York Region Transit: Viva service thread

[TOareaFan]

And that's it right there. Brampton has the same issues yet there residents know the bus will be there for them when their 3-11 shift is done? Newmarket? Vaughan? I rest my case.

As I have said before, I live in Brampton in the most suburban setting possible....but when I decide to take GO to work....I am confident in my ability to get a frequent bus to the GO station and when I get back home at night (even if I miss that last train and take a late bus home) there will be a relatively frequent bus to get me home.

On UT we debate technology a lot....what people want is frequent/reliable service.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

As I have said before, I live in Brampton in the most suburban setting possible....but when I decide to take GO to work....I am confident in my ability to get a frequent bus to the GO station and when I get back home at night (even if I miss that last train and take a late bus home) there will be a relatively frequent bus to get me home.

On UT we debate technology a lot....what people want is frequent/reliable service.

Amen to that.

 

[Leo_Chan]

As I have said before, I live in Brampton in the most suburban setting possible....but when I decide to take GO to work....I am confident in my ability to get a frequent bus to the GO station and when I get back home at night (even if I miss that last train and take a late bus home) there will be a relatively frequent bus to get me home.

On UT we debate technology a lot....what people want is frequent/reliable service.

As long as there's 24/7, at least 1 hr frequencies, no matter the technology, at an affordable fare price, will ample coverage you can't complain (at least in the suburbs). Anyone else agree?

 

[TOareaFan]

As long as there's 24/7, at least 1 hr frequencies, no matter the technology, at an affordable fare price, will ample coverage you can't complain (at least in the suburbs). Anyone else agree?

you don't need 24/7 service in the suburbs (heck, even Toronto has very very limited overnight service) and you need more than hourly during the hours that you do operate.....so, no, I don't agree with your premise.

Technology only matters (IMO) where one tech gives a clear operational advantage over the other....eg...i am a big advocate for shifting all of the GO routes to Union to rail because trains don't get bogged down in DT traffic.....so they have a clear operational advantage and that leads to more predictable/reliable service.

 

[cplchanb]

you don't need 24/7 service in the suburbs (heck, even Toronto has very very limited overnight service) and you need more than hourly during the hours that you do operate.....so, no, I don't agree with your premise.

Technology only matters (IMO) where one tech gives a clear operational advantage over the other....eg...i am a big advocate for shifting all of the GO routes to Union to rail because trains don't get bogged down in DT traffic.....so they have a clear operational advantage and that leads to more predictable/reliable service.

Seriously is any of this lot of armchair enthusiasts going to actually require to ride at night? All this complaining about service deficiencies at night but it appears that nobody here actually needs it. Feel free to rebuttal if there's actually someone here who needs to travel at 12am regularly and/or you know enough people who do as well enough to warrant sending out a bus in the middle of the night. imo the best solution atm is to put a dial a ride service. There is no need to have a full sized bus running virtually empty in the dead of night while the drivers are paid double ot for just going back and forth without picking up anyone. Maby of you have forgotten the economics of running a bus empty at rhe worst possible time.

They need to focus more on improving daytime services and not tag on with ttcs night routes just because.

 

[TOareaFan]

Seriously is any of this lot of armchair enthusiasts going to actually require to ride at night? All this complaining about service deficiencies at night but it appears that nobody here actually needs it. Feel free to rebuttal if there's actually someone here who needs to travel at 12am regularly and/or you know enough people who do as well enough to warrant sending out a bus in the middle of the night. imo the best solution atm is to put a dial a ride service. There is no need to have a full sized bus running virtually empty in the dead of night while the drivers are paid double ot for just going back and forth without picking up anyone. Maby of you have forgotten the economics of running a bus empty at rhe worst possible time.

They need to focus more on improving daytime services and not tag on with ttcs night routes just because.

While I did say there is no need for 24/7 I do think there is a need for evening and late evening service. I have ridden the bus route that serves my area many times after midnight....and it has never been anywhere close to "empty".

Also, if there are night shifts in any business a well negotiated contract with workers ensures you are not paying double OT.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

you don't need 24/7 service in the suburbs (heck, even Toronto has very very limited overnight service) and you need more than hourly during the hours that you do operate.....so, no, I don't agree with your premise.

Technology only matters (IMO) where one tech gives a clear operational advantage over the other....eg...i am a big advocate for shifting all of the GO routes to Union to rail because trains don't get bogged down in DT traffic.....so they have a clear operational advantage and that leads to more predictable/reliable service.

This is fair.

Seriously is any of this lot of armchair enthusiasts going to actually require to ride at night? All this complaining about service deficiencies at night but it appears that nobody here actually needs it. Feel free to rebuttal if there's actually someone here who needs to travel at 12am regularly and/or you know enough people who do as well enough to warrant sending out a bus in the middle of the night. imo the best solution atm is to put a dial a ride service. There is no need to have a full sized bus running virtually empty in the dead of night while the drivers are paid double ot for just going back and forth without picking up anyone. Maby of you have forgotten the economics of running a bus empty at rhe worst possible time.

They need to focus more on improving daytime services and not tag on with ttcs night routes just because.

While I did say there is no need for 24/7 I do think there is a need for evening and late evening service. I have ridden the bus route that serves my area many times after midnight....and it has never been anywhere close to "empty".

Also, if there are night shifts in any business a well negotiated contract with workers ensures you are not paying double OT.

I ride at night. When I was in Oakville, I was able to get home every day except for sunday, and even then it was until 8pm. They need to do both late night and midday in York, the problem is really 7pm to 12am to be honest. And uneven frequencies.

 

[Megaton327]

Seriously is any of this lot of armchair enthusiasts going to actually require to ride at night? All this complaining about service deficiencies at night but it appears that nobody here actually needs it. Feel free to rebuttal if there's actually someone here who needs to travel at 12am regularly and/or you know enough people who do as well enough to warrant sending out a bus in the middle of the night. imo the best solution atm is to put a dial a ride service. There is no need to have a full sized bus running virtually empty in the dead of night while the drivers are paid double ot for just going back and forth without picking up anyone. Maby of you have forgotten the economics of running a bus empty at rhe worst possible time.

They need to focus more on improving daytime services and not tag on with ttcs night routes just because.

12AM, no, but 7:30 PM when a fairly busy peak period GO train arrives is not an unreasonable time to have bus service. On the Yonge and Highway 7 corridors, there should be 24h service. Most other routes can likely end around 10-11pm on weekdays. But, at minimum, service home from rush hour trains should be provided...7:30 PM is hardly an unreasonable hour to ride the bus.

 

[johntauren]

Even Brampton has very limited service on Sunday evenings, which really should be improved. (For example, my local route stops running at 7pm on Sunday, but runs until midnight all other days)

GO buses continue to run until at least past 2am on some routes leaving Union, but many local routes don't go much after midnight even during weekdays no matter where you are.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Even Brampton has very limited service on Sunday evenings, which really should be improved. (For example, my local route stops running at 7pm on Sunday, but runs until midnight all other days)

GO buses continue to run until at least past 2am on some routes leaving Union, but many local routes don't go much after midnight even during weekdays no matter where you are.

7pm on Sunday is fine, maybe 8pm but its Sunday, everything is closed anyway.

 

[Leo_Chan]

7pm on Sunday is fine, maybe 8pm but its Sunday, everything is closed anyway.

Not restaurants.

 

[amnesiajune]

The reality of York Region is that it's always going to be car-dependant. Practically all of York Region has the means to own two cars per household, and even if you literally banned private cars they would probably end up taking taxis everywhere except to/from work. That's not true in Brampton and Mississauga - many parts of those cities are relatively low-income and need public transit options. York Region's only real low-income communities are along Yonge Street, where there's YRT service every 45 minutes until well after 2 AM, even on Sundays, and along Steeles where the TTC runs a frequent all-day and 30-minute night bus service.

For the rest of York Region, YRT can provide all the service that they want but ridership will still be low outside of rush hour. People in York Region don't want to be dependant on public transit - if they did, they'd be living somewhere farther south since they obviously have the means to live there.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

Not restaurants.

I digress. 12am on Sunday night too.

 

[denfromoakvillemilton]

The reality of York Region is that it's always going to be car-dependant. Practically all of York Region has the means to own two cars per household, and even if you literally banned private cars they would probably end up taking taxis everywhere except to/from work. That's not true in Brampton and Mississauga - many parts of those cities are relatively low-income and need public transit options. York Region's only real low-income communities are along Yonge Street, where there's YRT service every 45 minutes until well after 2 AM, even on Sundays, and along Steeles where the TTC runs a frequent all-day and 30-minute night bus service.

For the rest of York Region, YRT can provide all the service that they want but ridership will still be low outside of rush hour. People in York Region don't want to be dependant on public transit - if they did, they'd be living somewhere farther south since they obviously have the means to live there.

What about Oakville and Burlington. Those are 2 of the richest towns in Canada and they have great public transit. Durham Region also gets it right. Long commute, but again, I didn't have a car when I lived in Oakville. You can't do that in Aurora.

 

[amnesiajune]

What about Oakville and Burlington. Those are 2 of the richest towns in Canada and they have great public transit.

They have worse transit than York Region. Even during rush hour, most routes are running every 30 minutes and the best few are running every 15. On Sundays, all service stops at 8 pm. Aren't those hallmarks of a terrible transit system? Or have we been reading different threads...

YRT is perfectly fine if you're commuting within your municipality and terrible if you need to commute to another municipality. Oakville, and Burlington, and Durham, and even Toronto's local systems are no different. Go Transit is the difference there - they provide relatively good all-day service along the Lakeshore line, but not on the three lines that go into York Region (and on the two where it's planned, it doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon).

Long commute, but again, I didn't have a car when I lived in Oakville. You can't do that in Aurora.

Why are you living in Aurora if you don't have a car? It's more expensive to live there than in Richmond Hill, Thornhill, or Toronto - people are literally paying to be in a car-dependent area. This forum needs to accept that. Not everyone wants to live in "complete communities" and not everywhere needs to be a "complete community". And public transit needs to accept that too - Go Transit is meant for most of its users to park at the station, and YRT is meant to form a basic service that, aside from a few corridors, just provides an alternative option for commuters, especially those who want to depend on one car rather than two.