GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[Megaton327]

If he was asked for ID after providing proof he had paid fair, that would be out of line. The Star choosing not to mention that makes me think the ID request was because he could not provide POP.

That would be a very pertinent part of the story. I'm not saying it's impossible the star would have chosen to omit that for whatever reason, but there's not sufficient evidence to assume that given that, as far as I can tell, no reports regarding this matter contain an indication that he had not paid his fare.

Presumably, if nothing else, GO/CBSA/whomever would have issued a statement in their defense simply stating that the ID check was done as a result of violating a by-law, which would drastically change the nature of the story.

 

[Evening]

What happens if you are caught without POP and you don't have ID on you? Do they arrest you until someone can bring your ID?

 

[muller877]

Yep. It's standard practice for the GO-PO to demand ID if during a fare check no proof of payment is produced, or in the enforcement of any other GO bylaw, provincial offense, etc. But to call the CBSA? There's something fishy there.

Why is it fishy?

1. He was riding the train illegally
2. He did not have a Canadian citizenship or any other form of Canadian identification (though birth he has citizenship but had no ID until after the arrest). He didn't even have a valid form of identification on him (his US passport)
3. He travelled to Canada on a US Visitors Visa and there was a reasonable belief he was working in Canada without a valid work Visa (even so he did not produce this to GO.

The Go officer did exactly what they are trained to do. Identify potential offenses and pass it to the correct authorities. And if you read the article the lawyers is suing the CBSA, not GO. Because the above seems like a very rationale and correct assessment that this person may be here illegally.

And if they let him go then what? Would we expect payment of the fare evasion from an address in the Philippines? How would we collect?

 

[dowlingm]

Why is it fishy?

Some police forces are supposed to operate under sanctuary policies. I doubt GO Transit enforcement officers do. The officer therefore presumably acted within his discretion, but I suspect Metrolinx' board will be hearing requests to have a sanctuary policy and remove that discretion.

 

[rbt]

Some police forces are supposed to operate under sanctuary policies. I doubt GO Transit enforcement officers do. The officer therefore presumably acted within his discretion, but I suspect Metrolinx' board will be hearing requests to have a sanctuary policy and remove that discretion.

http://www.gotransit.com/public/en/travelling/safety.aspx

GO’s Transit Safety Officers are primarily responsible for ensuring your personal safety.
...

Officers are authorized to enforce GO Transit By-laws, which govern passenger conduct, fare inspection and use of our facilities. Officers are also authorized to enforce the following statutes: The Criminal Code, Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Youth Criminal Justice Act, Trespass to Property Act, Liquor License Act, Sections 17, 28, 33 of the Mental Health Act and Safe Streets Act. To ensure you have a safe ride.

So, like TTC officers who regularly accompany TTC Fare Inspectors, GO Officers can make arrests.

I image the OPP grants GO Officers their powers; likely very hard to find. The Toronto Police legislation granting TTC Officers their powers is a single page.

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Metrolinx released its business case for RER, which contains many goodies pertaining to the future of GO and transit in the region. Located here.

Of interest: Metrolinx's 25 year plan

Note "express rail" on the Milton Line from Union to Cooksville, allowing for the Hurontario LRT to meet up with all-day GO. I have heard rumblings about an interim solution to the "Missing Link" bypass for a while now. This could be that unannounced interim solution. From my understanding, this portion of the line wouldn't be too hard to build dedicated trackage on (correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[TOareaFan]

^is there new stuff there or are you just re-visiting it?

 

[nfitz]

^is there new stuff there or are you just re-visiting it?

That image didn't even originate in that 2015 RER report. As far as I can see, that's unchanged from the 2013 Big Move. So I'm not quite sure what the point is - or even how the plan for 25 years from now to the GO service thread.

 

[TOareaFan]

That image didn't even originate in that 2015 RER report. As far as I can see, that's unchanged from the 2013 Big Move. So I'm not quite sure what the point is - or even how the plan for 25 years from now to the GO service thread.

thanks...just wanted to ask before I dove into it looking for a nugget of change....of course some of it has changed (eg. my eye was naturally drawn to Brampton and that solid red line now stops at Bramalea, I think).

 

[Allandale25]

Yes there is some updated information include potential service levels, track plans, and revenue graphs. There is a summary report, the full report, and two appendices here: http://www.metrolinx.com/en/regiona...nefitscases/benefits_case_analyses.aspx#gorer

 

[innsertnamehere]

A couple of key points I took out of it - 13 at grade crossings are planned to be eliminated. We know 5 of them right now; Steeles Avenue on Stouffville, Scarborough Gulf Club Road, Galloway Road, and Morningside Avenue on Lakeshore East, and Burloak Avenue on Lakeshore West.

Fleet plan is mostly electric Locomotives for peak service, bi-level EMUS for off peak. GO will be aiming to relax crash standards to use European trains.

Examples used in the case include the Bombardier TRAXX P160 AC for the electric locomotive, and the Bombardier Twindexx EMU and Stadler KISS for the off peak EMUs. Interest is expressed in the tilt capabilities of the Twindexx, which would allow for faster operating speeds on the Barrie and Stouffville lines which have poor track geometry.

TRAXX:

Twindexx:

KISS:

The report spends a lot of time discussing possible increased operating speeds, which it predicts will be as great as 20% in off peak times.

The report also gives a lot of detail on the plans for the URSC, which I haven't seen before. Lots of detail on the planned track additions.

Apparently running speeds through the URSC are set to increase significantly too when the current switch upgrades are done, which I wasn't aware of.

 

[TOareaFan]

^a quick browse through and right to the ridership projections in the summary document makes for a smile inducing read.....so they make the obvious statement that adding trains increases ridership because more trips are possible and people consider the service more.

They give the example of Lakeshore and the impact of going to half hour service.

For example, when GO improved hourly off-peak service on its Lakeshore route to half-hourly service, ridership at the affected times increased by 29%.

That is a bit of a cumbersome way of saying that when off peak service doubled, use off peak increased by 29%.

That is nothing to be sneered at, for sure, but then we jump to the projections by line and are told that trips on the Barrie line will jump by a whopping 442%.....those numbers are hard to swallow.

 

[innsertnamehere]

^it notes like 3 sentences down that the 29% increase was measured only 3 months after the introduction of the service, far from service maturity.

Barrie currently has no off peak service as well, there will be quite a jump in service quality from 30 minute bus service to 15 minute train service that I can easily see accounting for ridiculous gains like that.

 

[TOareaFan]

^it notes like 3 sentences down that the 29% increase was measured only 3 months after the introduction of the service, far from service maturity.

sure and my sense (anecdotally) is that further growth has happened, but I am also pretty sure if the number now was approaching a one for one ratio of service increase to passenger growth they would not be using those old numbers.

Barrie currently has no off peak service as well, there will be quite a jump in service quality from 30 minute bus service to 15 minute train service that I can easily see accounting for ridiculous gains like that.

The majority of trips, on all lines, will continue to be in peak time....that is when people "need" to travel as opposed to "want" to travel...it is also when the roads are most congested so the pick up in time of trip for trains v cars will be greatest.......and the 442% growth is over total use.....growth in trips will come (on all lines) but 442% (or, even, 223% or 217%) are really hard to swallow.

 

[Megaton327]

The majority of trips, on all lines, will continue to be in peak time....that is when people "need" to travel as opposed to "want" to travel...it is also when the roads are most congested so the pick up in time of trip for trains v cars will be greatest.......and the 442% growth is over total use.....growth in trips will come (on all lines) but 442% (or, even, 223% or 217%) are really hard to swallow.

I have to strongly disagree with you there. I vastly prefer travelling on the train to the bus--I get extremely nauseous if I read a book, work on a laptop, or even look at my phone too long on a GO bus, but can easily do it without nausea on the train. Additionally, DVP/404 traffic in either direction is terrible for much of the day.

That means that, for me, taking the train is currently about an hour of 99%-productive time, whereas taking the bus is anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half of 100% unproductive time. That's for the same price, and the same start (Aurora) and destination (Union) points. Also, I'd like to point out that the other 3 members of my immediate family are the same, as are most of my friends.

Resultingly, both I and my friends/family very regularly take the last go train southbound (around 8 AM, getting to Union around 9) even for a noon or 1PM engagement rather than take a bus closer to the actual time. Similarly, for anything recreational, I often try to work in a trip downtown during the week if possible so that I can use the train, rather than take the bus there and back on the weekend.

So I, and many people I know, are often taking up a seat on a rush hour GO train when we have absolutely no real need to do so, for the sake of comfort--sometimes I have to travel during the peak, but the vast majority of the time I do not, and yet I do so anyways. I also avoid going downtown, and often drive instead of taking the train, because if my time is to be unproductive I might as well waste as little time as possible by having a car rather than taking the GO bus and the TTC.

I would shift almost the entirety of my travel downtown to 11AM~2PM, and some of my travel back to later in the evening, and take a greater percentage of trips on transit vs by car, if all-day two-way train service, rather than bus, were offered even hourly yet alone every 15 minutes.

Also, while this is anecdotal, it is accurate for myself, 3 members of my immediate family, and many friends. Not everybody who lives in the suburbs has a full-time 9AM-5PM job in the downtown core and exclusively travels for work; many work part-time, or flexible/off-peak hours, are on call, go downtown for medical appointments or recreation or other events scheduled midday, and so on.