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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

HD: All the bus routes are now numbered, and they are increasingly used on bus destination signs.

There's also new pocket-sized schedules for each route or grouping of bus/train routes with a geographic map of the bus/train routes covered on the back. It looks like they're going to be online very shortly (not quite ready at the moment):
http://gotransitnlb.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/schedules/lstser.aspx?New=Y

For example, routes 34, 35 and 36 (Brampton Local via Pearson, Brampton 27/Humber College and Bramalea 427 Express) routes are in one new schedule separate from the other Georgetown Corridor services such as the train/train bus (Route 31)and the Guelph service (Route 33), and the Orangeville (37) Bolton (38) and Trinity Common (32), each with their own schedules.
 
Wow ... from:

web_system_map.gif


to:

system_map.png


An infinite improvement! I see that they've switched the colours of Lakeshore East and Lakeshore West, along with Barrie and Richmond Hill. I wonder why they bothered adding a curve between Old Cummer and Langstaff, rather than just a straight line.
 
I wish it was a little more to scale (Rutherford is north of Centennial and Markham, etc), but it's definitely an improvement.
 
They also seem to have lost the subway entirely from the map.

And is the MP40-based logo new?

I've always wondered why the London-Kitchener-Toronto VIA train is so slow, I'm not familiar with conditions out there. Why does it take 45 min to get from London to St. Mary's? That's only a 40km/h average.
 
One interesting thing about the map is it invites thinking about through-running of trains - such as connecting the Milton and Stouffville lines.
 
I like how on the new simple-version system map the RH line veers west north of Old Cummer. It shows that it comes much closer to Yonge at Langstaff and Richmond Hill Stations.

The new format also makes the Kitchener and Allandale extensions easy to add.

Through-running of trains is a great way to provide additional train movements at Union because the back-up procedures are mitigated. Though I always felt that Georgetown and Stouffville were natural pairs in terms of future ridership level compatibility. RH will likely remain constrained to a rush hour service only (perhaps with a few new runs, including shoulder-peak), and Milton a beast onto itself (perhaps rush-hour through routing of some runs with RH). Barrie, being a long-distance corridor likely will remain a separate operation as well.

I'd like to see clairifcation of the TTC connection icon, though, stating it is a connection to TTC rapid transit, as there are a number of other points (Humber College, Rouge Hill, Long Branch, etc, that connections to TTC buses and streetcars are available.

The reason why VIA is so slow on the London-Kitchener-Toronto route is because GEXR, a subsidiary of RailAmerica, is leasing the track from CN and wants little to do with track improvement, even if they are not paying for it (CN itself has been more cooperative). Most of the track between London and Georgetown (Silver Jct) is bolted, rather than welded rail, and is OCS (or "dark territory"), rather than CTC signalling which slows train traffic. Fine for GEXR's freight operations but horrible to the needs of passenger rail.
 
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Like that map better then the map on GO's home page.

I would like to mention a possible improvement to the GO network they do as well as some of the extensions mentioned on this thread. In the west part of TO they are grade seperating a lot of the rail lines of those that go to the airport and I am very glad they are doing this not only to increase the efficiency of rail traffic and street traffic but to also significantly increase its safety. I hope they do the same here in the east with the Stouffville line. They are grade seperating this line at the Agincourt GO station on Sheppard but I hope the grade seperate this same line where it crosses Progress Ave. and Danforth Rd. (near Midland). I imagine a siding could be added as well so that all day two way service could be better handled as wellin the future as rail traffic is sure to increase.

I am not only hoping for it on this line but as much as GO can get funds for- the increased safety of rail lines increases greatly as more grade seperations are made.
 
That new GO map is a huge improvement. It's actually possible to comprehend what's going on, compared to the previous map!

They also have separate maps for all their routes now. The PDFs are a little blurry, though. Route 31 (Georgetown train-bus) is quite complicated.

Hopefully this is only one piece of a overhaul of how transit info is communicated to the public. Ensuring consistency and clarity across the region is one way that Metrolinx could help without spending much money.
 
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I certainly have to give GO points for good customer service. Dealing with GO staff is such a huge contrast to dealing with TTC staff, or even those at Presto.
 
I'm not really a big fan of these various letters after the route numbers. It's confusing. Overly complicated.
 
Anyone notice the special attention given to the 407 Bus Service?

"Hwy 407 Bus Service, Frequent Service Monday-Friday" and it is the only bus route on the map that has a dark green overlay on the route...

Although it only goes from Square One to Unionville, what happened to the western portion to Square One?

Either way it is great because they are finally highlighting to the general public the amazing 407 service they have...lots of people have no idea about it.
 
Coruscanti Cognoscente said:
I'm not really a big fan of these various letters after the route numbers. It's confusing. Overly complicated.
Click to expand...

Not new, though, and what would you suggest as as alternative short of reducing the complexity of the routes themselves?

I have to say as a GO bus rider that it's VASTLY easier to make sure you are getting on the right bus using the numbers than it ever was before the numbers were introduced.
 
DavidH said:
Not new, though, and what would you suggest as as alternative short of reducing the complexity of the routes themselves?

I have to say as a GO bus rider that it's VASTLY easier to make sure you are getting on the right bus using the numbers than it ever was before the numbers were introduced.
Click to expand...

I've never seen the letters on the buses, just the numbers. And the numbers aren't even used on my line anyway.
 
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