TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[SubHuman]

TTC launching enhanced fare compliance campaign ...
... “We have a team of dedicated, well-trained and compassionate individuals on staff who will treat our customers fairly,” ...

If you're not paying the appropriate fare, you're not a customer, but are a scofflaw or thief...

As I mentioned in the other thread about the TTC system becoming a large de facto psychiatric institution without attendants and doctors, along with their other more serious problems, the mentally unsound people are also not inclined to pay fares or care about littering. They wander into the stations through the non-pedestrian entrances intended for buses and streetcars, or just board the surface vehicles without paying. Not surprisingly, all of the TTC ad campaigns and P.A. system announcements regarding littering, fare evasion, and staying off the subway tracks ("tracks are for trains" ), don't seem to have any effect on them.
This is not to say they are 100% of those problems, but it does tend to cause others who see it and should know better to also not care.

 

[turbanplanner]

At Main Station?

Or do you just want photos to see the two contrasting styles?



Usually, yes. LOL

A comparison of the two styles would be nice

 

[Northern Light]

A comparison of the two styles would be nice

Two pictures from the internet:

Older, U-Shaped fixture:

Source: https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.tow...753b6/65bb942b2ee5a.image.jpg?resize=1200,659

Newer V-Style Fixture:

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...06772132.jpg/275px-Museum_TTC_20806772132.jpg

 

[Admiral Beez]

@T3G is correct.

The TTC ran about 186,000 scheduled service hours prior to the pandemic. That equates roughly to hours of vehicle operation, if you add one staffer to each of these, you add 186,000 scheduled hours at roughly $100,000 per staffer (40-hours per week) including pension/benefits/payroll taxes and other overhead, you would get 465M in additional labour costs. Total TTC fare revenue is a bit over 1B per year. The fare evasion rate is too high, but its nowhere near 40% So you couldn't possibly break even on such a move. Even if you discount the additional staff on subways, its still an untenable number.

This is a good start, if we're seeking a justification for not adding a fare collector to the vehicles. But I'm instead looking for how to make it work, and to that end we don't need to look at the entire system, but at where we can make the most impact. And that's on the streetcars where you board the vehicle without any fare check. Back door boarding is not permitted on a bus unless it is operating as a shuttle or on a streetcar route, so we can rely on the driver to at least make an attempt at fare collection. So, we need to add up the total streetcar hours and add our collector, and hopefully not at $100k a year. According to Glassdoor, the average Collector base salary at TTC is $25 per hour, so about $48k annually, plus benefits.

Another benefit of a conductor is that the passengers do not feel so isolated from the driver behind their enclosed cab. With crazies, junkies and creeps riding alongside us, it's nice to have someone at least watching out in every streetcar.

Having a conductor on the buses is hardly a novel idea, and has been around since we started paid public transit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_conductor

 

[drum118]

Extra service for the Jay’s home opener and upcoming service adjustments

Apr. 4, 2024

This Mon., Apr. 8, the TTC will be increasing subway and streetcar service in anticipation of large crowds expected at two major home games. The Toronto Blue Jays will be hosting their home opener at the Rogers Centre, while the Maple Leafs will be hitting the ice at Scotiabank Arena.

Additional subway service will be running during the afternoon peak until approximately 11 p.m. on Lines 1 and 2, along with extra streetcar capacity on the 509 Harbourfront, ensuring everyone can get to and from the action as efficiently as possible.

Upcoming service adjustments

Friday – Monday nightly streetcar diversions

Starting Fri., Apr. 5, through Mon., Apr. 8, several streetcar routes will be diverting nightly between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. to accommodate important streetcar infrastructure upgrades at the intersection of King St. W. and John St.

503 Kingston Road streetcars will divert at Church St. and operate westbound along Wellington St. to York St., then continue east along King St.

504/304 King and 301 Queen Night streetcar routes will be operating on a split route during these times. East of University Ave., streetcars will divert at Church St. and operate westbound along Wellington St. to York St., and eastbound along King St. West of University Ave., King streetcars will turn back at Spadina Ave., while the 301 Queen Night service will operate to McCaul Loop.

Bus replacement services will run during these hours, providing convenient connections between the split routes.

Sunday late opening and early nightly subway closures between St George and Woodbine stations

This Sun., Apr. 7, subway service on the portion of Line 2 between St George and Woodbine stations will commence at 9:30 a.m. in order to facilitate critical infrastructure work, including beam replacement on the Prince Edward Viaduct and the installation of a new rail switch between Broadview and Chester stations.

Mon., Apr. 8 through Fri., Apr. 12, subway service on the same portion of Line 2 will end nightly at 11 p.m., leading in to a full weekend closure on Apr. 13 and Apr. 14. These closures will allow TTC crews to continue switch replacement work between Broadview and Chester stations.

During these times shuttle buses will run, stopping at each station along the route. TTC staff will be on hand to direct customers to shuttle boarding and offloading locations. Bay, Sherbourne, Chester, and Greenwood stations will be closed during these hours. All other subway stations will remain open for customers to load PRESTO cards, purchase PRESTO tickets and connect to surface routes.

Customers who require Wheel-Trans service can speak with any TTC customer service staff member for assistance.

While the TTC does most subway maintenance at the conclusion of service each night, it continues to require weekend and early weeknight closures to complete critical infrastructure and state-of-good-repair work.

Reduced speed zones

The TTC continues to make significant progress in ongoing nightly track repairs on portions of Lines 1 and 2, enabling the restoration of normal train speeds and improving travel times. Over the past week normal train speeds have resumed on Line 1, northbound from Union to King stations, as well as from Dupont to St Clair West stations.

Currently, reduced speeds are in effect northbound from York Mills to Sheppard stations, southbound from Wilson to Yorkdale, and both ways between Chester and Broadview stations, and Dundas West and Keele stations.
The TTC is committed to ensuring the safety and efficiency of the subway network, and appreciates the patience and understanding of customers during work to enhance system reliability.

Updates on all current reduced speed zones can be found on the TTC website: https://www.ttc.ca/service-advisories/subway-service/Reduced-Speed-Zones.

Solar eclipse

TTC will be running a regular service during Monday’s solar eclipse, ensuring customers can travel safely and conveniently. The TTC is urging customers traveling between approximately 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to be mindful of the changing light conditions, especially during the peak of the eclipse at around 3:19 p.m

 

[Northern Light]

but at where we can make the most impact. And that's on the streetcars where you board the vehicle without any fare check.

That is more feasible, in theory, Total Annual Service Hours 19,700 (streetcars only) Equals 492.5 positions

Assuming you want this person to enforce fares, the comparable pay would be with a Fare Enforcement Officer, presumably.

Last I checked, that position had a grid from just over $31 per hour to a max just over $39 per hour. (plus all those benefits and payroll taxes etc.

The TTC had one Fare Inspector crack the Sunshine List in 2022 at 107k in earnings.

Should work out to ~40M per year.

Back door boarding is not permitted on a bus unless it is operating as a shuttle or on a streetcar route, so we can rely on the driver to at least make an attempt at fare collection. So, we need to add up the total streetcar hours and add our collector, and hopefully not at $100k a year.

All door boarding on buses is more common than you think, I see it quite regularly at busy stops or on full buses. Its likely to the norm in the future.

According to Glassdoor, the average Collector base salary at TTC is $25 per hour, so about $48k annually, plus benefits.

Not a great source.

53 TTC Station Collectors made the Sunshine List. ( * of note here, the TTC is phasing out this position in favour of Customer Service Agent)

Top earner took home $144,000 last year.

Station Collector salary info | Ontario Sunshine List

Search the list of people with the position 'Station Collector' that appeared on Ontario's sunshine list.

www.ontariosunshinelist.com

* Important to note $25CAD, where paid as the hourly rate, before overtime, would be only a modest portion of cost, pension, sick pay, disability coverage, vacation, CPP, EI, Employer Health Tax all add up

Another benefit of a conductor is that the passengers do not feel so isolated from the driver behind their enclosed cab. With crazies, junkies and creeps riding alongside us, it's nice to have someone at least watching out in every streetcar.

I get the theory, but I don't see there being anywhere near enough money to fund such a program that was universal.

Having a conductor on the buses is hardly a novel idea, and has been around since we started paid public transit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bus_conductor

The TTC hasn't employed bus conductors in my 5 decades in this City, it would be novel here.

 

[Northern Light]

On the agenda for next week's TTC meeting is approving the public art concept for 5 stations:

https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Documents/Home/Public-Meetings/Board/2024/April-11/14ApprovalofPublicArtConceptsfortheBayCastleFrankChristieDonlands-and-Lansdowne-Stations.pdf?rev=ac25725d9632473bb8efad3844d634b5&hash=42CE25379199ED655B333A018600DDDF

The full details are above, I will simply post the concept for each station:

Bay Station - Cumberland Entrance

Ab
Above Left is the new secondary entrance

**

All yours UT for $1.17M dollars

.....

 

[drum118]

That is more feasible, in theory, Total Annual Service Hours 19,700 (streetcars only) Equals 492.5 positions

Assuming you want this person to enforce fares, the comparable pay would be with a Fare Enforcement Officer, presumably.

Last I checked, that position had a grid from just over $31 per hour to a max just over $39 per hour. (plus all those benefits and payroll taxes etc.

The TTC had one Fare Inspector crack the Sunshine List in 2022 at 107k in earnings.

Should work out to ~40M per year.



All door boarding on buses is more common than you think, I see it quite regularly at busy stops or on full buses. Its likely to the norm in the future.



Not a great source.

53 TTC Station Collectors made the Sunshine List. ( * of note here, the TTC is phasing out this position in favour of Customer Service Agent)

Top earner took home $144,000 last year.

Station Collector salary info | Ontario Sunshine List

Search the list of people with the position 'Station Collector' that appeared on Ontario's sunshine list.

www.ontariosunshinelist.com

* Important to note $25CAD, where paid as the hourly rate, before overtime, would be only a modest portion of cost, pension, sick pay, disability coverage, vacation, CPP, EI, Employer Health Tax all add up



I get the theory, but I don't see there being anywhere near enough money to fund such a program that was universal.



The TTC hasn't employed bus conductors in my 5 decades in this City, it would be novel here.

In our 2012 trip to London UK as well other places and as well in 2022, never saw a conductor on a bus nor trams other than Amsterdam. Amsterdam 5 section Trams had a conductor. In 2012 you paid cash fare at both the front entrance as well as at the middle. 2022 saw mostly credit, debit, and smart cards only.

Will never see a conductor on transit again since it eats up the operation cost on top of the cost of having a driver operating the vehicle. Operators are the biggest cost for operation and why the move to one person per vehicle as well going driverless.

Systems are moving away from cash fare due to the collection cost and moving to a smart system, credit, and debit card system along with phones.

 

[turbanplanner]

On the agenda for next week's TTC meeting is approving the public art concept for 5 stations:

https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Documents/Home/Public-Meetings/Board/2024/April-11/14ApprovalofPublicArtConceptsfortheBayCastleFrankChristieDonlands-and-Lansdowne-Stations.pdf?rev=ac25725d9632473bb8efad3844d634b5&hash=42CE25379199ED655B333A018600DDDF

The full details are above, I will simply post the concept for each station:

Bay Station - Cumberland Entrance

View attachment 553627

View attachment 553628
View attachment 553629

View attachment 553630Ab
Above Left is the new secondary entrance

**

View attachment 553631
View attachment 553632
All yours UT for a 1.17M dollars

.....

Christie looks like lipstick on a pig

 

[Northern Light]

Christie looks like lipstick on a pig

Not my choice of descriptor, but I will say I'm not overly keen on any of them.

That's not a broad slag on the artists, I think its a poorly thought out program. The budgets are too small to integrate the art into better/new designs and finishes, which is where most people I think would prefer to see the money go.

Re-tile all or a single, full section of a station so everything matches, put the 'art' into integrated murals, better light fixtures, nicer ceiling finishes, integrated murals or even custom skylights where applicable.

Trying to just 'throw' art into an existing station, with existing finishes, on a comparatively small budget just doesn't tend to work out well, in my opinion.

The cost to remodel (completely new finishes, one substantial station level (bus terminal, mezzanine or platforms) will range from 2M-20M per section, per station, depending on area and height.

Dripping ~1.1M over 5 stations just can't do much, or much that's terribly good.

PS - you have your lights pictures above.

 

[Amare]

On the agenda for next week's TTC meeting is approving the public art concept for 5 stations:

https://cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Project/TTC/DevProto/Documents/Home/Public-Meetings/Board/2024/April-11/14ApprovalofPublicArtConceptsfortheBayCastleFrankChristieDonlands-and-Lansdowne-Stations.pdf?rev=ac25725d9632473bb8efad3844d634b5&hash=42CE25379199ED655B333A018600DDDF

The full details are above, I will simply post the concept for each station:

Bay Station - Cumberland Entrance

View attachment 553627

View attachment 553628
View attachment 553629

View attachment 553630Ab
Above Left is the new secondary entrance

**

View attachment 553631
View attachment 553632
All yours UT for a 1.17M dollars

.....

What about that public art over at Yorkdale with the Arc en Ciel, how's that project going TTC? Is it in indefinite purgatory?

Anyways, these are all ugly and I dont know why they're bothering. Some of these are going to look outright silly (like that Christie station mural with all those missing ceiling slats).

 

[Northern Light]

What about that public art over at Yorkdale with the Arc en Ciel, how's that project going TTC? Is it in indefinite purgatory?

I haven't heard anything about that lately.......... I don't know if something like that would cross @smallspy 's peripheral vision, but I can do some digging if not.

Anyways, these are all ugly

See my comments in a post above.

and I dont know why they're bothering.

Compliance with a public art policy of the City of Toronto.

Some of these are going to look outright silly (like that Christie station mural with all those missing ceiling slats).

Well, we could hold out hope the ceiling slats will back up by that point, of course, it will be new/washed ones w/the old so they don't match, LOL

The missing slats aren't a render, of course, they're a render superimposed on a picture of the station as it is now.

 

[T3G]

The TTC hasn't employed bus conductors in my 5 decades in this City, it would be novel here.

To add: in an age where the vast, vast majority of people pay with electric fare media that don't require the intervention of another human, I do not think that bus conductors pass the bare minimum of a cost effectiveness smell test.

We should be funding our transit system so that fare evasion doesn't cause a very big problem.

 

[drum118]

To add: in an age where the vast, vast majority of people pay with electric fare media that don't require the intervention of another human, I do not think that bus conductors pass the bare minimum of a cost effectiveness smell test.

We should be funding our transit system so that fare evasion doesn't cause a very big problem.

Talking to crews working on the Hurontario LRT that live next or near the line, they say that transit must be free before they use it as $4 is too expensive to go a few stops and cheaper to drive there.

I have heard this more times than enough for many NA systems that it has started to happen in a few places already. Some places are even offering free rides to anyone over sixty-five like it does in Europe. All you need is your state ID or the City ID. Brampton does this today with Mississauga charging $1

You will get a pushback from the car folks as well as the taxpayers who have no need to use transit or whose taxes are too high already.

Look at all TTC stations with bus bays and streetcar loops to see the free loaders walking in off the street and not paying their fare. Lack of enforcement is the big issue for fare evasions. How often do you see any enforcers on vehicles, let alone at stations?

In Europe, I have run into a mob (5-10+) of enforcers in plain clothes who jump onto a vehicle, pull out their badges and asked for profit of payment. Those who cannot show profit of payment are either given a ticket or have to pay the full cost of the ticket before moving on while the vehicle is still moving.

 

[Admiral Beez]

The TTC hasn't employed bus conductors in my 5 decades in this City, it would be novel here.

True. But the TTC hasn’t experienced up to 30% ride theft on their streetcars ever in its history, until now. Dramatic change is needed, and it can’t just be random inspections.