TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[rbt]

Regarding @rbt earlier comment this is purely random and picked by a computer. The Star article explains the process.

Yeah, I know what the article says. I still see plenty of room to fiddle with the selection pool. My experience is south of Canada with private firms and yes i do realize I'm biased based on previous experience but TTC management has consistently shown similarly poor methodology with their KPI design in CEO reports.

Anyway, addicts don't really change without outside help; they just get better at hiding it. That's why Portugal's drug law changes have been so effective; it removed reasons to hide and strongly encourages (enforces) 3rd party assistance.

If TTC results get much better between month 1 and month 12 without a large turnover a staff; I'll remain suspicious about the real effectiveness of the program versus what is documented. The union also has an interest to show substantial improvement so they can argue for reduced testing in future contract negotiations now that the bad weeds are gone; perhaps reducing candidate selection to new staff (first couple years) or something.

 

[amnesiajune]

When the Bloor-Danforth line open, Danforth almost die with the removal of the streetcars. It still hasn't recover today compare to Bloor and the numbers shows it.

I think it has a lot more to do with the 1960s and 70s sprawl. Upper-middle class families moved north, and the whole east end turned into a "working class" (i.e. low-income but predominantly white) area. Even in the 90s and early-2000s, they were pretty undesirable parts of the city to live in. That's only changing now, which is why they're the areas with the biggest housing price increases.

 

[muller877]

Yet suspended with pay. In the private sector you would've lost your job so fast your head would spin.

Absolutely ridiculous we continue to pay this alcoholic's salary while he endangers the public.

I understand that most employers pay for substance abuse programs...I hope the TTC is proactive with whatever they do. At a minimum for the alcohol reading we should require the employee to pay for a breathalizer (like we do for drunk drivers) that they have to blow in before they punch in for work. And if they keep blowing over they should be terminated. A financial penalty for the breathalizer for the past abuse plus future penalties for not being able to work if they drink and work ever again.

For the drug abuse it is hard to find a solution that is immediate and protects the public.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I understand that most employers pay for substance abuse programs...I hope the TTC is proactive with whatever they do. At a minimum for the alcohol reading we should require the employee to pay for a breathalizer (like we do for drunk drivers) that they have to blow in before they punch in for work. And if they keep blowing over they should be terminated. A financial penalty for the breathalizer for the past abuse plus future penalties for not being able to work if they drink and work ever again.

For the drug abuse it is hard to find a solution that is immediate and protects the public.

Suspension does the job. Termination should be an option but I think there should be a process for it, not a default outcome for a one-time failure due to reasons unknown.

What I am curious is whether a one-time failure flags the person for future mandatory testing outside the random process - as it should. I can't imagine them putting this person back into the random bin - because you'd never be able to ascertain the nature of the issue that way.

AoD

 

[steveintoronto]

The details are here:

http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2017/03/th...ter-to-stand-on-the-escalator-well-sometimes/

Except that in the Toronto Yonge/Bloor or St. George/Bloor case - if you don't allow people to walk on the escalators, they are just going to walk up the stairs even more so that they already do and it will basically eat up the chunk of the stairs for people heading down. We have all seen it happen.

The linked paper in the quoted site also hints at additional complexities (escalator banks, etc) that may not be something to be applied across the board in other situations.

AoD

Just tripped across this (pun not intended, honest):

Londoners revolt against new rules for travelling on Tube escalators
[...]
The new “standing only” escalators are 23.4 metres, and research suggests few people will wish to climb heights exceeding 18.5 metres, TFL (Transport for London) said.

Thankfully, in Australia — or in Victoria, at least — our unwritten rule of standing on the left and walking on the right side of escalators is unlikely to be overhauled any time soon.

Public Transport Victoria has been speaking to passengers about how to improve their experience through its Model Commuters campaign, and found the current train station escalator etiquette was working fine.

“While we are always looking to improve the public transport experience for everyone, we already think most passengers get it right and stick to the left,” a spokesman for PTV told news.com.au.

The spokesman also said talking quietly, moving a seat over and boarding patiently were other good forms of etiquette when using trains.

http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...s/news-story/442602b5688880e4bfd90f813df9007b

This topic is far from over. What's astounding is that so many news stories didn't dig on the minutiae of the studies, both the major recent UK ones adding provisos to their findings, not the least that it applies only to very long escalators, far longer than exist in many cities, including Toronto.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Just tripped across this (pun not intended, honest):

http://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...s/news-story/442602b5688880e4bfd90f813df9007b

This topic is far from over. What's astounding is that so many news stories didn't dig on the minutiae of the studies, both the major recent UK ones adding provisos to their findings, not the least that it applies only to very long escalators, far longer than exist in many cities, including Toronto.

I Think people are more likely to stand on a longer escalator where they can't see the top of it rather then a short one that only goes up a single floor especially if there are stairs near by it as well. Most of the time poel seem to sick to walk left and stand right unless its' relly busy or two poe seem to want to stand next to each other.

 

[Admiral Beez]

For the past few years I've been driving in on Queen from Coxwell to River, nearly every weekday morning at around 8am. And I have to say, with the 501 streetcar converted to buses, holy mother the traffic moves soo.... much faster. There are many more buses than streetcars, but they naturally stick to the right, cars pass on the left, and with rush hour parking bans in place, I got from Coxwell to River this morning in about half the usual time.

This reminded me of my university days in the 1990s when I worked at Ontario Place. I'd take the streetcar from Bathurst and it was so slow. If there was no traffic, the driver would still drive very slowly, I expect to keep to his/her schedule. When the tracks were being replaced they subbed in buses, and the difference was amazing, I got to the Exhibition in half the time.

So, not to restart this debate http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/street-car-vs-bus.10228/ but my limited experience this past week or so on Queen suggests that buses are tops.... for car drivers. Not so sure about TTC users, but provided you can get on one, the buses are moving a lot faster than streetcars.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

For the past few years I've been driving in on Queen from Coxwell to River, nearly every weekday morning at around 8am. And I have to say, with the 501 streetcar converted to buses, holy mother the traffic moves soo.... much faster. There are many more buses than streetcars, but they naturally stick to the right, cars pass on the left, and with rush hour parking bans in place, I got from Coxwell to River this morning in about half the usual time.

This reminded me of my university days in the 1990s when I worked at Ontario Place. I'd take the streetcar from Bathurst and it was so slow. If there was no traffic, the driver would still drive very slowly, I expect to keep to his/her schedule. When the tracks were being replaced they subbed in buses, and the difference was amazing, I got to the Exhibition in half the time.

So, not to restart this debate http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/street-car-vs-bus.10228/ but my limited experience this past week or so on Queen suggests that buses are tops.... for car drivers. Not so sure about TTC users, but provided you can get on one, the buses are moving a lot faster than streetcars.

Buses can get out of the way of left turning vehicles whereas as Streets can't the best thing to do would be to ban left tuns from all streetcar routes or have them be in separate lane like they do at Bathurst and Lakeshore.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Buses can get out of the way of left turning vehicles whereas as Streets can't the best thing to do would be to ban left tuns from all streetcar routes or have them be in separate lane like they do at Bathurst and Lakeshore.

Or put the streetcars on the curb lane.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Or put the streetcars on the curb lane.

That's sort of what they want to do on King street. Putting Streetcar in the curb lane does have it' own cons though too as they then have to worry about on street parking or poel being idiots and not knowing tha can't park in the streetcar lane.

 

[steveintoronto]

Or put the streetcars on the curb lane.

One way streets change everything. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen, not least because of parking. It will be like the Bloor Street bike lanes, the answer to which is to ban all parking. Won't happen. This is Toronto, not some progressive city...

 

[steveintoronto]

For the past few years I've been driving in on Queen from Coxwell to River, nearly every weekday morning at around 8am. And I have to say, with the 501 streetcar converted to buses, holy mother the traffic moves soo.... much faster. There are many more buses than streetcars, but they naturally stick to the right, cars pass on the left, and with rush hour parking bans in place, I got from Coxwell to River this morning in about half the usual time.

This reminded me of my university days in the 1990s when I worked at Ontario Place. I'd take the streetcar from Bathurst and it was so slow. If there was no traffic, the driver would still drive very slowly, I expect to keep to his/her schedule. When the tracks were being replaced they subbed in buses, and the difference was amazing, I got to the Exhibition in half the time.

So, not to restart this debate http://urbantoronto.ca/forum/threads/street-car-vs-bus.10228/ but my limited experience this past week or so on Queen suggests that buses are tops.... for car drivers. Not so sure about TTC users, but provided you can get on one, the buses are moving a lot faster than streetcars.

I'm thinking streetcars sharing streets is much like bike lanes. They don't mix with cars. The transit mall must exclude all cars save for essential delivery and emergency vehicles, and access by permit for residents' parking that accesses the street. This is how Melbourne's mall works, and so do others.

Trying to compromise to please all means everyone is screwed. Cycling is catered to on parallel streets, and ditto cars. The prime purpose of a "Transit Mall" is...ta da..."Transit".

 

[Fred.S]

I've generally noticed that streetcars have a moderating effect on traffic. They slow down car traffic, and in turn speed themselves up. With buses loading at the curb, cars can pass them easier, but then the bus is stuck behind those cars when it moves. This means streetcars move at a more constant pace and an overall faster route speed. I'm not sure, but I think the TTC studied it a few years ago, and concluded streetcars moved faster than comparable downtown bus routes.

 

[amnesiajune]

Putting Streetcar in the curb lane does have it' own cons though too as they then have to worry about on street parking or poel being idiots and not knowing tha can't park in the streetcar lane.

This is actually something that's commonly pointed out as a flaw in many of the "new" US streetcar lines - Portland, Seattle, Washington, Kansas City, Detroit. They're unreliable because parked cars occasionally get in the way.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Which is why cities outside of North America are slowly restricting or even banning the private automobile from downtown.