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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

The midday Kitchener line trains were mostly empty the first 2 years. Now the 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 and 12:00 have a good amount of people on it. In fact I think they need to increase the 9:00 from 6 to 10 coaches. It's been standing room only for a while now after malton. The remaining trains are usually 1/2 to 3/4 full. The new evening trains are usually empty going towards union but riding the new 7:53 train about 30 people got off at each station (after Etobicoke north) to mount pleasant.

When they first introduced the midday trains to Mount Pleasant, they were 10 car units, but they were supeer empty when I used them during university.
Like maybe a dozen people in the top level, it was great.
 
The more we can create medium/high mixed use density around each GO station, the better ridership will get. I wish there was more focus on this.

There are initial indications of ML focusing on TOD for the future, but on the optimistic side, many GO train stations are located in or near the city centres (Markham DT, Kitchener DT, Pickering City Centre, etc) and are surrounded by swaths of ML-owned parking lots. They have significant potential to be a real shaper of the future of the region; lets just hope they don't blindly sell out the land to developers but take some serious control of the lands for dev.
 
There is a lot of push for density in the latest Growth Plan around GO stations. It'll come, it just takes time.
A few examples:

- Pickering has a bunch of high density condos being built around it's station, both by the mall and on the south side of the 401.
- Burlington has just completed it's mobility hub studies for it's 3 GO stations. The first complex at Burlington GO is already being built, with 3 of 5 buildings open. when complete it will have nearly 1,000 units.
- Milton has a 3 tower condo development next to the GO station (link)
- Oakville GO has an extensive urban growth centre planned around it, with the first couple of buildings in for rezoning right now.
- Markham of course has Downtown Markham at Unionville GO, which slowly has development creeping closer to the GO station.
- A lot of development is occuring in Markham and Scarborough around Milliken GO
- There is a whole new neighbourhood of townhouses and midrises being built beside Maple GO right now (link)
- Barrie has a bunch of condos going up across from Barrie South GO
- Downtown Brampton's intensification is picking up, with large growth projections
- Whitby has significant intensification goals around it's GO station, with a few condos built already and many more in the planning stages
Etc.
 
That's all good and I'm aware of a few of those projects. But I think we should go further and redevelop all low density housing within walking distance of stations. Filling in the currently available space around stations is just the first step imo.
 
The more we can create medium/high mixed use density around each GO station, the better ridership will get. I wish there was more focus on this.

hate on the conservatives all you want (not saying you specifically but I know people generally dont like them) but selling off stations to private investors will do just this.
 
There are initial indications of ML focusing on TOD for the future, but on the optimistic side, many GO train stations are located in or near the city centres (Markham DT, Kitchener DT, Pickering City Centre, etc) and are surrounded by swaths of ML-owned parking lots. They have significant potential to be a real shaper of the future of the region; lets just hope they don't blindly sell out the land to developers but take some serious control of the lands for dev.

ML owns no parking lots in Kitchener DT. The Region owns a lot about 5 minutes walk from the station on the future transit hub property that it allows free parking (supposed to be before 7am, but the machine was in a constant state of disrepair the last I checked)
 
There is a lot of push for density in the latest Growth Plan around GO stations. It'll come, it just takes time.
There's the Aldershot condos and the slowly emerging Plains Rd densification zone within 1km of Aldershot GO. I'm hoping the southwest pedestrian access gets built at Aldershot GO (for those new condo residents there), then it has the spin-off benefit of being only a 600 meter walk/cycle from the Waterdown+Plains intersection.
 
What first-mile/last-mile needs is a completely new system. Sure, the municipal transit grids can carry some connecting passengers with GO, but some other system and method is needed in parallel. Think of it as Uber-sharing and not as more bus routes.

YRT is my home system. They definitely have their faults, but props where due:

For several months now, they have been running a pilot to Aurora GO. With the co-fare, it’s basically a $1 (possibly shared) ride to a station where all spots are full by 7am.

@smallspy posted a link to YRT’s plans for 2020, which, IIRC, mention another home-to-GO pilot serving East Gwillimbury, and an across-Newmarket on-demand service...the wording of which makes me wonder if they are thinking of replacing some/all local routes in the Town.

Tried searching both the forum and yrt.ca for Dan’s post and the slide deck, respectively, but couldn’t find either. (The lack of the latter has me thinking I will need to reset the countdown clock.)

[EDIT: Found the link to the YRT deck. Having taken another read, East Gwillimbury GO will definitely get a front door-to-train service. Not enough detail on the Newmarket offering yet to determine if it will incent GO Train commuters to leave their cars at home.]

I think Innisfil is on to something by partnering with Uber. It will be interesting to hear the outcome of the Lyft trial. If YRT can make “on-demand” work, while avoiding the “precarious employment” downside of the current ride-sharing incumbents, all the better.

Like most of my suburban neighbours, I’ve got two cars in the driveway and two car payments. Faced with paying $10-$15 for a one-seat ride to the train, I may as well drive. (Free parking, amirite?) But for $2 door-to-door, why would I?
 
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@joet00 Which bus model do they use for that service?

I live outside the pilot area, so I don’t qualify for that service. My wife says we can't move. ?

I think they use cars for on-demand. I used the Aurora-local on-demand to get to my car at the station a few months back. I believe it was a Toyota Camry in YRT livery.
 
But the Super Lo DD buses can get into Union Station. The 16 Hamilton Express runs majority if not all Super Lo’s

The 34 & 40 Airport routes run through Yorkdale to the airport as well. I thought York Mills was the only major terminal left inaccessible to even the Super Lo buses

I'm sitting on a super low on the 92 in York Mills at the moment... So that's apparently not an issue either.

Fixing Wikipedia aside, are there any other places with height issues?
 

The more northerly route that services downtown Oshawa is the better choice, irrespective of cost.

I do wish, as I've discussed with subway expansions that instead of debating endlessly the cost of doing something large all at once, they'd simply adopt the best plan but build out incrementally.

Let's just extend the line by one station towards downtown Oshawa over 5 years, rather than going to Bowmanville right away. Then slowly roll out to Courtice by year 8 and Bomanville by year 10/11.

Predictable, consistent, best project plan, affordable.
 

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