Metrolinx: Other Items (catch all)

[Northern Light]

I may have missed it, but in the last few pages I have not seen any discussion as to the mysterious deferral of the latest Metrolinx board mtg, which has been scheduled for June 27.

No alternate date has been set, so far as I can tell.

All approval items will be appear on a subsequent agenda, I don't recall actually having seen this meeting's agenda posted.

I would be most curious to know what's being deferred to some undetermined future date.

http://www.metrolinx.com/en/aboutus/board/board_meetings.aspx

 

[11th]

I assumed nfits was referring to the complete defunding of GO Transit by Harris. Their budget went to $0 from the province and municipalities were expected to pick up the slack. That policy was partially reversed by Harris before leaving government (largely due to screaming from the banks).

I think nfitz confused GTSB with GTTA, but that's alright. Harris PCs created and killed GTSB. McGuinty Liberals created GTTA.
GO Transit > Greater Toronto Service Board (2001, abolished 2002) > Greater Toronto Transportation Authority (2006) > Metrolinx (2007) > Metrolinx (incl. GO) (2009)
No one's conning anyone.

 

[TOareaFan]

Honest question....how big is the communication department at Metrolinx and.....how big does it need to be?

https://twitter.com/CBCmatt/status/1014563069194833921

 

[raptor]

Honest question....how big is the communication department at Metrolinx and.....how big does it need to be?

https://twitter.com/CBCmatt/status/1014563069194833921

Maybe someone left. On a different note, it always bugs me when a certain person in the communication department fills their twitter feed with personal life tweets, and feels compelled to comment on any breaking news unrelated to Metrolinx. I get that it's populism, but that certain someone needs to stick to Metrolinx communication only.

 

[Leo_Chan]

Maybe someone left. On a different note, it always bugs me when a certain person in the communication department fills their twitter feed with personal life tweets, and feels compelled to comment on any breaking news unrelated to Metrolinx. I get that it's populism, but that certain someone needs to stick to Metrolinx communication only.

Are you referencing Anne Marie Aikins‏@femwriter and her general Toronto posts?

 

[raptor]

Are you referencing Anne Marie Aikins‏@femwriter and her general Toronto posts.

yes

 

[TOareaFan]

Maybe someone left.

I think someone did....but the number of people issuing communications on behalf of this orgnaization has been a bit mind boggling for a while now.

Look at twitter (for an example) search for Metrolinx then click "people" aside from all the other people issuing departmentally specific tweets you get these folks:

and soon:

 

[TOareaFan]

^Vannessa Barrasa was the one that recently left......and, I guess, needed to be replaced.

 

[44 North]

They got Matt Llewellyn and Mark McAllister, among other PR/media people? Are they setting up a news channel? Seems a fairly sizable team.

 

[Richard White]

They got Matt Llewellyn and Mark McAllister, among other PR/media people? Are they setting up a news channel? Seems a fairly sizable team.

I fully expect it to be trimmed in the coming weeks under Ford. There is no need for that many PR people and it is like shooting fish in a barrel when looking for efficiencies.

May as well have a flashing neon sign in the Metrolinx PR department saying "easy pickings"

I can see keeping Anne Marie and Rob but not the rest. Anne Marie Aikens is the face of Metrolinx and Rob is the Comm Director. The other people were added for no good reason other than to hire people because they think it may be useful at some point.

 

[raptor]

I fully expect it to be trimmed in the coming weeks under Ford. There is no need for that many PR people and it is like shooting fish in a barrel when looking for efficiencies.

May as well have a flashing neon sign in the Metrolinx PR department saying "easy pickings"

I can see keeping Anne Marie and Rob but not the rest. Anne Marie Aikens is the face of Metrolinx and Rob is the Comm Director. The other people were added for no good reason other than to hire people because they think it may be useful at some point.

I would not be surprised if Metrolinx is eliminated altogether soon. heck, we all complained how rotten it is just recently

 

[Richard White]

Just curious does anyone here know what the plug/outlet situation is like on the Niagara GO trains?

 

[ssiguy2]

Well if Ford does dismantle Metrolinx, few Torontonians will be breaking out the Kleenex. Although the idea of regional transportation agency is a solid one, Metrolinx has been far too politically influenced by the Liberals at Queen`s Park and it`s own secretive nature and poor priorities.

Instead of building RER with electrification and new trains first, Metrolinx has put it`s RER priorities on parking garages and station improvements. An effective transit agency would have brought in the system first and added the niceties later but Metrolinx put the cart before the horse. The UPX and Brampton portion of the Kitchener line already have full grade separated subway standards but Metrolinx decided not to electrify the system and already having it run as a subway but instead built parking garages and new/improved stations which could have been built later.

Metrolinx has been so inept that after all these years of RER talk it has yet to even figure out what kind of trains it will run or the platform levels they would use. Fare integration of course has been a complete failure to boot. The only new rail line, the UPX, cost $500 million and moves a pathetic 8,000 passengers a day...……...a marginal bus route and most of the people who talk it don't pay for it as they right it off as a business expense.

 

[narduch]

Metrolinx is a microcosm of 15 years of Liberal rule. Good ideas, implemented poorly that will probably be blown up by Ford.

 

[EastYorkTTCFan]

Fare integration of course has been a complete failure to boot.

I think that has more to do with the various Transit companies not wanting to implement it the way Metrolinx wants to, pus many of them switched to a fixed rate, instead of fare by distance which Metrolinx keeps pushing as the only solution for everyone.