News   May 03, 2024
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TTC: Customer Service

Each new streetcar, light rail vehicle, and Toronto Rocket uses the knew HAL 9000 computer. The HAL 9000 does knot make mistakes, Dave.

hal_9000___2001_a_space_odyssey_by_pascal808-d57bhl7.jpg
There's a reason why @AlvinofDiaspar uses HAL9000 as his avatar.
 
I'm confused why it would say this? I ride Spadina all the time and it always says "five-ten Spadina...." is this something to do with the Flexities vs. UTDC Streetcars then not a big deal for much longer . . . (hopefully)
no it's the speech to text program it did the same thing when they started it with buses it reads the number as it should be and not how it gets said it needs to be reprogramed to the way we say it.
 
TTC parking returns to Yorkdale February 1st.

From link:

Starting tomorrow morning, Feb. 1, TTC customers will have access to the newly renovated and upgraded parking lot at Yorkdale Station.

The lot, which will be priced at $7 a day, offers more than 1,000 spaces in a covered, heated and well-lit multi-level structure. It also features a communication system monitored by mall security and pay-on exit payment system, allowing for quicker entry. Prior to re-opening, the lot underwent renovations by the mall’s owner.

The spaces at Yorkdale Station will provide much-needed relief to commuters who regularly park at Downsview and Wilson stations.

In addition to these spaces, commuters will have access to approximately 2,800 new spaces at three TTC lots on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension by the end of 2017, as well as access to a lot at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
 
How to get improved service on the TTC? See other jurisdictions for examples, but we need to bypass the suburban auto-addicted councillors and bureaucrats as well and get a rider-centric leadership...

From link.


The unsung hero of San Francisco is the humble city bus, which moves more than 400,000 people through the city every day. This didn’t happen by accident – the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) have taken a systematic, rider-centric approach to improving bus service across the city.

This policy and implementation effort, dubbed “Muni Forward,” has been bolstered by a $500 million dollar injection of funding approved by voters in 2014, which enabled new capital investments to improve transportation access in an already service-rich city.

Muni Forward comprises a suite of service improvements, including dedicated bus lanes (“red carpets”), the first implementation of all-door boarding in a major American transit system, stop consolidation, transit signal priority, and the branding of a Rapid Network of bus routes in high impact corridors.

Though some of the bus lane projects have been controversial in San Francisco, it’s important to acknowledge the smart policy-making and intent behind Muni Forward. The city is attempting to optimize its transit resources by prioritizing transit on streets, making transit easy to use and conducting a rolling review of routes and stops.

Bus ridership has increased in recent years as population has continued to grow, which has been essential as congestion has worsened and cost of living continues to rise. Even as the Bay Area increases its investments in BART rail extensions andPhase 2 of the Transbay Transit Center, Muni Forward demonstrates the city’s recognition of the essential role that buses will continue to play to ensure that Bay Area residents can get where they need to go.

The SFMTA’s comprehensive approach to improving bus service across the city should be a model for other cities across the country.
 
How to get improved service on the TTC? See other jurisdictions for examples, but we need to bypass the suburban auto-addicted councillors and bureaucrats as well and get a rider-centric leadership...
Lots of great info in there (and huge envy on my part, I loved SF), but one of the ones that immediately struck me:
(gist) "All door boarding has reduced fare evasion".

And Googling shows articles on exactly that:
All-Door Muni Boarding Still Means Quicker Buses, Less Fare Evasion

Two years after Muni launched all-door boarding, the agency continues to report [PDF] quicker boardings and lower rates of fare evasion.

As SFBay reported, SFMTA Performance Manager Jason Lee told the agency’s board yesterday that “dwell times,” the amount of time buses spend waiting at stops, have decreased by an average of 38 percent systemwide. Dwell times are also more consistent across the city, since the longest bus stops have seen the most improvement. Since 2011, average bus travel speeds have increased from 8.41 mph to 8.56 mph.

“That may not seem like a lot, but it adds up,” said Lee.

Fare evasion, meanwhile, dropped from 9.5 percent in 2009 to an estimated 7.9 percent in 2014, translating to an estimated $2.1 million in annual savings.

The results contradict predictions from critics who said all-door boarding would encourage fare evasion. Previously, bus operators had to verify and enforce payment at the front door. Now, buses use a “proof of payment” system, as had been the policy on light-rail lines for decades, where fare inspectors randomly check whether passengers have paid their fares. Inspection staff levels were boosted from 41 to 54 when all-door boarding launched.



Other factors beyond boarding policy could have influenced bus speeds and fare evasion. Christopher Grabarkiewctz, SFMTA’s director of security, investigations and enforcement, noted that an improved economy could mean more riders have money to pay fares, and more riders are tagging Clipper cards rather than paying with time-consuming cash.
[...]
http://sf.streetsblog.org/2014/12/0...-still-means-quicker-buses-less-fare-evasion/

So what in hell has happened in Toronto? Perhaps the TTC execs are looking for excuses? Perhaps Cdns aren't as honest as Americans? Perhaps the TTC is full of big smelly doo-doos?

Perhaps Peter Ustinov has his "Toronto is New York run by the Swiss" close, but not quite? More like "run by the Ditz".
 
The TTC has just moved the 121 stop (eastbound) from the corner of bay Street (at the TTC subway exit) to in front of the Dominion Public Building. Naturally there is no indication at the old location that the stop has been moved and they clearly did not think of the (in)convenience to customers transferring to the 121 from the subway, GO, VIA or UP Express. The next stop further west is now at Simcoe. While I agree that bus stops can be too close together it makes little sense not to have one easily accessible (and visible) in front of Canada's busiest passenger terminal.
 
The TTC has just moved the 121 stop (eastbound) from the corner of bay Street (at the TTC subway exit) to in front of the Dominion Public Building. Naturally there is no indication at the old location that the stop has been moved and they clearly did not think of the (in)convenience to customers transferring to the 121 from the subway, GO, VIA or UP Express. The next stop further west is now at Simcoe. While I agree that bus stops can be too close together it makes little sense not to have one easily accessible (and visible) in front of Canada's busiest passenger terminal.

Wow, that's a little ridiculous. Not like that's much farther east to walk, but it's silly--Union is an obviously logical transfer point, this makes a nearly-nonexistent walk to connect between the subway and the bus into a not-insignificant walk given the intersection crossing potentially adding time.
 
From Streetsblog.org, at this link:

An All-Too-Rare Idea to Improve Transit: Put People Who Ride Transit in Charge

Currently, on the TTC board, we have non-transit users as commissioners, including Councillors who don't use the TTC except for photo-ops.

It’s hard to improve transit service if the people who oversee transit policy don’t know what makes for good service. And yet, agency boards are often dominated by political hacks with little or no transit expertise — many don’t even know what it’s like to ride the transit systems they oversee.

Dallas is trying something different. To shake things up at DART, the Dallas City Council is appointing a new slate of board members. Long-time board members are being replaced with regular riders, transit advocates, and people with real transit policy expertise.

The editorial board of the Dallas Morning News says the changes are likely to bring about real benefits for riders:

The Dallas City Council’s house-cleaning of DART representatives this week signals a wise pivot to what matters most: Ensuring that the regional transit agency lures new customers and does right by those who rely on its service, yet too often are let down.

The newcomers named on Wednesday are formidable choices, based on their credentials and interviews earlier this month. All of them are frequent Dallas Area Rapid Transit users, and each showed an understanding of the agency as well as the shortcomings that consistently bedevil Dallas residents who must depend 24-7 on the system.

The appointees’ answers reflect fresh, practical ideas for improvements, while long-time board members voiced a relatively hands-off approach to DART accountability.
A key priority for the new board members, reports Brandon Formby at the Texas Tribune, is to focus on improving bus service in the central city instead of far-flung rail expansions.

More recommended reading today: The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition says a new law will require drivers ed courses to teach students how to drive safely around cyclists and pedestrians. And Systemic Failure offers another example of foreign railcar manufacturers struggling to adhere to America’s bizarre, outdated safety standards.
 
From Streetsblog.org, at this link:

An All-Too-Rare Idea to Improve Transit: Put People Who Ride Transit in Charge

Currently, on the TTC board, we have non-transit users as commissioners, including Councillors who don't use the TTC except for photo-ops.

It’s hard to improve transit service if the people who oversee transit policy don’t know what makes for good service. And yet, agency boards are often dominated by political hacks with little or no transit expertise — many don’t even know what it’s like to ride the transit systems they oversee.

Dallas is trying something different. To shake things up at DART, the Dallas City Council is appointing a new slate of board members. Long-time board members are being replaced with regular riders, transit advocates, and people with real transit policy expertise.

The editorial board of the Dallas Morning News says the changes are likely to bring about real benefits for riders:

The Dallas City Council’s house-cleaning of DART representatives this week signals a wise pivot to what matters most: Ensuring that the regional transit agency lures new customers and does right by those who rely on its service, yet too often are let down.

The newcomers named on Wednesday are formidable choices, based on their credentials and interviews earlier this month. All of them are frequent Dallas Area Rapid Transit users, and each showed an understanding of the agency as well as the shortcomings that consistently bedevil Dallas residents who must depend 24-7 on the system.

The appointees’ answers reflect fresh, practical ideas for improvements, while long-time board members voiced a relatively hands-off approach to DART accountability.
A key priority for the new board members, reports Brandon Formby at the Texas Tribune, is to focus on improving bus service in the central city instead of far-flung rail expansions.

More recommended reading today: The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition says a new law will require drivers ed courses to teach students how to drive safely around cyclists and pedestrians. And Systemic Failure offers another example of foreign railcar manufacturers struggling to adhere to America’s bizarre, outdated safety standards.

What a silly idea. Have people who actually know the system in charge of it? That'll never fly in Toronto. It's much more logical to have suburban car drivers make the big decisions, as they're who the transit system should be designed to serve best/inconvenience the least.
 
Right now we have people who proposes to run a downtown express on Yonge street cause subways are too full on the board. They also think there is a Dufferin express bus, consider running a bus from Kipling to Union to relief subway, believe riders have to wait 3 or 4 trains to get on the Bloor-Danforth line and etc. They also ask very basic questions that any rider would have known and have a two hour discussion on disposing a bus loop and turning it into a park.

How can we allow other people to do their job? They'll shorten those meetings to 30 minutes!
 
What a silly idea. Have people who actually know the system in charge of it? That'll never fly in Toronto. It's much more logical to have suburban car drivers make the big decisions, as they're who the transit system should be designed to serve best/inconvenience the least.

Anytime they've tried that here, the panel suggested direct downtown-to-Scarborough Town Centre buses, and similar things. So yeah, I'm sure that it'll work out great.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.
 
How to get improved service on the TTC? See other jurisdictions for examples, but we need to bypass the suburban auto-addicted councillors and bureaucrats as well and get a rider-centric leadership...

From link.


...and SF is using buses. Not every solution to better transit in Toronto is LRTs or subways. Sheppard East could easily be a BRT running in its own private lane.
 

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