TTC: Customer Service

[DSC]

I happened to be at Jarvis and Isabella today and noticed that the times of the 141 (southbound) bus were actually 'painted' onto the bus stop sign (there are only three buses each day). It seemed like a good idea until I then saw one of the more usual timetables on the pole - naturally the times IT gave were different. It is actually odd to have any timetables at this stop because on the TTC website it is noted as being an 'un-timed stop".

 

[Johnny Au]

Actually the numbers are staying the same, they are re-lettering all the branches so that all branches have a letter designation.

That is what I meant to say. However, some of the re-lettering is inconsistent.

 

[W. K. Lis]

TTC history:

Buses only got numbered bus routes starting in mid-1956. Before 1956, buses just had route names. The streetcar routes got their route numbers with the arrival of the CLRV in 1979, because of their single rollsigns.

​

 

[DSC]

TTC history:

Buses only got numbered bus routes starting in mid-1956. Before 1956, buses just had route names. The streetcar routes got their route numbers with the arrival of the CLRV in 1979, because of their single rollsigns.​

Interesting, they clearly assigned bus route numbering alphabetically with the [existing] routes 5 Avenue going to 97 Yonge. See: http://transit.toronto.on.ca/bus/8108.shtml​

 

[W. K. Lis]

Excellent read on
How Denver’s mile-high ambition is a road map for Toronto transit

by Rachel Mendleson News reporter
by Marta Iwanek Photographer/Videographer


from The Star, at this link.

In late October 1998, a delegation of power brokers from Denver travelled to Toronto to learn how to do public transit right.

Not a year earlier, Denver voters had rejected a tax to fund a major light-rail expansion, but business leaders were determined to try again. They believed the so-called Mile-High City would need more than buses to lift it from middling to world-class, and efforts to rebuild the campaign were already underway.

The business community chose Toronto for its annual leadership trip, “because it had this great reputation of being a truly transit-oriented community,” said Tom Clark, CEO of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.

“We wanted to see what was possible,” he said.

They met Mayor Mel Lastman, toured the SkyDome and filed into the Royal Ontario Museum’s Eaton Room for talks on transportation, growth and the TTC.

“We got on the rails, rode around and got everyone pretty much jacked up about it,” Clark recalls. “People said, ‘Man, this is way more than we can do, but it’s really cool.’ It seemed like a dream.”

It is beginning to seem less far-fetched. In 2004, voters approved a sales tax increase to build nearly 200 kilometres of light rail and commuter rail — arguably the most ambitious expansion of public transit in the U.S. since Washington, D.C., constructed its subway system in the ’70s.

While political gridlock, inertia and waning investment in rapid transit have eroded Toronto’s reputation as “the city that works,” Denver has become the darling of urban planning experts and a model for regionalism in city-building.

...

The TTC, and Toronto, were leaders in public transit. Then anti-transit people, like Mike Harris, the Ford brothers, and their bootlickers & disciples, ruined it. Hopefully, the next group of politicians will correct things and Toronto & the TTC will return to being leaders in public transit.

 

[Electrify]

A post from someone on my Facebook:

I was going to be on time for school until some asshole ‪#‎ttc‬ driver decided to kick me off the bus because I didn't have a ttc student card and he wanted to feel like a big man with authority. Along with me he also told an eleven year old and an eight year old that they could not board using student/child tickets without a student card. Let me say this; the man knows damn well that we are not going to go straight to sherbourne to go get our photos taken and get the card, he knows we have places to be and even if we were going to go straight to sherbourne how would we get there? According to him we need student ids to ride. He knows damn well that we will just wait another 15 minutes for the next bus with a driver who isn't a jerk so that we can get to school, late however because of this asshole's power trip. The thing that gets me the most about this is that there is only one station in the entire city that you can get this done at and it is not open 24/7 and if you're like me, you work and go to school 7 days a week so you really don't have the chance to get down there. Point is the ‪#‎ttcstudentcard‬ is stupid. I clearly look like a teen going to school. And those kids were kids. Maybe if I was a forty year old student I should need one. But this guy is literally asking for someone to spit on him so he can file an assult charge and get a paid vacation. @TTC this carding shit only generates 5$ for you outta my pocket when I already paid $106 for my pass, and its gonna get someone hurt, and its really not cool that dude in his comfy union job who somehow lost his soul can kick kids off a bus just for kicks, and its also why you guys lose revenue because the second someone can afford it they get a car, or buy fake passes and fake tickets or sneak in stations just to not to have to deal with your bs. Rant done.

Does the TTC even require ID for children who are not in high school yet? And while my friend should have had her PS ID card, she makes a point that they need to make photo locations more accessible. If not at the schools themselves, why not at community centres or even city halls?

 

[innsertnamehere]

they don't even require them for high school students anymore. Post Secondary only right now.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The person or persons responsible for updating the TTC website, failed to update the following at this link:

Subway closures schedule

The TTC Board received for information a report detailing the reasons for ongoing subway closures and a schedule of planned closures for the remainder of 2014:

• September 6-7: Bloor to Lawrence; for track, signalling, CCTV work.
• October 11-13: St George to Union to Bloor; for signalling work.
• October 18-19: Bloor to Eglinton; for track and signalling work.
• November 1-2: Bloor to Eglinton; for track and signalling work.
• November 8-9: Bloor to Eglinton; for signalling work.
• November 15: Bloor to Eglinton; for track work.
• November 15: Warden to Kennedy; for track work.
• December 6-7: Bloor to Union; for signalling work.

The problem? There is no closure on October 11-13.

 

[nfitz]

The person or persons responsible for updating the TTC website, failed to update the following at this link:



The problem? There is no closure on October 11-13.

I'm not sure what they'd change. That WAS what was discussed during the August meeting you linked too.

They must have since decided not to close it. But they can't go and retroactively change the reports and discussion from the meeting.

What they should change is http://www.ttc.ca/Service_Advisories/Route_diversions/index.jsp and that appears to be correct.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Some of the new features shown in this video on the London tube are already present in the TTC subway. Others aren't because they were considered "gravy" by the current city hall administration, such as platform doors.

[video=youtube_share;Z3Q0FZUKHkY]http://youtu.be/Z3Q0FZUKHkY[/video]

Ah, to return to the days when the TTC ws considered leaders in public transit.

 

[nfitz]

Some of the new features shown in this video on the London tube are already present in the TTC subway. Others aren't because they were considered "gravy" by the current city hall administration, such as platform doors.

Platform edge doors were budgeted at over $1 billion for the existing stations. I'd say that's gravy. Not much else I'm seeing in those that we don't already have. Their new features include double-doors and air-cooling. I bet you'll still have to duck as you enter the train with the low door heights - and they'll still be very narrow trains.

 

[W. K. Lis]

When Adam Giambrone was Chair of the TTC, we were able to watch On the Rocket on CP24, a live, call-in show hosted by the TTC Chair. See link. That was dropped once the 2010 election campaign began, and never reinstated.

I would like to see a relaunch of On The Rocket. If not with the new TTC Chair, maybe someone else. Like a "citizen" TTC board member. Maybe Adam Giambrone?

Would like to see both the new TTC Chair and the Chief Executive Officer of the TTC, Andy Byford, discussing what is SmartTrack with John Tory as a guest? John could bring his napkin.

 

[Johnny Au]

When Adam Giambrone was Chair of the TTC, we were able to watch On the Rocket on CP24, a live, call-in show hosted by the TTC Chair. See link. That was dropped once the 2010 election campaign began, and never reinstated.

I would like to see a relaunch of On The Rocket. If not with the new TTC Chair, maybe someone else. Like a "citizen" TTC board member. Maybe Adam Giambrone?

Would like to see both the new TTC Chair and the Chief Executive Officer of the TTC, Andy Byford, discussing what is SmartTrack with John Tory as a guest? John could bring his napkin.

CP24 is becoming too 905-centric. If Tory can't attend, then Chow can show up instead. This would make CP24 more balanced in terms of geographic coverage.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Platform edge doors were budgeted at over $1 billion for the existing stations. I'd say that's gravy. Not much else I'm seeing in those that we don't already have. Their new features include double-doors and air-cooling. I bet you'll still have to duck as you enter the train with the low door heights - and they'll still be very narrow trains.

It's not gravy considering how it can improve reliability - doubly important for a system with little redundancy like ours.

AoD

 

[innsertnamehere]

its $10 million a station from my understanding, so it would work out to around $750 million, but you need ATC first as well. That means that getting them on the YUS line will cost ~$400 million. It essentially eliminates track level delays however, and even just getting them at the busier stations would help massively. Stations like Rosedale and Summerhill probably don't need them nearly as much as Bloor-Yonge or Union.