GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[TOareaFan]

Been stated at Metrolinx BOD meetings by directors that it takes more time getting out of Oakville parking lot than riding the train from Union.

Yes, people are prone to exaggerate

 

[Streety McCarface]

is this intentional hyperbole? GO already has parking lots much bigger than this that do not take longer to walk to your car than the actual train ride.

Yes. The fact that some people actually took my comment seriously is a cause for concern. The point is that parking is unsustainable.

 

[ssiguy2]

I wonder how many km of RER would already have been electrified or how many new grade separations could have been completed with all the money that/s been thrown into parking garages? So far the only people who seem to have gained anything from the billions already spent on RER are the people who drive their cars.

 

[hw621]

I wonder how many km of RER would already have been electrified or how many new grade separations could have been completed with all the money that/s been thrown into parking garages? So far the only people who seem to have gained anything from the billions already spent on RER are the people who drive their cars.

To be fair, in suburbs where there is essentially no last mile solution, how do you expect people to get to GO stations other than driving? Actually they should get the credit not driving all the way downtown.

 

[crs1026]

I wonder how many km of RER would already have been electrified or how many new grade separations could have been completed with all the money that/s been thrown into parking garages? So far the only people who seem to have gained anything from the billions already spent on RER are the people who drive their cars.

At least one of the municipal transit properties affected has done the math. They have data showing that every time a new garage opens, bus ridership to that GO station drops. Take the amortization cost for the garage and quantify how much feeder bus service you could install for that amount..... I'm told that the results favour the bus service, but the numbers are under wraps in the interest of relationships with GO.

- Paul

 

[raptor]

Not everyone that takes the GO train has a direct, frequent bus service with a stop in front of their house. Besides, some people may need to make a stop on the way to the GO station (drop off their kid at daycare, for example). Taking the bus to the GO station is not an option for many people, so it boils down to direct relationship between amount of parking and GO ridership.
Like it or not, that's the reality.

 

[rbt]

At least one of the municipal transit properties affected has done the math. They have data showing that every time a new garage opens, bus ridership to that GO station drops. Take the amortization cost for the garage and quantify how much feeder bus service you could install for that amount..... I'm told that the results favour the bus service, but the numbers are under wraps in the interest of relationships with GO.

It would be interesting to see what the ratio is. If GO adds 1000 parking spaces, are they losing 100 passengers or are they losing 500 passengers? How many are changing their arrival method and how many new passengers is GO picking up that it didn't have before.

 

[nfitz]

To be fair, in suburbs where there is essentially no last mile solution, how do you expect people to get to GO stations other than driving? Actually they should get the credit not driving all the way downtown.

True - though when I travel on business to the suburbs, there's normally a bus that meets the train that gets me pretty close to where I want to be. Though sometimes a taxi is the solution - which raises the potential of some uber-like last-kilometre scheme.

 

[Neutrino]

I wonder how many km of RER would already have been electrified or how many new grade separations could have been completed with all the money that/s been thrown into parking garages? So far the only people who seem to have gained anything from the billions already spent on RER are the people who drive their cars.

For the millionth time, there is no point in increased service with no way to get to the damn station.

 

[crs1026]

For the millionth time, there is no point in increased service with no way to get to the damn station.

Totally agree, but the strategy should not be "Provide an abundant supply of parking and then see if adding any transit would help".

The strategy needs to be "Provide an abundant supply of attractive transit (and by that I am not limiting the scope to 45-foot low floor transit vehicles or artics) and provide economic levers to manage supply/demand and cost recovery of parking (fancy way of saying....charge for parking)".

There needs to be balance - and some directional carrots and sticks. As noted above, parking may be necessary, but it's not a sustainable silver bullet.

- Paul

 

[Neutrino]

Agreed. I would actually love an Uber style last mile solution if it was reasonably priced or gave me a discount on the fare. I imagine a small fleet of minibuses (or even Beck taxi style Dodge Grand Caravans) with 2-3 people on board making their way to midday GO service.

 

[Filip]

Agreed. I would actually love an Uber style last mile solution if it was reasonably priced or gave me a discount on the fare. I imagine a small fleet of minibuses (or even Beck taxi style Dodge Grand Caravans) with 2-3 people on board making their way to midday GO service.

GO's Dial-a-Bus!

 

[Neutrino]

Imagine having an entire GO bus to yourself haha

 

[lead82]

Uber would be good for this. It's worked in Innisfil and other low density places. Otherwise, GO stations need to become hubs of activity with lots of services/shops nearby to allow people to get errands done as part of their trip. Lots of GO stations have absolutely nothing around them or if they do there is no way to easily walk there. Think of what's happening with the new VMC subway. Each GO station should be encouraged to have similar level of development nearby (maybe not as dense) but the idea is that we should try to make use of the infrastructure.

 

[ssiguy2]

First you build the transit then you build the garages if required not the other way around.

Building garages is also very short sighted. Increasingly, whether we like it or not, transit buses will become self-driving. It will take a long time before they are transferred on long haul and very busy urban routes but not so for the dreaded 'last mile' which is exactly what these garages are built for. In short Metrolinx is pouring all their resources into the first thing that will become obsolete. These huge garages also eat up a lot of potential revenue by taking away transit oriented development.