kEiThZ
Superstar
I agree with this. But I find that it's not practical for most couples. Quite often, couples (especially those with kids) will choose for one to have a short commute and one to have a long commute.
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Why I don't take public transit anymore
- Thread starter denfromoakvillemilton
- Start date
I agree with this. But I find that it's not practical for most couples. Quite often, couples (especially those with kids) will choose for one to have a short commute and one to have a long commute.
ssiguy2
Senior Member
GO service for people living in Toronto will never be a true alternative until GO and the TTC work out a deal so there is some form of blending of the fares.
Paying for GO and then paying for full fare TTC on top of it is an expensive proposition. If you commute with one other person, the financial benefits of tacking transit are zero compared to gas and parking.
Paying for GO and then paying for full fare TTC on top of it is an expensive proposition. If you commute with one other person, the financial benefits of tacking transit are zero compared to gas and parking.
kEiThZ
Superstar
Forget a deal. It's moronic that we have such separated systems in the first place. All because of bureaucratic kindom-making. The province wants to own one system. The city wants to own the other. In the end it's the poor transit rider who suffers with worse service the poor taxpayer who gets left with the bill for an incredibly inefficient system.
It's utterly stupid that we build a system where commuters bypass a perfectly good rail line in their neighbourhood to ride a bus for 20-30 mins to take a subway train (or two) that stops every km on the way downtown. Only in Toronto.
ItsTehBean
New Member
Might well as pack up and go to other country (such as Germany and Turkey). It's shame that Canada is still the only country without any plan or whatsoever for commitment to transit in OECD, and its unlikely to take place anytime soon. Canada's "Economic Action Plan" just sounds like another bailout for corporate fat-cats.
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Justin10000
Banned
A lot of transit advocates have been calling for better integration between GO and the TTC for years. GO is having none of it. For once, I totally agree with you. Paying 2 different fares within Toronto is absolutely moronic. Hell, the fare to use GO with Toronto is insanely expensive compared to traveling longer distances on GO.
I am dreaming, but if the Richmond Hill service was all-day, 10-15 minutes service using EMU's, much pressure would be taken off the Yonge Line.
Dan416
Senior Member
Totally agree. GO/TTC should be integrated. That's what Metrolinx should do.
Electrify
Senior Member
If you are a strict 9-5 commuter, 40 TTC tokens come to $100. Even if you need to make stopovers or extra trips, it is still cheaper to buy 8 extra tokens per month (8 stopovers or 4 extra trips) than it is to buy a Metropass. Granted, this says more about how much of a ripoff a Metropass is more than anything else (in most systems, it would cost about $100, more or less).
I wonder how it would affect ridership if they ran the bus through Richmond Hill Centre like they now do with the 407 buses rather than the Langstaff GO Station. I think York Region's Ride to GO program only takes affect at stations, so I would have to take it to RHC and cross the bridge and platform to get to Langstaff Rd. rather than take the bus to Major Mackenzie and transfer to the GO there.
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On topic, I think the problem is that we are so focused on providing "local transit" that we aren't looking at the big picture. We tend to take local services rather than faster express services because they are cheaper and more frequent. Theoretically speaking, if you only had your G1, transit would be fairly competitive because you could not use the highways.
Our obsessive focus on local transit also doesn't address people's needs. Many people might not use transit because it is too slow to get them to their work, whether it be downtown or in a suburban industrial park. Therefore they do not buy a transit pass. So now when it comes to making short local trips, they end up driving (or if Mother Earth is lucky, walking or cycling) rather than taking transit because they don't feel like spending $5-$6 in coin to run a short errand and back.
nfitz
Superstar
With a Metropass subscription, it's $111 a month. And Metropasses are tax deductible ... with a 15% credit. So the real cost is only $94.35 a month.
If you take more than 37 trips a month, the pass is cheaper. And a heck of a lot more convenient if you want to stop at the bank when changing ... or even walk a couple of stops to get some exercise.
toraerach
Active Member
I will never understand why the government doesn't just do away with the tax credit and directly subsidize the price of transit instead. It wouldn't cost a penny more and would be far less complicated for transit users.
Justin10000
Banned
That is not a problem at all. We SHOULD be focusing on local transit, as well as regional transit. The bulk of transit trips is local,and that is never going to change. More people travel short distance, than long distances. We should be looking at making transfer between the local agencies and GO easy and predictable. At the moment, it's not.
sjc
Active Member
One thing that the province can do to improve transit in Toronto would be to repeal section 395 (1)-(3) of the City of Toronto Act
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_06c11_e.htm#BK501
This would allow private operators to take advantage of market options to add private transportation opportunities where the TTC/GO does not provide adequate service. Some that come to mind:
- express buses to downtown during peak periods
- express buses to other key employment areas during peak periods
- "community buses" that circulate through a neighbourhood and stop at shopping areas and other local attractions.
- buses linking outer Toronto neighbourhoods (Agincourt, Rexdale, etc) with neighbouring cities
- late night buses bringing people home from bars downtown and circulating through distant neighbourhoods
- buses that circulate between various bars (these could be sponsored or operated by the bars)
- for-profit car pooling programs for commuters (you pay a company to join a pool or get paid to carry passengers)
- buses operated by major attractions/events to bring in customers
Rather than have endless studies to develop government programs, simply let the private sector get involved.
If outright repeal is not an option, perhaps an exception could be added to S395(3) for buses that hold less than 20 passengers. This would allow for small operations using large vans.
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_06c11_e.htm#BK501
This would allow private operators to take advantage of market options to add private transportation opportunities where the TTC/GO does not provide adequate service. Some that come to mind:
- express buses to downtown during peak periods
- express buses to other key employment areas during peak periods
- "community buses" that circulate through a neighbourhood and stop at shopping areas and other local attractions.
- buses linking outer Toronto neighbourhoods (Agincourt, Rexdale, etc) with neighbouring cities
- late night buses bringing people home from bars downtown and circulating through distant neighbourhoods
- buses that circulate between various bars (these could be sponsored or operated by the bars)
- for-profit car pooling programs for commuters (you pay a company to join a pool or get paid to carry passengers)
- buses operated by major attractions/events to bring in customers
Rather than have endless studies to develop government programs, simply let the private sector get involved.
If outright repeal is not an option, perhaps an exception could be added to S395(3) for buses that hold less than 20 passengers. This would allow for small operations using large vans.
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Justin10000
Banned
Eh.... What? I can't even imagine the cost of taking a private operator express bus.
sjc
Active Member
Considering that many people pay $20-30 a day for parking downtown, there is considerable room for pricing. $5-7 or even $10 each way would certainly be doable (TTC Express buses charge two tokens). If you had a small operation with just a few buses and drivers, you might be able to make money on that. Business served by buses may be willing to help subsidize them.
Electrify
Senior Member
Hate to say this, but knowing the TTC they would simply raise the price of passes by $15 to make the net savings to the consumer zero. Help, when the feds began offering this rebate, the TTC considered just that!
sjc
Active Member
A tax credit is much more visible and ensures that users are aware how helpful their government is being. It also provides good feelings at tax time when there is a box on your form that lowers your taxes, rather than raising them.
A direct subsidy to the transit system, beyond giving an opportunity for someone to do a speech, doesn't make anyone particularly happy (for those that really care about it, the government would either be obviously wasting money on transit or not spending enough).