GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[Northern Light]

But but... service is adequate. No need for super express trains or more service right?

Nope! There's always room on the roof!

Hey @Allandale25 ; you might want to tweet this exchange to AMA.

@LNahid2000

Can you grab a pic showing how crowded it is............?

 

[Richard White]

More service is definitely needed. I'll probably have to take the bus back since I only need 6 hours there, which puts me between the 3:15 and 7:15 trains.

That's sort of my Dilemma when I go to Niagara and why I'm thinking of booking a hotel room there this year.

The train timings are horrible and Niagara is somewhere you can either spend 4 hours or 48 hours. If you actually want to see more than just the hornblower you will neer to stay overnight due to timings.

 

[LNahid2000]

Hey @Allandale25 ; you might want to tweet this exchange to AMA.

@LNahid2000

Can you grab a pic showing how crowded it is............?

Back to the good old days of awkwardly sitting across from a stranger:

 

[Richard White]

Back to the good old days of awkwardly sitting across from a stranger:
View attachment 401765

This is exactly like when I went there during the Simcoe Day long weekend.

The train was uncomfortably full and the sheer number of people coming and going caused delays getting to and from Niagara Falls.

I wish they would get rid of the Plexiglas barriers though. They are very uncomfortable for long journeys as they make it hard to get comfortable in the seat.

One thing to note, any increased service may have to be coordinated with WEGO in Niagara Falls. They run shuttles between the GO Station and Table Rock Point which would need to be increased to match the GO trains.

 

[afransen]

I wish they would get rid of the Plexiglas barriers though. They are very uncomfortable for long journeys as they make it hard to get comfortable in the seat.

They also are completely ineffective. It was the worst of COVID hygiene theatre.

 

[LNahid2000]

The train was uncomfortably full and the sheer number of people coming and going caused delays getting to and from Niagara Falls.

Yep, we're about 10 minutes delayed on their newly extra padded schedules due to passenger volume.

 

[Northern Light]

Back to the good old days of awkwardly sitting across from a stranger:
View attachment 401765

Observations:

1) Non-renovated rolling stock. Considering these trains cater to tourists.....in some measure and occasional riders, better to put your best foot forward.

2) I concur w/ @Richard White that the plexiglass serves little value epidemiologically, while at the same time constraining movement/space, it needs to go. I'm a broad-shouldered guy, and I'm right up against the plexi when I ride.

3) At least everyone on that level has a seat.....but that's really not good enough for a 2-hour ride.

4) Man is that lighting ugly. I've seen worse (TTC Rockets)....... but they really need to move to pinhole/pot hole lights.

 

[Richard White]

Yep, we're about 10 minutes delayed on their newly extra padded schedules due to passenger volume.

Surprise surprise. Niagara service is a joke, they are using the low demand excuse to run less service and increas profits.

Eventually people will get turned off the service due to delays and the sheer amount of people.

 

[LNahid2000]

3) At least everyone on that level has a seat.....but that's really not good enough for a 2-hour ride.

People are still looking for seats. The CSA announced that there are more empty seats at the front of the train, and there was a constant stream of people passing through to get there.

The CSA also came through the train to do a passenger count after we passed Aldershot. Hopefully this makes Metrolinx realize that demand is not low.

 

[Northern Light]

People are still looking for seats. The CSA announced that there are more empty seats at the front of the train, and there was a constant stream of people passing through to get there.

The CSA also came through the train to do a passenger count after we passed Aldershot. Hopefully this makes Metrolinx realize that demand is not low.

Presto already feeds them that data; data they've been wilfully ignoring, the same way the TTC does.

That's why I noted the value in embarrassing them publicly.

I always prefer to be constructive privately, but if that doesn't work...........

 

[reaperexpress]

Also, can we take a moment to note that GO is easily filling 12-car double-decker trains on a weekend. There are very few cities in North America - or even in Europe - which can do that, even with bargain-basement pricing like GO's weekend passes.

If European rail operators insisted on filling a 12-car double-decker train before increasing service, they wouldn't have frequent service either.

Surprise surprise. Niagara service is a joke, they are using the low demand excuse to run less service and increas profits.

Eventually people will get turned off the service due to delays and the sheer amount of people.

Honestly I wish they would increase profits given their unfortunate financial situation the past couple years, but that's definitely not occuring with $10 weekend passes. That's $5 each way for a 130 km trip, or further if they're connecting to/from another GO service at Union. If they made the weekend passes distance-based so that it's less of an insanely good deal to Niagara, they would have less crowding, and the profits they generate would eliminate any disincentive to running additional service - since that service pays for itself.

 

[mind_the_gap]

Back to the good old days of awkwardly sitting across from a stranger:
View attachment 401765

Honest question, how slowly is the next stop display installation program progressing on GO trains? They apparently started in 2016 with the accessible coaches, but there really hasn’t been much mentioned since. Admittedly, it’s been years since I’ve been on a GO train, that’s why I’m genuinely curious whether this is still ongoing, and roughly what percentage of coaches have been retrofitted?

 

[Krypto98]

Presto already feeds them that data; data they've been wilfully ignoring, the same way the TTC does.

That's why I noted the value in embarrassing them publicly.

I always prefer to be constructive privately, but if that doesn't work...........

I could be inaccurate if they use default trip or tap on way too early

 

[Garuda]

You know this entire "service" was designed by a Torontonian who has probably never been to London. They can't for the life of them fathom how people would actually go to London to work from it's suburbs or the service would reflect that. Everyone in London's suburbs commutes to Toronto, didn't you know that?

Seriously, would you start a service with just one return trip a day that takes 4 hours? Added to this of course is that this person probably thought that the TTC & LT were one in the same. If not, then nobody would offer a car-free transit line that leaves the city BEFORE the local transit system actually "starts running. In other words, take transit but only if you have a car to do it with.

Tell that to me friend who lives in London and commutes to Kitchener 2 days a week for meetings. Sure the early departure isn’t the best but she loves that she doesn’t have to deal with traffic and can get work done while on board.

The service is what true regional Rail should look like.

 

[EnviroTO]

I don't really understand why GO has the seating arrangement it does. Surely there is some data that would show what percentage of travellers are in groups of more than 2 and they could set up less quad seating so people don't need to lock legs with each other. For long legged people the current seating is a little too intimate.

Current top floor (18 quads, 0 pairs):
S→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←S
S→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←→←S
Proposed top floor (6 quads, 24 pairs):
S→←←←←→→→→←←←←→→→→←S
S→←←←←→→→→←←←←→→→→←S
Current lower floor (18 quads, 2 pairs):
→←→←SSD→←→←→←→←→←DS←→←→←
→←→←→SD→←→←→←→←→←DSS→←→←
Proposed lower floor (10 quads, 18 pairs):
→→←←SSD→←←→→←←→→←DS←→→←←
→→←←→SD→←←→→←←→→←DSS→→←←