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TTC: Other Items (catch all)

TheTigerMaster said:
Driver was clearly being reckless. I hope he gets an outrageously expensive bill from the TTC.
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I captured this too! Mr. Maserati made me Mr. Late!

Photo 2014-06-26, 9 35 54.jpg
 

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Christina Blizzard has a so-so article on

Want to improve transit? Here's a guide

In the Sunday Sun, of July 6, 2014. See link:

TORONTO - Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Liberal government have pledged $29 billion over 10 years to improve transit and infrastructure in the province.
In the spirit of helpfulness and co-operation, and as someone who’s lived in the transit-starved suburbs and uses the TTC frequently, here are my top 10 tips for improving transit:

1. Stop arguing and do something.
Take politics out of transit. This all started with the Liberals’ horribly flawed Vaughan subway line.
A well-heeled suburb like Vaughan, with its vast fleets of SUVs and minivans, should never have been a transit priority.
Build subways to parts of the city where low-income workers have no other way to get to work other than by TTC.
Then build there.

2. Charge by distance travelled.
It’s ridiculous that it costs the same to go from the outer reaches of Scarborough to downtown as it does to go a few blocks. Implement zoned fares.
This would raise more money for transit from the people who use it. And look at the disparity between GO Transit and TTC fares. GO costs much more than the TTC.
Rationalize the two systems.
3. Scrap Metrolinx.
Designed as a means to get politics out of transit, the agency has turned into an unnecessary, self-entitled black hole for taxpayer dollars. It’s a complete waste of money and has only added another layer of bloated bureaucracy.

4. A better way to get politics out of transit would be to sell off the TTC.
Let the private sector decide where new lines go.
If we injected private sector discipline into transit expansion, lines would go where the customers are instead of where politicians believe they can get the most votes.

5. Wynne seemed to wobble on her commitment to build subways to Scarborough recently.
She was asked if she’d back away from subways if Toronto’s next elected mayor supports LRTs.
“It’s the plan that’s in place, but as with all of these things, we need to work in co-operation with all the municipalities,” she said.
While Mayor Rob Ford supports a subway for Scarborough, other candidates such as Olivia Chow have said they prefer light-rail transit (LRT) projects.
Wynne would not speculate on what the provincial government would do if Toronto voters elect someone who supports LRTs.
“Look, I assume all the candidates who are running understand that building transit in Toronto and beyond is an important part of our economic growth and our community’s well-being,” she said.
What TTC and GO need to do is create a transit hub where highways, subways and GO meet in eastern Scarborough.
Build a 10-storey parking garage so commuters can ditch their cars on the outskirts of Toronto and take transit in.
And that means subways -- not LRTs.
Subways are a better long-term investment. You get an extra lane of transit without losing a lane of road.
They work better in the Canadian climate.

6. Don’t stop building subways.
That’s how this city got into the mess we’re in now. Build at least 10 kilometres of track a year.

7. Don’t implement a congestion charge as they have in London.
The British city has an extensive transit system that gives people numerous options for getting around. They don’t have to drive.
Don’t punish drivers until those alternatives are in place.

8. Downtown Toronto is not the centre of the transit universe. People need to get around the entire GTA.
Have an integrated fare card, so people don’t have to pay one fare on Mississauga Transit and another for the TTC and another for GO.
Start to think like the vast, integrated metropolis we are and not like a group of unconnected villages with parochial interests.

9. While politicians of all stripes and at all levels squabble, the travelling public are squeezed into overcrowded buses, streetcars and subways.
Here’s a challenge to all politicians: Get out of your limos and SUVs and take transit. Not just for a one-day photo op. Take it every day. It should be a requirement for any politician making decisions about transit spending.
You want to plan transit lines? Get on a bus.

10. Again, for the politicians: Make a decision. Base it on facts, not emotion.
Click to expand...

My comments:

1. Agree

2. Agree. However, i'll expect those who actually travel a long distance would be upset.

3. Disagree. Metrolinx should be a regional transit body, providing transit that crosses borders.

4. Disagree. The TTC should be kept in public hands. Putting it private hands would result in less transit and only transit in high density areas that would be profitable.

5. Disagree. Light rail and heavy rail where appropriate. Subways could be nine times more expensive than LRT, and should only be built where needed, not where wanted. See this link for more information.

6. Agree. Where appropriate.

7. Disagree. End free parking. Pay for your parking in all urban areas, including the GTA.

8. Agree. If you can get the NIMBYs to allow the higher density needed.

9. Agree. Politicians should get out of your SUVs and limos, and actually use public transit on a regular basis. No photo ops.

10. Agree

(My comments in the Toronto Sun's website were removed by persons unknown.)
 
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I was reading that article and went like this:

"Hmm. #1, agree with...#2, you're on the right track...#3, aaaaaaand we're into right-wing out to lunch territory already."

Non-transit-experts who look at transit from a political point of view drive me insane in this city. No more 10-km of subway per year thanks - how do you expect to pay for that ridiculous bill, especially given the outright rejection of congestion charges? Wynne is on the right track with GO RER - now THAT is how you'll get people to take transit in Toronto. Allow for fare integration so that our buses, LRT, streetcars, and subways feed passengers into the RER network that'll take them the furthest and the fastest - NOT make the subway the slower but cheaper alternative to proper regional rail. That mentality is what leads to the kind of crowding we see daily at Bloor-Yonge.

She has some good ideas (albeit ones already discussed to death) but others stem from a maddeningly narrow point of view.
 
MrsNesbitt said:
I was reading that article and went like this:

"....#3, aaaaaaand we're into right-wing out to lunch territory already."
Click to expand...

Well kinda.

Metrolinx and MTO do have a lot of duplication of efforts and should eventually be merged.

Here's the catch though, MTO staff back in 2003 were very unhappy (except one employee who spoke to Rocket Riders) about doing transit related work. From what I can see of their more recent High Speed Rail projects, MTO staff still don't really get transit.

If MTO and Metrolinx did merge, I think it would need to be through shrinking responsibilities of MTO. This is not unlike how Translink ended up taking control of roadway and bridge work in the Vancouver Area.

Frequently in private sector you need to do a full flip of staff to eliminate a unwanted culture. It's about moving goods and people while making efficient use of land; highways are important but they're very inefficient for most trips.
 
rbt said:
Well kinda.

Metrolinx and MTO do have a lot of duplication of efforts and should eventually be merged.

Here's the catch though, MTO staff back in 2003 were very unhappy (except one employee who spoke to Rocket Riders) about doing transit related work. From what I can see of their more recent High Speed Rail projects, MTO staff still don't really get transit.

If MTO and Metrolinx did merge, I think it would need to be through shrinking responsibilities of MTO. This is not unlike how Translink ended up taking control of roadway and bridge work in the Vancouver Area.

Frequently in private sector you need to do a full flip of staff to eliminate a unwanted culture. It's about moving goods and people while making efficient use of land; highways are important but they're very inefficient for most trips.
Click to expand...

I agree with you that Metrolinx needs an overhaul or a shuffling of staff. Likewise on the MTO's lack of understanding of transit - the MTO is comprised of "roads people", to put it simply. They think in terms of the road network and in terms of how transit will affect it.

The author's solution to the bureaucracy trapping Metrolinx is decidedly a right-wing one though. Rather than acknowledging that having, already, an existing body at the provincial level responsible for transit is a step in the right direction, even if it does need an overhaul, her solution is to scrap it outright. That's a Hudakian policy, or even a Harris one, and it won't solve anything.

Without Metrolinx the regional fiefdom mentality which restricts transit development will only worsen because there will be no higher body (see previous comments about the MTO) coordinating inter-municipality efforts. Good can still be done by Metrolinx, and scrapping it entirely will only bring us a step back.
 
Metrolinx needs to be division of MTO and represent the whole of Ontario, but broken down into regions within it.

It needs to be run by people with transit background something Metrolinx lacks today. It needs to be non political by looking at what is best for everyone, not someone pet project or technological.

At the same time, how current transit systems are setup needs to change from cities to Regional and that includes TTC. Riders don't care what X looks like so long it gets them where they want to go in the first place with the fewest transfers as well being low cost.

I will post this here as its already posted elsewhere as it does affect TTC and maybe seen here more than the other thread.

This is being keep real quit and don't want people to know about it. Looks like a drop in show & tell.

Kipling Bus Terminal Feasibility Study

​Tuesday, July 15, 2014
6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
St. Andrews Presbyterian Church
3819 Bloor Street West
 
Not sure if this is anywhere else, but there's this proposal to introduce a low-income transit pass.

Toronto City Council: Say yes to the TTC low income transit pass on Tuesday July 8 :

A member of TTCriders, Helen, often speaks of her friend, a senior with cancer, who daily had to make the painful choice of either buying food or buying TTC tokens to visit her friends because she doesn’t have the money to do both.

Those kinds of tough choices are being made by Torontonians every day because public transit costs so much.

But there's change in sight. Thanks to all your emails, calls, and deputations last week, the City Executive approved a motion to develop a plan to provide low income TTC passes to riders. This is huge!

One hurdle down, another to go. Now this Tuesday July 8 the entire City Council gets to decide whether we move forward on the plan to give low-income riders some fare relief.

Tell the City to say yes to coming up with a plan to provide a low income pass to TTC users.
Click to expand...

Personally, I would prefer using most or all of the TTC's operational subsidy to create a kind of municipal, low income transit credit. This help on multiple fronts. It would reduce congestion and provide more assistance to low income torontonians.
 
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http://shop.ttc.ca/




Number of Steeles Avenue bus bays too small for TTC’s new articulated buses

http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-s...ys-too-small-for-ttc-s-new-articulated-buses/

Some bus bays along Steeles Avenue East are too narrow to accommodate the TTC’s new fleet of articulated buses, says the transit commission.

While the TTC waits for the city rebuild the bays, it has added additional bus stop poles designating articulated bus service to various stop locations for the 53 Steeles East route between Bayview Avenue and Yonge Street.

The poles were installed when the new 60-foot vehicles began operating on Steeles East in late April. The decision makes for a seemingly odd sight: two bus stop poles for one waiting area.

.....




3hESW_BusStopSigns0703_Content.jpg
 
diminutive said:
Not sure if this is anywhere else, but there's this proposal to introduce a low-income transit pass.



Personally, I would prefer using most or all of the TTC's operational subsidy to create a kind of municipal, low income transit credit. This help on multiple fronts. It would reduce congestion and provide more assistance to low income torontonians.
Click to expand...

Not sure how redirecting TTC funding to give a tax credit would improve congestion, since they'd have to cut service levels to make up for the loss of subsidy. I also don't see how a municipal tax credit would help either given that most low-income torontonians don't own property.

In general, I think creating separate passes for low-income people is a bad idea for several reasons.

1. We should be lowering the price of all transit fares rather than some users. I mean, in general, it's sad that our operating subsidy is so low that people can't even afford *bus passes*.
2. The city isn't in much of a position to perform means-testing. It is much more efficient for the province to deal with social assistance issues like this, rather than introduce bureaucracy.
3. This program is rife with potential for abuse.
4. If there is any physical difference in passes it serves to distinguish and shame poverty.
5. It would increase the fares for other classes of users who may also struggle with the costs of transit (e.g. students).
 
aquateam said:
Not sure how redirecting TTC funding to give a tax credit would improve congestion, since they'd have to cut service levels to make up for the loss of subsidy. I also don't see how a municipal tax credit would help either given that most low-income torontonians don't own property.
Click to expand...

In fairness, I just said 'transit credit' not 'tax credit.' I assume there would be some kind of mechanism to get the credits to low-income Torontonians.

It would reduce congestion by reducing demand. If the subsidy was reduced, TTC fares would rise. Higher fares -> lower demand -> less congestion.

aquateam said:
1. We should be lowering the price of all transit fares rather than some users. I mean, in general, it's sad that our operating subsidy is so low that people can't even afford *bus passes*.
2. The city isn't in much of a position to perform means-testing. It is much more efficient for the province to deal with social assistance issues like this, rather than introduce bureaucracy.
3. This program is rife with potential for abuse.
4. If there is any physical difference in passes it serves to distinguish and shame poverty.
5. It would increase the fares for other classes of users who may also struggle with the costs of transit (e.g. students).
Click to expand...

1. For any given amount of subsidy, we'd see the most social welfare gains if funds were transferred to those with the least income. There's no real welfare gains from making sure a high-income Torontonian has the benefit of cheaper fares.
2. Would it really be that hard? I'd agree that, ideally, the Province/Feds would implement some kind of low-income transit benefit, but I don't see why this program would be especially difficult to administer. We already run targeted metropass programs (students/seniors).
3. What is this, Ronald Reagan hour? While in theory any program is ripe for abuse, evidence shows that personal transfers are amongst the most difficult programs to abuse.
4. Perhaps, but I don't see why physical distinction would really be necessary.
5. Students are already a class of user who benefit from discounted passes. Excluding users who already benefit from discounted passes, who would loose? Upper income people, obviously, but that's the point of redistribution.
 
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