TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[steveintoronto]

My favorite is the "You said it" campaigns which have now become stale. Those ads looked almost amusing, like they found the most ardent complainers and chose their tweets to use.

I find it amusing that they chose to use tweets about feet on seats, bags on people and headphones for their campaign. You think they would have got rid of the last remnants of the campaign by now.

Both this and the "This is where" campaigns had Reddit strings. For the "You said it" ones, I often chuckle looking at the Twitter addies who the comment is ostensibly from. I'm not on Twitter (thank God) so maybe those addies are real, but it all smacks of some shallow PR firm making it up as they go along.

They're about as effective as the "Baby On Board" signs in the back windows of cars. The people they're aimed at are the last...the LAST ones who'll ever read them, let alone take any notice when they do.

They might as well put up signs: "Love everyone, and stop the hate now".

 

[W. K. Lis]

As to rating which city spends the most on transit, according to Arcadis, Toronto is down the list for North American cities according to their last compilation.

And:
MTA capital spending plan may double to $60B, sources say

How's Toronto doing?

MTA is New York City with a residential population of 8,175,133. Toronto is number four in population (2,826,498), after Mexico City (8,918,653), New York City, and Los Angeles (3,971,883), and ahead of Chicago with 2,720,546. (2015 numbers. From link.)

 

[steveintoronto]

MTA is New York City with a residential population of 8,175,133. Toronto is number four in population (2,826,498), after Mexico City (8,918,653), New York City, and Los Angeles (3,971,883), and ahead of Chicago with 2,720,546. (2015 numbers. From link.)

Here was the claim I disputed: (and still do)

Reecemartin said:
we are spending more than maybe any other city in North America on transit expansion right now and will easily have doubled our rapid transit network within the next decade.

 

[Towered]

When I was last there in 2012, they were building a tram extension to the main Railway station as well a subway extension. Major upgrading of the tram and rail line by the airport with a plan to add tram and rail to the airport. There were other tram lines being rebuilt as well extended. This was one place that show me we were not 25 years behind Europe on transit, but close to 50 years.

We are great at talking about expansion, but very poor at doing it and this includes the Quebec Windsor High Speed Corridor. High Speed trains in NA is only a dream and we will never see it in our life time.

No kidding. When's the last time our streetcar network saw any significant expansion? That little stub on Cherry street barely counts.

 

[Northern Light]

New Survey up on TTC website.

Its 3 open comment boxes asking for suggestions in relation to the 5-year service plan and 10-year outlook.

TTC page here: http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Projects/5_year_plan_and_10_y/Survey.jsp

Direct Link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LZYBL7H

I suggested enhancing hours of parking restrictions strategically to reflect actual times of gridlock on roads, particularly shoulder-peak.

Better real-time information and response to same from transit control to address overcrowding and service gaps

Tendering for vending machines for subway stations where there is no retail or it operates on highly restricted hours.

Feel free to offer your own thoughts!

 

[W. K. Lis]

No kidding. When's the last time our streetcar network saw any significant expansion? That little stub on Cherry street barely counts.

They keep "thinking" about extending the 512 ST. CLAIR west of the Gunns Loop to either Jane Street or Scarlett Road, but the automobile-addicted politicians keep on delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, delaying, ...

 

[nfitz]

No kidding. When's the last time our streetcar network saw any significant expansion? That little stub on Cherry street barely counts.

Well, there's that kilometre on Leslie ...

Also, there's now regular scheduled service on Dufferin from King to the Gardiner. I don't think that's ever happened permanently before - only seasonally, or for a year or so here and there. Only took about 125 years ...

Significant? That would be 2000, when they built new track along Queens Quay and Bathurst to connect Spadina to Bathurst and Fleet. Before that there was Spadina in 1997 and the rest of Queens Quay in 1990.

At least it's slow expansion these days, with the shrinkage ending in the 1970s. What was the last significant service removal ... Mount Pleasant in 1976?

 

[Jonny5]

There's a major incident this afternoon between Union and St. Andrew. Apparently something caused damage to both trains and the third rail in that zone. Service is totally shutdown on University.

Green said two trains in the area of St. Andrew and Union suffered damage to the “shoes” on the bottom of each car that make contact with the electrified third rail
One of the trains lost all of its shoes entirely and became disabled, prompting an evacuation.

 

[DSC]

There's a major incident this afternoon between Union and St. Andrew. Apparently something caused damage to both trains and the third rail in that zone. Service is totally shutdown on University.

Line 1 Yonge-University: No service between Osgoode and Bloor-Yonge while we fix a track problem. Shuttle buses are running.

Last updated 3:55 PM

 

[drum118]

TTC subway train evacuated after getting stuck in tunnel between Union and St. Andrew

 

[Jonny5]

When it rains, it pours...

501 Queen: No service between Humber Loop at The Queensway and Long Branch Loop due to a collision. Shuttle buses are on the way.

Going to be a long day for TTC PR

 

[W. K. Lis]

Another reason for a Downtown Relief Line... YESTERDAY.

 

[Northern Light]

TTC Agenda for June 12 is up, here: http://www.ttc.ca/About_the_TTC/Com...ission_meetings/2019/June_12/Agenda/index.jsp

Agenda as follows: (from the link above)

TTC Board Agenda
Meeting No. 2033
Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Presentations/Reports/Other Business

1.Chief Executive Officer’s Report–June2019 Update(For Information)
2.Approved Minutes of the Advisory Committee on Accessible Transit (ACAT) General Monthly Meeting for April 25,2019(For Information)
3.2018 TTC APTA Audit Safety Initiatives Report (For Action)
4.Auditor General’s Report –Toronto Transit Commission –2019 Results of Follow-up of Previous Audit Recommendations (For Information)
5.PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Audit Results Report on the Toronto Transit Commission Consolidated Financial Statements for the Year Ended December 31, 2018 (For Action)
6.Draft Consolidated Financial Statements of Toronto Transit Commission for Year Ended December 31, 2018 (For Action)
7.Financial Update for the Period Ended May 4, 2019 andMajor Projects Update (For Information)
8.Collective Bargaining –Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113 Customer Service Centre (This report is about labour relations or employee negotiations) (For Action)
9.DupontStation Easier Access III –Status Update (This report is about litigation or potential litigation and contains advice or communications that are subject to solicitor-client privilege) (For Action)
10.Making Bay Station Accessible (This report contains advice or communications that are subject to solicitor-client privilege) (For Action)
11.Making Keele Station Accessible (This report contains advice or communications that are subject to solicitor-client privilege) (For Action)
12.Making Sherbourne Station Accessible (For Action)
13.Construction Management Services (For Action)
14.Annual Review of TTC’s Safety, Health and Environment Management System (For Information)
15.PRESTO Implementation Update –June 2019(For Action)
16.5-Year Service Plan & 10-Year Outlook–Status Update(For Action)
17.Improvements to Surface Transit Schedules (For Action)
18.Automated Transit Shuttle Pilot Project
19.City of Toronto Report –EX6.5: Status Update –Toronto-Ontario Transit Responsibilities Realignment Review (For Action)
20.TTC Pension Fund Society Annual Report (For Information)
21.Notice of Motion –Review of 905 Eglinton East Express Bus, submitted by Commissioner Jennifer McKelvie and seconded by Commissioner Brad Bradford
22.Notice of Motion –Express bus service to Highland CreekNeighbourhood, submitted by Commissioner Jennifer McKelvie and secondedby Commissioner Brad Bradford

******

A number of interesting items:

-Tenders for Bay, Keele and Sherbourne elevators.

-Update on Dupont elevator contruction

-Update on Automated Bus Shuttle

-Update on 5-year service plan process
- Some interesting ideas here, including upgraded bus stop amenities at high traffic locations

-The usual CEO report has some goodies in it too. (second exits for College and Donlands to see construction next year.

 

[Neutrino]

And of course, people pushing into the shuttle buses don't close their umbrellas or take off their backpacks

 

[Amare]

When it rains, it pours...



Going to be a long day for TTC PR

It's funny because, it seems like the minute a trickle of rain falls down all hell breaks loose on the TTC. Of course these two incidents are completely unrelated to the inclement weather, but nevertheless that's generally what seems to happen anytime there's inclement in the city.