Time for one GTA transit authority?

[W. K. Lis]

I think the time has come for Metrolinx to take over the TTC, MiWay, Viva, GO Transit, etc. under one umbrella organization across the GTA.

Each organization will still be separate, getting representation from the city they operate under or privately run, but overall control will be from people who are more expert in transit than petty politicians with their latest brainstorming idea. And I don't mean General Motors or their ilk.

 

[hbl33]

Doesn't most of these trasnit agencies (except TTC) work together with Metrolinx? These municipal transit agencies present the future transit expansion plan, hand it over to Metrolinx, and let its BoD determine how would it be constructed and be operated? They could consult and hire foreign transit authorities with proven results (MTR, Transport for London, Deusche Bahn, SMRT, etc.)

Maybe Metrolinx should just be privatized because the government can't work with it?

 

[Chuck]

All that matters is fare integration, whether through implementing a fare by distance policy, or simple removal of double fares. Apart from that, each agency is doing just fine on their own.

For the most part, needless transfers have already been eliminated, especially on north-south routes across Steeles which have been contracted to the TTC for 15+ years.

 

[andrewpmk]

If Ford gets elected, there is a strong possibility that this will happen, because the provincial government won't want Ford messing with the province's transit plans.

 

[RedRocket191]

How can Ford mess with the province's transit plans? He has the power of persuasion, and that's pretty much limited by how badly your breath stinks...

From my perspective, we only have to brand transit in such a way that people view it as a single authority. This means fare integration, cross-border routes, consistent branding and a single customer service system.

Look at NYC - More than a half-dozen different companies operating bus, subway, regional rail and ferries but the public sees it as a single system.
TfL - dozens and dozens of different companies, operators and divisions running a massively integrated public transit system with a unified and consistent fare system.

It doesn't matter what the back-of-house looks like - it's the passenger face that matters.

 

[doady]

Look at NYC - More than a half-dozen different companies operating bus, subway, regional rail and ferries but the public sees it as a single system.

I'm pretty sure the public sees the MTA as a single system because it is a single system... It's like YRT with their multiple operators and the YRT and VIVA branding.

 

[Justin10000]

If I recall correctly, Metrolinx mused about using ICTS technology for the Eglinton Crosstown line. Even transit authorities can dream up pin-headed ideas. But I agree with W.K. Lis, this cycle of coming up with plans, and having them scrapped, because someone else thinks their plan is better needs to end. I do not think transferring control to Metrolinx is the answer, but something has to be done.

 

[Dan416]

If I recall correctly, Metrolinx mused about using ICTS technology for the Eglinton Crosstown line. Even transit authorities can dream up pin-headed ideas.

I agree with you 100%, that's how we ended up with the Sheppard East LRT. Shameful isn't it?

 

[Justin10000]

The Sheppard East LRT will make sure the biggest pin-headed project in Toronto Transit history - the Sheppard Subway - will never be extended.

 

[Dan416]

The Sheppard East LRT will make sure the biggest pin-headed project in Toronto Transit history - the Sheppard Subway - will never be extended.

Ah and your true feelings are revealed. It helps explain your irrational hate for subways. And why you want three different modes of transit on the same corridor. Now, who's pin-headed again?

 

[gweed123]

If I recall correctly, Metrolinx mused about using ICTS technology for the Eglinton Crosstown line. Even transit authorities can dream up pin-headed ideas. But I agree with W.K. Lis, this cycle of coming up with plans, and having them scrapped, because someone else thinks their plan is better needs to end. I do not think transferring control to Metrolinx is the answer, but something has to be done.

I think uploading transit to the province is a great way to remove the politics out of transit planning (or at least help isolate it a little bit). It will ensure that politically motivated transit plans that were drawn up on the back of a politician's napkin never see the light of day. Leave transit planning to the transit planners, not the politicians. The current crop of mayoral candidates are a shining testimonial to why this should be so.

It always amazes me how planners, architects, and engineers approach their work with the same degree of professionalism, and have very similar educational requirements and regulatory bodies dictating who can call themselves 'professional architects/engineers/planners'. Yet planning seems to be the only one of the three that is publicly scrutinized to the degree that it is. Everyone likes to think they're a planner, but far fewer people second guess an architect or an engineer. They may question an architect's artistic vision, they may question an engineers methodology, but they rarely question their professional competence as much as they do a planners'.

I also think this is at the root of the problem with respect to getting viable transit plans. City council members wouldn't dare tell an engineer how to do their job, but when it comes to planning, politicians seem to think that because they can get votes it qualifies them to be a planner.

 

[hbl33]

I think uploading transit to the province is a great way to remove the politics out of transit planning (or at least help isolate it a little bit). It will ensure that politically motivated transit plans that were drawn up on the back of a politician's napkin never see the light of day. Leave transit planning to the transit planners, not the politicians. The current crop of mayoral candidates are a shining testimonial to why this should be so.

It always amazes me how planners, architects, and engineers approach their work with the same degree of professionalism, and have very similar educational requirements and regulatory bodies dictating who can call themselves 'professional architects/engineers/planners'. Yet planning seems to be the only one of the three that is publicly scrutinized to the degree that it is. Everyone likes to think they're a planner, but far fewer people second guess an architect or an engineer. They may question an architect's artistic vision, they may question an engineers methodology, but they rarely question their professional competence as much as they do a planners'.

I also think this is at the root of the problem with respect to getting viable transit plans. City council members wouldn't dare tell an engineer how to do their job, but when it comes to planning, politicians seem to think that because they can get votes it qualifies them to be a planner.

No wonder the politicians can't do a simple math. Like doctors being illiterate in nutrition, politicians aren't taught to be fluent in planning and development.

 

[RedRocket191]

I'm pretty sure the public sees the MTA as a single system because it is a single system... It's like YRT with their multiple operators and the YRT and VIVA branding.

Each branch is a seperate legal entity. All of the shares are owned by the same owner, but they are separate entities. If, we're going to define "a single system" as a single legal entity (which I have done), then MTA is not a single system. If we're going on a different definition then we get a different answer.

Semantics are fun, but that's beside the point anyway. The point is that it doesn't matter how complex the back end is - it's the front end that counts.

 

[samsonyuen]

I agree with WK Lis - not only fare integration is important. I think we need to have more strategic thinking.

 

[Justin10000]

Ah and your true feelings are revealed. It helps explain your irrational hate for subways. And why you want three different modes of transit on the same corridor. Now, who's pin-headed again?

Yeah, whatever. What's reveali ng is your obsessiion with the Sheppard Subway. It's not going to be extended, just accept it! The Sheppard East LRT is coming, and people will use it. Move on, man! Move on.