Toronto Union Pearson Express | ?m | ?s | Metrolinx | MMM Group Limited

mdrejhon said:
The city/province needs to standardize wayfinding eventually, for both GO-TTC interchanges too.

One idea is just a simple internationally-recognized train logo, with the brand underneath. This is intuitive.

Pictogram icons at top, brand logos (in slightly smaller size than train pictogram icon) at bottom.


PHP: 
TRAIN - TRAIN - TRAIN - TAXI - INFO
 {GO}   {TTC}   {VIA}

Standardize this for all stations in GTHA. VIA, TTC, GO, LRT. Make it a city or provincial directive, as a requirement similar in league to hospital signage and disabled signage. Require all 15-min-and-better frequency interconnecting dedicated-ROW rail services on all rapid transit maps. (e.g. force TTC to show all GO RER routes on all subway maps). For many years, I never knew where GO went, until I began using it. Same for a lot of Torontoians, "What's GO?". Common sense. Standardized pictogram graphic priority followed by brand.

We regulate our street signage (stop sign, yield, parking, offramps, interchanges); why can't we regulate absolute minimum requirements for wayfinding between TTC and GO!??!?! I'm not even asking for as much regulation as on the roads, but at least a little *light* guaranteed-minimum-standard universal-language signage and wayfinding regulation. (...common sense stuff like a simple train pictogram, fer chrissakes...)

With two huge high-frequency all-day two-way rapid transit rail networks invading Toronto's transit user awareness within ten years, this is becoming important. Yesterday, we only had TTC as a practical high-frequency all-day rail provider. Tomorrow, we have both GO and TTC providing high-frequency bidirectional rail services. How are we going to interchange the networks better with better wayfinding, otherwise?
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Metrolinx is conducting a study on Regional Wayfinding for transporation. Hope they look at best practices around the world so we get something better than the confusing mess we have today.
 
yyzhyd said:
To me the sign is crystal clear. It states fairly elegantly through the use of GO, TTC and VIA logos to the traveller that ALL GO (train/bus), TTC (subway/streetcar/bus) and VIA (lounge/train) services are ahead.

Could you imagine the hue and cry on UT if there were all kinds of icons of the actual modes of transit on that small sign! Sheesh... can't please everyone I suppose.
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You're a new visitor.

Imagine you arrive at (imaginary) Republic of Elbownia as a university exchange student, at their prestigious Kneecap University.

You see "BOOT" logos all over the place (their subway network) and you also see "BURP" logos (their commuter network), but they don't interchange well, and the signage is confusing. You'll quickly learn which is which, but you end up having a bad impression and continued difficulties over the year or two due to poor wayfinding at interchange stations. You may end up sticking to the BOOT subway network, never using the BURP rapid transit commuter network even though it may be sometimes a faster way from point A to B.

It's like you've never seen a TTC/GO logo before; "BOOT" is "TTC" and "BURP" is "GO".

Adjei said:
Metrolinx is conducting a study on Regional Wayfinding for transporation. Hope they look at best practices around the world so we get something better than the confusing mess we have today.
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About damn time.
 
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mdrejhon said:
I hope there's really, really clear wayfinding easily understood by non-English-speakers...
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Hopefully ... however early pictures of signage in the under-construction York concourse showed them using the UP graphic, that did not include the words "airport", "train", "Pearson" or either the standard train or airplane graphics.
 
aquateam said:
Mill Street is apparently the "official craft beer of the UPX" so I'd assume they'd let you drink it on it, since it's being sold in the lounge. Maybe they just won't let you drink other brands of beer.
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Hmmm do you think any xyz pub/bar/club would let you drink a drink that you did not purchase from the business itself? It's been a while since I did smart serve training but I'm pretty sure that the Liquor laws prohibit consumption of alcoholic beverages at a business that were not directly purchased from that business. So even if UPX went through the effort of becoming licensed to sell alcohol (and have it consumed on it's trains) you would only be allowed to drink "their" drinks.
 
mdrejhon said:
You see "BOOT" logos all over the place (their subway network) and you also see "BURP" logos (their commuter network), ...
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Sounds like SFO with BART, Caltrain, and SamTrans signs in various places, often it is just the words and logo, next to the AirTrain logo which has what looks like commuter rail.

For added difficulty, the most common way to get to BART is to take the AirTrain, and to catch Caltrain you need to take BART for 1 stop. Still not much confusion on how to get to downtown San Francisco. Buying a ticket, however, is another storey; I hate their machines as some have CC only and others are cash only and others are mixed but the labelling on the machine is regularly wrong.



P1010602-a.jpg



I think London is actually trickier with 3 different rail based services into the city (Express and Connect both go to Paddington but you'd never know it based marketing until you look at a map), and the most commonly used one is the Underground which actually runs above ground for most of that route and doesn't have a train picture.

heathrow-terminal-1-d.jpg
 
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MetroMan said:
I've waited decades to see this sign at Union Station: "Trains to Airport". Finally.

[photo containing an airplane pictogram and words "Trains to Airport]
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OK -- good -- some reasonable wayfinding for tourists unfamiliar with what "Union Pearson Express" is.

Hope there's a few more signs like this.
And hope there's a few "Trains to Downtown Toronto" sign at Pearson, too.
 
That should be "Trains vers l'aéroport". Metrolinx is terrible with bilingual signage.

Still, glad to see that the station is ready for opening soon!
 
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mdrejhon said:
OK -- good -- some reasonable wayfinding for tourists unfamiliar with what "Union Pearson Express" is.

Hope there's a few more signs like this.
And hope there's a few "Trains to Downtown Toronto" sign at Pearson, too.
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Now that there's an airplane icon, will this signal the end of the pages and pages of neurotic posts complaining about how not having the right icon or correct font kerning makes this place third world?
 
Forgotten said:
Now that there's an airplane icon, will this signal the end of the pages and pages of neurotic posts complaining about how not having the right icon or correct font kerning makes this place third world?
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We're not going to stop complaining about missing pictograms. :)
There's now an airplane icon, but the train icons are missing.
And this is just one signage.
 
mdrejhon said:
OK -- good -- some reasonable wayfinding for tourists unfamiliar with what "Union Pearson Express" is.

Hope there's a few more signs like this.
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Hopefully. This one looks as though it's already near the UP terminal west of York Street. The question is what's in the York concourse, Bay concourse, and particularly in the Union subway station. If it's only that dreadful UP symbol, it's a fail.
 
French is picky about articles; in English headline and title-speak, it's the wild west where rules of grammar are met with disdain.

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MetroMan said:
My French isn't great but isn't that like missing "the" in "Trains to Airport"?
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I'd think the equivalent in funny sounding would be "Trains the Airport". Different but equally odd. Given Metrolinx's belief in testing everything to death, you'd think they'd have at least had someone who spoke the language look at the signage!
 
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