GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[drum118]

Oct 22

 

[Komiksulo]

Cool! I think that's the first time I've seen a train all in the new livery. Makes me wonder why they don't do that more often, instead of awkwardly mixing the new cars in among the old.

 

[drum118]

Cool! I think that's the first time I've seen a train all in the new livery. Makes me wonder why they don't do that more often, instead of awkwardly mixing the new cars in among the old.

Until they get more cabs, can't be done. You can have it with 9-11 cars plus the current cab. This train has been running with the standard cab car for sometime. its also the first time for me to see a 100% train

First is getting the accessible cars into the sets for every train set and then getting at least 1 coach in the new colours into them. As more arrive, they keep on doing this until they can start making up full sets.

I expect to see the Lakeshore getting the next few until GO is happy to start placing the new cabs on other lines.

Most likely the goal will get 1 train onto each line and then add to it.

Going to take a few more years before the fleet is 100% in the new colours.

Not sure if the current cabs will ship to Thunder Bay for rebuilt to a standard coach or be done here. Depends on a number of things in the coming months.

 

[Filip]

I saw the new cab a few days ago. Looks great!

 

[ehlow]

I'd think Uber would help with the last mile problem for regional transit no? People could take it to the nearest GO station? I wonder how many do so, maybe things like that could ease parking requirements?

 

[nfitz]

I'd think so. I certainly take cabs from suburban GO stations when travelling on business.

 

[TOareaFan]

I can only speak for myself here...but the only time I do not take local transit to the GO station is when I think I am at risk (due to transfers ) of the bus making me late for the last train from the station. For me that risk has been eliminated now and I doubt I would ever use any other method of getting to my train than BT. If my thinking is anywhere replicated in others (not always the case) perhaps the way to boost non drive and park arrivals at GO stations is to simply increase the GO service levels so that people have the comfort of knowing that whenever their local bus gets them to the station there will be a train coming along at some point.

 

[robmausser]

I'd think Uber would help with the last mile problem for regional transit no? People could take it to the nearest GO station? I wonder how many do so, maybe things like that could ease parking requirements?

I would really like to see more ZipCar and Bixi Bike type options at all GO stations too.

I would take the GO train to my sisters more often if I could rent a car/bike for the afternoon once I got to the station.

EDIT: well looks like its happened at some stations for Zip, and Bixi by end of 2017

http://www.zipcar.ca/gotransitGTHA

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tra...to-double-with-49-million-from-metrolinx.html

 

[mdrejhon]

EDIT: well looks like its happened at some stations for Zip, and Bixi by end of 2017

http://www.zipcar.ca/gotransitGTHA

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/tra...to-double-with-49-million-from-metrolinx.html

The city is considering opening to bidders other than BIXI. Which might include SoBi or other smartbike-dumbdock system. Electronic U-bars are built into SoBi bikes so they can dock to anything, even a stop sign pole or parking meter pole...

Switching from BIXI to SoBi is vastly superior for suburbs as SoBi smartbikes don't need stations. You can spread more cheap bike racks over a wider area.

Smartbikes have GPS trackers and available bikes show up as dots on your smartphone. They park at plain nike racks.

With 4.9M (funding for expansion) SoBi can cover about 6 to 9 times the area of the current BIXI network. Not even including extra bikes from the proceeds of the resale of used BIXI bikes to another city that uses them (e.g. NYC citibike).

It's also why the 750-bike SoBi system (45 sq km. park anywhere) in Hamilton covers a bigger area and has more active users than the 1000-bike BIXI system in Toronto (15 sq km, 80 stations). Consider that Hamilton is less bike-friendly than Toronto, yet SoBi has full farebox recovery already, with far lower operating cost thanks in part to crowdsourced bike rebalancing.

Suburban bikeshare systems more easily manage full farebox recovery even with 1.5:1 or 1:1 (rides:bike) per day only under smartbike systems (park at any plain rack), rather than smartdock systems. BIXI systems requires 3 or 4 rides per day per bike to cover its operating cost.

I don't think it is a good use taxpayer use of money to spend on outdated BIXI technology in suburbs like GO stations.

Peak commuter flows causes full docks. If we install smartbikes in suburbs we need to choose modern smartbike systems (that can "dock" anywhere) rather than smartdock systems. Also, there is practically no such thing as a full smartbike dock, unlike BIXI.

BIXI is not a good fit for suburban GO stations for these above reasons. At least until BIXI supports docking to any plain pole or dumb bike rack (with an electronic U-bar like SoBi)

 

[mpd618]

I'd think Uber would help with the last mile problem for regional transit no? People could take it to the nearest GO station? I wonder how many do so, maybe things like that could ease parking requirements?

Metrolinx has partnered with a Waterloo start-up called RideCo for a pilot in Milton for pretty much that purpose. It's last-mile flexible shared trips for commuters, at least in this case. GO's interested because it expands beyond their parking capacity.

Apparently it's doing pretty well.

 

[dowlingm]

The Feds paid for some parking projects as part of stimulus funding. Presumably Metrolinx were cautious about exploring the issue while there was a Conservative government in office. Perhaps this is a trial balloon, hoping the new Federal Ministers of Finance and Transport might be induced to say "money wasn't spent on my watch so I'm not bothered if GO makes money off the federally funded facility".

 

[mdrejhon]

http://transit.toronto.on.ca/regional/2112.shtml

Metrolinx has partnered with a Waterloo start-up called RideCo for a pilot in Milton for pretty much that purpose. It's last-mile flexible shared trips for commuters, at least in this case. GO's interested because it expands beyond their parking capacity.

Apparently it's doing pretty well.

The son of DIAL-A-BUS!

GO Transit's UberPOOL-style experiment from 1973-1976.





Today, we know ridesharing as Uber style services -- or more specifically, UberPOOL -- thanks to smartphones apps and GPS that makes it much easier and more economical today than in the 70s.

For users, apps now make it an easy pushbutton hail. For operators, modern software can produce efficient routes that avoids these from becoming long milk runs. GPS can dynamically add/remove rides, and efficiently reroute vehicles without them zigzagging back-and-fourth all over the place. Passengers are dynamically reassigned between different vehicles where most efficient, if one vehicle ends up slower than the others, or different carpool ride vehicle comes much closer than the original carpool ride vehicle.

These UberPOOL-style services, including ones sanctioned/trialled officially by GO (this one!), is probably the way of the future for suburbs needing a quick public transit connector (even in the future when these vehicles go driverless) on routes where a large bus has extremely poor farebox recovery.

Neat to see an actual GO Transit DIAL-A-BUS sequel actually happening!
(even if currently limited to Milton)

 

[TOareaFan]

growing up in the G section of Bramalea....GO transit is not what comes to mind when I hear "dial a bus"......in fact we thought it was a unique service to our little town

 

[wopchop]

There is also a new service in North Oakville (north of Dundas between Neyagawa & Sixth Line) called "Home to Hub" that is similar. You pre-schedule a ride that picks you up at the end of your driveway and brings you to the Uptown Core terminal.

 

[innsertnamehere]

dail a bus is a long standing concept. Dunbarton (now Pickering) had dial a bus services in the 1970's as well. My father used them to get to the GO station in the mornings for many years.