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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

JasonParis said:
Pre-pandemic I think GO used to have a no bikes on trains during rush hours policy (similar to the TTC). Does that still apply?
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GO’s policy was slightly more permissive than the TTC’s – bikes allowed in the counter-peak direction except at Union Station. So if you got on a westbound train with a bike at Exhibition Station at 8 am, that is allowed. GO’s policy hasn’t changed, but I wonder if it should with the most crowded trains not on the traditional rush hours these days, but on weekends.

It’d be nice to have one bike coach on all trains where they’re allowed at all times. With two concourses now at Union, and new direct access to Bay and York Streets, the Union Station restriction shouldn’t be as big of a deal either these days.
 
JasonParis said:
Pre-pandemic I think GO used to have a no bikes on trains during rush hours policy (similar to the TTC). Does that still apply?
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There are systems in Europe that don't allow bikes on during peak time. Then some charge a fare to bring the bike on X.

Never saw a transit system with bike rake on buses for them. Did see a number of intercity buses with rakes on the back of them
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felix123 said:
Toronto could really use NYC's dedicated bus ramps right now. Makes no sense that GO has to compete with car traffic this way.
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For 3 GO bus routes, 2 of which are to be replaced by trains in the near future? I fully support extending the bus lane in front of the terminal, but dedicated flyover ramps would à la Port Authority Bus Terminal would be impossible to justify in our context.
 
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tsm1072 said:
I'd advocate for a lot of the commuter trains to have 1 bike coach. Currently you can't bring a bike on the train if commuting, which makes the last mile connection from the station to your destination difficult. Obviously you need the service levels so that trains have the capacity to dedicate a level to bikes. But in the long run, promoting a bike to the station and bike away from the station strategy would be beneficial in reducing the park and ride nature of GO.
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The reason that most rail operators limit bikes on board (via a surcharge and/or time-of-day restrictions) is that bikes are very space-intensive. For the space of one paying customer with a bike, you could carry 2 or 3 paying customers without bikes.

For this reason, bringing a bike aboard cannot be scaled up to become a viable solution to the last-mile problem. The solution for the last mile at the home end is of course convenient, secure, weather-protected bicycle parking at all stations. The viable bicycle-based solutions for the last mile at the destination end are bikeshare and/or secure storage for a second bike. Union already has tons of bikeshare capacity, so I think that solution is pretty well covered. Union also has a secure indoor bicycle parking garage with 168 secure bicycle parking spaces, but the 48h maximum stay in the garage makes it impractical for storing a desination-end bike unless you commute downtown every single day. Increasing that maximum stay would make destination-end parking far more attractive by giving people the option to miss a couple days at work without getting a parking fine on their bike.

Toronto Bicycle Parking Garage Terms of Use
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In order for any of these options to be successful, the station needs to be accessible via a safe and convenient bicycle network, but that's under the control of the municipalities, not GO itself.
 
reaperexpress said:
The reason that most rail operators limit bikes on board (via a surcharge and/or time-of-day restrictions) is that bikes are very space-intensive. For the space of one paying customer with a bike, you could carry 2 or 3 paying customers without bikes.

For this reason, bringing a bike aboard cannot be scaled up to become a viable solution to the last-mile problem. The viable bicycle-based solutions for the last mile at the destination end are bikeshare and/or secure storage for a second bike. Union already has tons of bikeshare capacity, so I think that solution is pretty well covered. Union also has a secure indoor bicycle parking garage with 168 secure bicycle parking spaces, but the 48h maximum stay in the garage makes it impractical for storing a desination-end bike unless you commute downtown every single day. Increasing that maximum stay would make destination-end parking far more attractive by giving people the option to miss a couple days at work without getting a parking fine on their bike.

Toronto Bicycle Parking Garage Terms of Use
View attachment 423634
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Not to side track the thread, but does anyone know off hand what the utilization rate for the Union Station secure bike parking is/was?

I'm curious if they were at/near capacity, or not, and if they were, what level of latent demand may be unmet.

I also wonder, in light of the apparent demand for cycling in Niagara, if the business case for Bikeshare Niagara is being made.
 
Northern Light said:
Not to side track the thread, but does anyone know off hand what the utilization rate for the Union Station secure bike parking is/was?

I'm curious if they were at/near capacity, or not, and if they were, what level of latent demand may be unmet.
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I was just wondering this myself. Ideally they'd set the prices and maximum stay at the garage such that it is 90-95% full at the busiest moment.

The website says that Union has a single garage with 168 spaces, which is the new one on York Street north of the railway underpass.

New bike parking garage, on York just north of the underpass.
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But prior to the renovation, there was already garage in the underpass immediately south of the new one, with a total of (IIRC) around 140 spaces. I thought the new garage was going to be in addition to the old garage (for a total of ~300 spaces), but based on the website seems that it has simply replaced the old garage, producing barely any increase in capacity.

Old parking garage in the underpass near tracks 24-27
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In this 2019 image there still appear to be some bikes in the old garage, though most of the bikes are parked outside of it, probably due to the high parking fees and short maximum stay.
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Meanwhile, in my city here in the Netherlands (Delft), there are 10,000 secure and weather protected spaces, divided among 3 garages. Access is via a subsurface level of bicycle paths which pass under car/bus/pedestrian routes. Parking is completely free, and the maximum stay is 14 to 28 days depending on the garage.

I briefly show the Delft Station bike parking at 0:28 in this video:

Admittedly the parking restrictions in Delft are unusually generous though, even by Dutch standards. Typically a Dutch station's main (most convenient) garage will have paid parking, but the first 24h is free. Payment is via OV Chipkaart (Dutch Presto Card). Longer term parking would be available for free up to 28 days at another less conveniently-located garage.

Northern Light said:
I also wonder, in light of the apparent demand for cycling in Niagara, if the business case for Bikeshare Niagara is being made.
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Bikeshare Niagara definitely seems like promising concept. But I think the first order of business is to fix up the bike networks in Niagara Falls and environs. For all the advertising that Niagara Region does for cycle tourism, their cycling infrastructure is actually really poor. Which is especially frustrating given that there are so many conveniently-located hydro corridors, abandoned railways and surplus road ROW space which could easily accommodate bicycle paths.
 
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reaperexpress said:
Meanwhile, in my city here in the Netherlands (Delft), there are 10,000 secure and weather protected spaces, divided among 3 garages. Access is via a subsurface level of bicycle paths which pass under car/bus/pedestrian routes. Parking is completely free, and the maximum stay is 14 to 28 days depending on the garage.
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I would like to have better bike parking at GO stations, and I was with you on the rest of the post but how is this train station in a charming Dutch town relevant to the discussion?
But since we're off-topic anyway, if anyone wants to feel especially bad about our infrastructure as it compares to that of the Netherlands and condescended to at the same time, I would recommend the 'Not Just Bikes' videos on YouTube.
 
felix123 said:
I would like to have better bike parking at GO stations, and I was with you on the rest of the post but how is this train station in a charming Dutch town relevant to the discussion?
But since we're off-topic anyway, if anyone wants to feel especially bad about our infrastructure as it compares to that of the Netherlands and condescended to at the same time, I would recommend the 'Not Just Bikes' videos on YouTube.
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Aside from the fact that @reaperexpress is currently based in that part of the world; I think its an entirely apt comparison to ask what we could be doing better; to consider different options in policy, scale, and in price to induce a greater level of cycling in the Golden Horseshoe.
 
LemonCondo said:
Union Station is going to need much more bike parking. I mean its kind of embarrassing when there is a long list of condo buildings with more spots then your central station.
Need more parking at all TTC and GO stations as well.
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It depends on the TTC station really. Some don't have the space for it, namely those downtown which are in office towers.

Other stations like Kennedy, Royal York, Spadina (Kendal) or Lawrence are good candidates, Stations like St Clair, Sheppard, St Clair West or even Yorkdale do not have the space for bicycle parking.

GO stations are a mixed bag, some are rather small (think Exhibition, St Catherines) and would not have a good place for bicycle parking.

Acton GO is another example of limited space for parking. It is worth the drive to Acton...
 
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