SmartTrack (Proposed)

[Palma]

24,000 passengers per day obviously seems very low. I was waiting for someone to say it

 

[Palma]

Who is using the MD/Union/Ken SmartTrack?

That route does not connect with many major bus routes that the alignment to Unionville does. People from the SSE have little incentive to transfer at Kennedy rather than continue on Line 2, especially if there is no fare integration. Markham and northern Scarborough are using GO-RER in 2031, not SmartTrack. There is no longer incentive for counter-peak flow to employment hubs in Markham/Mississauga. The line does not connect with any north-south streetcar or bus routes on the east end, meaning those people will continue to head to Line 2 or relevant streetcars. The people of Corktown/Waterfront/Portland/Liberty Village require local transit more so than cross-town transit (and the 504 will likely be more efficient than the MX report indicates if the transit mall plans for King Street announced yesterday pan out). The Unilever site remains undeveloped. And finally, most people's destination is not Union Station, it is the stretch between King and Dundas.

It actually seems pretty reasonable once you give it more thought. Who are these 24,000 SmartTrack riders anyway? I am curious where they *are* coming from.

How do you know most people's destination is not Union but between King and Dundas? I have never heard of this and do not believe it. All the new developement (Southcore) plus the George Brown Waterfront Campus, etc

 

[BurlOak]

With TTC fares, ridership increase by a factor of 2 or 3.

That is the solution to Y-B crowding - just charge GO fares for Line 1 and 2.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/smarttrack-numbers-1.3409690

The city of Toronto is expected to shed light on Mayor John Tory's SmartTrack transit plan that should include the best way forward for the western section of the project.

• SmartTrack will 'look similar' to original plan, Tory says
• SmartTrack transit plan 'will prevail,' Tory tells CBC Radio

City officials are set to release preliminary ridership projections this morning as part of a technical briefing on the SmartTrack plan. The numbers were prepared with help from University of Toronto researchers.

The city is also expected to present the findings of its Western Corridor Feasibility Review.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

The figures seems inordinately sensitive to fare price even though the overall number of stations is reduced dramatically. There is something weird about it.

AoD

 

[TheTigerMaster]

I see nothing weird about it.

 

[gweed123]

I find it rather interesting that everyone is assuming that SmartTrack will need to fit into the TTC fare structure in order to be effective, as if the TTC's fare structure is untouchable. Can the TTC's fare structure not be modified to fit in better with a regional fare structure? Would that not bring SmartTrack "into line" with the TTC's fares too?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Western spur would have cost up to $7.7 Billion.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

SmartTrack will use RER trains.

 

[WislaHD]

Western spur would have cost up to $7.7 Billion.

I just saw the news too.

Oliver Moore‏@moore_oliver
Final estimates for W. spur have come in even higher than I was told in Nov. Range from $3.6B to $7.7B. The latter for Eglinton. #topoli
https://twitter.com/moore_oliver/status/689463211326738432

 

[TheTigerMaster]

Western spur would have cost up to $7.7 Billion.

Never in my life have I seen anything in Toronto ever be projected to cost so much. And this is just one small part of the line. Holy crap.

 

[bobbob911]

I find it rather interesting that everyone is assuming that SmartTrack will need to fit into the TTC fare structure in order to be effective, as if the TTC's fare structure is untouchable. Can the TTC's fare structure not be modified to fit in better with a regional fare structure? Would that not bring SmartTrack "into line" with the TTC's fares too?

You see how politically difficult it is to raise the TTC rate by a quarter every five years (arguably for good reason). Tell me how you see raising the rate by an extra 2 dollars might work.

 

[WislaHD]

You see how politically difficult it is to raise the TTC rate by a quarter every five years (arguably for good reason). Tell me how you see raising the rate by an extra 2 dollars might work.

Or whether that is even a good direction, just to make one line fit within the TTC fare structure.

Imagine how many people would return to their cars instead of taking the bus/subway if the TTC fare went up.

 

[gweed123]

You see how politically difficult it is to raise the TTC rate by a quarter every five years (arguably for good reason). Tell me how you see raising the rate by an extra 2 dollars might work.

I never said it would be adopted into the current regional fare structure, I just said that it could be adopted to fit into a regional fare structure. In this equation, neither the TTC or the GO fare structure are constants. Both can be modified to better fit together.

 

[Tuscani01]

You see how politically difficult it is to raise the TTC rate by a quarter every five years (arguably for good reason). Tell me how you see raising the rate by an extra 2 dollars might work.

Where did he say add $2 to the fare? He's saying use the same fare structure, something John Tory is alluding to right now in the news conference. He's referring to fare integration, likely dividing the region into zones and paying by distance.