GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[rbt]

Most transit agencies that charge by distance or zones normally have a % of their fare as fixed and a % based on mileage. It's to mimic the cost structure and to encourage certain behaviours.

In that vein, I keep waiting for a Union Station Corridor penalty fare (maybe $2) advertised as a discount for not using USC of course. The intention is to encourage increased seat turnover which can dramatically increase revenue since the added operating costs for these trips is extremely low. Oshawa to Exhibition would include it, but Oakville to Port Credit would not.

 

[reaperexpress]

In that vein, I keep waiting for a Union Station Corridor penalty fare (maybe $2) advertised as a discount for not using USC of course. The intention is to encourage increased seat turnover which can dramatically increase revenue since the added operating costs for these trips is extremely low. Oshawa to Exhibition would include it, but Oakville to Port Credit would not.

Similarly I've been wondering about fully fare-integrating with suburban transit agencies. So for example a YRT Zone 1 transfer would be accepted as proof-of-payment on a GO trip from Mount Joy to Unionville. Standard GO fares would apply to trips spanning more than one local transit zone. GO already does this to a limited extent in Durham Region.

 

[TOareaFan]

Similarly I've been wondering about fully fare-integrating with suburban transit agencies. So for example a YRT Zone 1 transfer would be accepted as proof-of-payment on a GO trip from Mount Joy to Unionville. Standard GO fares would apply to trips spanning more than one local transit zone. GO already does this to a limited extent in Durham Region.

It should be easy to program Presto such that using GO between two points in the same municipality (or region where there are regional transit agencies) should only incur a fare equal to that municipality's transit system. So someone living near the Mt. Pleasant mobility hub but working at, say, Canadian Tire can hop on a GO train at Mt. Pleasant and get off at Bramalea and pay a Brampton Transit fare....instead of taking the 5 (or 505) to Bramalea Road then switching to the 15 and eventually getting to the same place via the Bramalea City Centre.

Of course GO doesn't even treat the 3 stations in Brampton as one "Zone" and continues to charge different fares from each of them....creating an inordinate amount of road traffic as people are biased to the station with the cheaper GO fare.

 

[salsa]

GO Transit Update is on the agenda for Dec 3 Metrolinx board meeting.

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pd...03/20151203_BoardMtg_GO_Transit_Update_EN.pdf

 

[mdrejhon]

One new peak and three new offpeak (?) trains to West Harbour GO in Hamilton!

 

[ShonTron]

One new peak and three new offpeak (?) trains to West Harbour GO in Hamilton!

Don't be too excited.

For 2015-2016 (the current fiscal year), there were 1 new weekday a.m. trip and three extended weekday trips to serve the new West Harbour GO Station in Hamilton. Those are the two round trips a day the station gets now. Same with the 14 midday trips on the Kitchener Line on the same page.

The mentioning of new weekday, evening and weekend trains for 2016-2017 was left vague, but my guess is that these are going to the Kitchener Line (evening train service to Mount Pleasant, much like the midday trips), and the Barrie Line (permanent implementation of the limited summer weekend trains.)

 

[innsertnamehere]

Wouldn't be surprised if St. Catherine's happens, there was an article out earlier talking about the Niagara Falls mayor saying that he would have good news on the GO train front "very soon"..

 

[mdrejhon]

Don't be too excited.

For 2015-2016 (the current fiscal year), there were 1 new weekday a.m. trip and three extended weekday trips to serve the new West Harbour GO Station in Hamilton. Those are the two round trips a day the station gets now.

Oh yes. Got excited too soon.

Boo about the ambigious wording. It's always been "2 morning trips, 2 evening trips" in other Metrolinx announcements and literature, but now I understand it -- 1 brand new train trip got started, and 3 existing Aldershot trains got extended to West Harbour GO

 

[crs1026]

Also I'm hearing there will be 15 more crews/jobs available instead of 10 at the start of 2016. It getting a little hard to differentiate fact from rumor. What I can verify is that are currently two dozen employees on throttle training. I don't know their individual timelines but most of them should be well into their 120 trip requirement by now.

That's good news. The Premier's promise to increase from 1500 trips to 6000 trips per week within 10 years can't be achieved if GO doesn't ramp up staff sooner than later. I wonder how many of the crews in training will go to replacing retirements and attrition. GO has to keep hiring and training just to stand still, let alone ramp up.

(Side note - I kept a copy of that promise. See https://news.ontario.ca/opo/en/2015...g-go-transit-service-along-all-corridors.html . We all know where these promises go if we don't keep reminding the politicians of stuff. There will be an election around 2018, we'll see what gets said then).

The overtime thing is a slippery slope. Using overtime to perform base workload provides short-term economies since high-priced overheads (pension, benefits, training costs) aren't going up. But if staff are already committed to overtime as their normal work week, any little blip or any addition to workload can't be accommodated - no one is available/willing. Plus - people do get accustomed to the extra $ in their paycheque. The OT becomes an "entitlement" and there are screams when it is reduced. As a taxpayer, I'm OK with whatever inefficiencies the 8-hour day delivers (have GO drivers ever asked for a 10-hour day, so they can work fewer shifts - 4x10 vs 5x8 ?). Some OT will happen anyways, but it's healthier for the organization to have some slack in their labour pool, especially when the future is clearly adding more work.

- Paul

 

[smallspy]

(have GO drivers ever asked for a 10-hour day, so they can work fewer shifts - 4x10 vs 5x8 ?).

- Paul

There are a number of compressed (4 day, versus 5 day) shifts available for crews that want them. Since UPX started, BBD seems to be doing a good job of offering a variety of different shift lengths and types.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[salsa]

GO Transit Update is on the agenda for Dec 3 Metrolinx board meeting.

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/docs/pd...03/20151203_BoardMtg_GO_Transit_Update_EN.pdf

I really wish GO Transit would create a system map for GO buses. The slides mentioned some changes to "Route 40" and "Route 12" for example, and I have no idea what those buses are or where do they go. I have to access a bus schedule in order to see the route and all its branches, but I would prefer to have the option to see all the bus routes in one map. The TTC has a system map, as do pretty much any other transit systems, and I think it's time for GO transit to have one as well.

 

[ShonTron]

I really wish GO Transit would create a system map for GO buses. The slides mentioned some changes to "Route 40" and "Route 12" for example, and I have no idea what those buses are or where do they go. I have to access a bus schedule in order to see the route and all its branches, but I would prefer to have the option to see all the bus routes in one map. The TTC has a system map, as do pretty much any other transit systems, and I think it's time for GO transit to have one as well.

I'd love to see a system map as well. It's a huge network. I created an unofficial online system map, but didn't get around to labeling all the bus routes. With all the lettered branches (often indicating which stops en route that particular bus serves, it's a mess.

But here's a handy hint. All GO bus routes have a two-digit number. The first digit indicates the corridor or region it serves or is connected to. Since they added route numbers about a decade ago, it's been very helpful identifying buses as the system got more complex.

1: Lakeshore West

• Route 12: Burlington-Niagara Falls (extended to the Dundas/407 carpool lot in September)
• Route 15: Aldershot-McMaster shuttle
  
• Route 16: Hamilton-Toronto Express
• Route 18: Lakeshore West "Train Bus" - the early morning/late night runs to/from Union Station, and the bus connections from Aldershot to Hamilton GO Centre
• Route 19: Oakville-Mississauga-North York bus

2: Milton

• Route 20: Milton-Oakville
• Route 21: Milton "Train Bus" - which has 18 different permutations!
• Route 25: Square One-Waterloo
• Route 27: Milton-North York (Hwy 401)
• Route 29: Square One-Guelph

3: Kitchener

• Route 30: Bramalea-Guelph via Hwy 407/401
• Route 31: Kitchener "Train Bus" - 14 different permutations
• Route 32: Trinity Common/Bramalea-North York
• Route 33: Guelph/Brampton-North York
• Route 34: Pearson Airport-North York
• Route 36: Brampton/Bramalea-North York
• Route 37: Orangeville-Brampton
  
• Route 38: Bolton-Malton/Bolton-Woodbridge-North York

4: Highway 407 West

• Route 40: Richmond Hill-Pearson Airport-Hamilton route.
• Route 45: Streetsville-Square One-York U
• Route 46: Oakville-Square One-York U
• Route 47: Hamilton-McMaster-Square One-York U
• Route 48: Guelph-York U

5: Highway 407 East

• Route 51: York U-Scarborough-Pickering
• Route 52: York U-UOIT-Oshawa
• Route 54: York U-Markham

6: Barrie and Richmond Hill corridors

• Route 60: Canada's Wonderland
• Route 61: Richmond Hill "Train Bus"
• Route 63: King City-Maple-Rutherford-Union "Train Bus"
• Route 65: Newmarket-Aurora-Union "Train Bus"
• Route 66: Newmarket-Hwy 400-North York
• Route 67: Keswick-Hwy 404-North York
• Route 68: Barrie-Bradford-Newmarket

7: Stouffville Corridor

• Route 70: Train meets from Unionville and Stouffville to Uxbridge
• Route 71: Uxbridge-Stouffville-Markham-Union Station "Train Bus"

8: Northeast

• Route 81: Whitby-Port Perry-Beaverton
• Route 88: Oshawa GO-Peterborough

9: Lakeshore East

• Route 90: Lakeshore East "Train Bus" - both theearly morning/late night runs to/from Union Station, and the bus connections from Oshawa to Newcastle
• Route 91: Express bus from Oshawa GO to Bowmanville and Newcastle
• Route 92: Oshawa-Yorkdale via Highway 2
• Route 93: Scarborough-UOIT super express
• Route 96: Oshawa-North York Express via Hwy 401

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

I'd love to see a system map as well. It's a huge network. I created an unofficial online system map, but didn't get around to labeling all the bus routes. With all the lettered branches (often indicating which stops en route that particular bus serves, it's a mess.

There's a list on Wikipedia.

 

[reaperexpress]

But here's a handy hint. All GO bus routes have a two-digit number. The first digit indicates the corridor or region it serves or is connected to. Since they added route numbers about a decade ago, it's been very helpful identifying buses as the system got more complex.

1: Lakeshore West

• Route 12: Burlington-Niagara Falls (extended to the Dundas/407 carpool lot in September)
• Route 15: Aldershot-McMaster shuttle
  
• Route 16: Hamilton-Toronto Express
• Route 18: Lakeshore West "Train Bus" - the early morning/late night runs to/from Union Station, and the bus connections from Aldershot to Hamilton GO Centre
• Route 19: Oakville-Mississauga-North York bus

2: Milton

• Route 20: Milton-Oakville
• Route 21: Milton "Train Bus" - which has 18 different permutations!
• Route 25: Square One-Waterloo
• Route 27: Milton-North York (Hwy 401)
• Route 29: Square One-Guelph

3: Kitchener

• Route 30: Bramalea-Guelph via Hwy 407/401
• Route 31: Kitchener "Train Bus" - 14 different permutations
• Route 32: Trinity Common/Bramalea-North York
• Route 33: Guelph/Brampton-North York
• Route 34: Pearson Airport-North York
• Route 36: Brampton/Bramalea-North York
• Route 37: Orangeville-Brampton
  
• Route 38: Bolton-Malton/Bolton-Woodbridge-North York

4: Highway 407 West

• Route 40: Richmond Hill-Pearson Airport-Hamilton route.
• Route 45: Streetsville-Square One-York U
• Route 46: Oakville-Square One-York U
• Route 47: Hamilton-McMaster-Square One-York U
• Route 48: Guelph-York U

5: Highway 407 East

• Route 51: York U-Scarborough-Pickering
• Route 52: York U-UOIT-Oshawa
• Route 54: York U-Markham

6: Barrie and Richmond Hill corridors

• Route 60: Canada's Wonderland
• Route 61: Richmond Hill "Train Bus"
• Route 63: King City-Maple-Rutherford-Union "Train Bus"
• Route 65: Newmarket-Aurora-Union "Train Bus"
• Route 66: Newmarket-Hwy 400-North York
• Route 67: Keswick-Hwy 404-North York
• Route 68: Barrie-Bradford-Newmarket

7: Stouffville Corridor

• Route 70: Train meets from Unionville and Stouffville to Uxbridge
• Route 71: Uxbridge-Stouffville-Markham-Union Station "Train Bus"

8: Northeast

• Route 81: Whitby-Port Perry-Beaverton
• Route 88: Oshawa GO-Peterborough

9: Lakeshore East

• Route 90: Lakeshore East "Train Bus" - both theearly morning/late night runs to/from Union Station, and the bus connections from Oshawa to Newcastle
• Route 91: Express bus from Oshawa GO to Bowmanville and Newcastle
• Route 92: Oshawa-Yorkdale via Highway 2
• Route 93: Scarborough-UOIT super express
• Route 96: Oshawa-North York Express via Hwy 401

I really appreciate this system given the aforementioned complexity of the bus network. Though I still think it could be improved even more.

They should consistently use "E" and "F" branches to denote express branches, like the TTC does. I can't see any particular pattern with their current lettering.

Here's a selection of GO express bus branches:
12 Burlington-Niagara: B and D
19 Oakville-North York: B and C
25 Waterloo-Square One: B and C,
27 Milton-North York: C
45 Streetsville-YorkU: Entire route is express relative to other 407 routes, which has caught me off-guard
47 Hamilton-YorkU: formerly J (now Route 40)

Then there's some odd groupings:

Route 25F (Waterloo-Bramalea-YorkU) has nothing to do with Route 25 (Waterloo-Square One). The only stops they share are the two in Waterloo, which obviously no one is taking GO Transit between. The "F" is in fact a 407-series route akin to the 48 Guelph-Bramalea-YorkU and should therefore have a 40-series number.

The 19 Oakville-North York seems more akin to other 401 routes such as the 27, 33, 34 and 36 than it does to the Lakeshore West corridor. I think it would be more intuitive to have "401 West" or "401" as a corridor. To free up a digit, they could dump the 80-series into the Lakeshore East corridor, or merge the 40- and 50- 407 corridors together since we'll likely see an increase in through-running when Highway 407 Station opens.

 

[salsa]

I'd love to see a system map as well. It's a huge network. I created an unofficial online system map, but didn't get around to labeling all the bus routes. With all the lettered branches (often indicating which stops en route that particular bus serves, it's a mess.

But here's a handy hint. All GO bus routes have a two-digit number. The first digit indicates the corridor or region it serves or is connected to. Since they added route numbers about a decade ago, it's been very helpful identifying buses as the system got more complex.

I considered making my own bus map, but it seems like every year the routes change so it's hard to keep track. And as you said, all those lettered branches further complicate things. All I want is something like this...

...but will all of the bus routes shown on one map. Though now when I think of it, just looking at the above example is confusing enough already due to all the branches. I don't know what to think anymore.