely not getting a ticket at all.

Yeah, I know, I sound like some of the angrier posters at UT right now, when I pride myself on moderation; but I very much dislike bullies and those lacking common sense; and even less so those who manage to manifest both traits.
Click to expand...

I applaud your basic sense of decency, but unfortunately this may be the lesser evil.

I’m not sure which frightens me more….. the idea of fare inspectors being rigidly wedded to the rules, or fare inspectors making snap calls based on subjective factors and taken-at-face information and interpreting the rules to their personal standard (if the evader was poor, but a white male…..and they are given discretion that is witnessed by a carload of diverse people……down the rabbit hole we go…..)

Chances are, if the individual appears to lacks the resources to pay the fine, they won’t. So it leads to a judgement against them, which sits in a computer database somewhere, and maybe if the evader then draws attention in some other way, they are detained at least briefly until a court date, which they may or may not attend….I’m more confident that a Crown Attorney or JOP or judge might give the appropriate leeway than I am a front line enforcement person…. but at a huge inconvenience and bureaucratic effort for all concerned. At least GO fare enforcement is generally pretty professional in delivering the bad news (In my experience, anyways, and I would not say that about others, eg TTC)

Moore is a more moderate commentator, and if he saw the matter as disturbing, and chose to write about it, I can believe that the situation was egregious. He is well read, so I suspect (hope?) he will have made enough noise for this to get some followup.

At the end of the day, enforcing rules and norms that are largely a matter of money, and not life or safety,, is hugely problemmatic in today’s world.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
LOL - Actually, bridges swing pretty easily... they are counterweighted, after all. Whatever broke or seized would have been misaligned or awkward to dislodge.

I don't know what one can do when there is no alternate route or alternative transport available. No different than weather closing an airport, really - there will be disappointed people, but it's not like these folks were flying to take a cruise.

- Paul
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But isn't the one in question a Bascule bridge? Still, counterbalanced (I don't know how easily they hand-bomb), but no doubt it would take the assembly of several supervisors, area managers from both the Seaway authority and CN, plus actual workers to convene.
 
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