GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[crs1026]

^It also amuses me to hear the immediate cries that this increase is unaffordable and threatens the budgetary survival of the average GO user. I am very sensitive to poverty where it actually exists.....but....the typical user of GO parking lots lives in a detached home of ample square footage which they own on a nice street, and has two cars (or more) in the driveway. This isn't poverty.

- Paul

 

[PinkLucy]

^It also amuses me to hear the immediate cries that this increase is unaffordable and threatens the budgetary survival of the average GO user. I am very sensitive to poverty where it actually exists.....but....the typical user of GO parking lots lives in a detached home of ample square footage which they own on a nice street, and has two cars (or more) in the driveway. This isn't poverty.

- Paul

They have two cars because one is sitting for free in a GO parking lot all day!

 

[Towered]

Caroline Mulroney says government is committed to free parking amid Metrolinx’s plan to boost paid spots

Ontario’s Transportation Minister suggested she is open to replacing some unpaid parking with paid spots, but did not answer directly when asked if free should remain the majority

www.theglobeandmail.com

Here we have the government undermining Metrolinx and the environment in one fell swoop.

However, their lucky day, the NDP crtiic Jessica Bell managed to come out in favour of free parking as well.

Sigh.

Hence why the NDP can't get any electoral traction. They frequently sell out their values.

 

[jje1000]

Caroline Mulroney says government is committed to free parking amid Metrolinx’s plan to boost paid spots

Ontario’s Transportation Minister suggested she is open to replacing some unpaid parking with paid spots, but did not answer directly when asked if free should remain the majority

www.theglobeandmail.com

Here we have the government undermining Metrolinx and the environment in one fell swoop.

However, their lucky day, the NDP crtiic Jessica Bell managed to come out in favour of free parking as well.

Sigh.

It’s all about the messaging, and public preparation. Newspapers and their insistence on flashy headlines (while the meat of the policy is missed) and breathtaking, victimizing scoops can undermine some otherwise sensible governmental policies.

Of course, governments can also counteract this by massaging their own messaging- Metrolinx could have started with converting some of the free parking to paid parking in order to lessen the initial public shock, and grdually reduce the amount of free parking year-over-year. Change that isn’t an immediate First Order change is sometimes the only change that’s possible when dealing with a public that reacts via emotion.

 

[crs1026]

^A knowledgeable source suggested that this “leak” did indeed catch ML by surprise and before it had all of its analysis complete and ready for what was anticipated to be a heated debate. It’s not clear whether ML and government were on the same page when the story broke, or where the push for this initiative came from.
While the media is usually to be commended for breaking news stories that the pols are trying to keep hidden, this may be a case where the decisionmakers are spooked into inaction by a backlash that they aren’t prepared for yet. If government decides not to touch this one, having, run stories on the leak will be a disservice. I expect the media’s next step will be to demand release of the contracted studies that the press have alluded to. If those studies are less than a balanced review, that deprives both pro and con proponents from tabling a balanced viewpoint. Many minds will be made up by the first report - that’s not good.
There are times when the media may overreach, and this may prove to be one of them. It’s an important issue that demands a solution, but I don’t agree that the media are entitled to broadcast play by play when parties may still be considering their position. Let ML do their diligence and then let’s hear from them when they have their facts together. And table the supporting info transparently altogether, at that time.
- Paul

 

[micheal_can]

^It also amuses me to hear the immediate cries that this increase is unaffordable and threatens the budgetary survival of the average GO user. I am very sensitive to poverty where it actually exists.....but....the typical user of GO parking lots lives in a detached home of ample square footage which they own on a nice street, and has two cars (or more) in the driveway. This isn't poverty.

- Paul

Ah, but for many of them, they are so overburdened by debt that they are one paycheck away from poverty.

Ask yourself, how many missed paychecks you could have before you are screwed.

 

[lenaitch]

So, how do you fix that? This makes me think there should be one transit organization in charge of all service that a GO train services. Then it can be worked out where buses go to the stations and serve more people. A least 20 years ago, when a GO train was coming or going, all buses in Whitby went to the station.

There must be a better way to coordinate service than having the provincial government run every municipal transit service touched by GO rail. Coordination with interurban transit is only part of their individual service delivery. If the local taxpayer isn't happy with the way they get to a train or a hospital, mall, school, etc. they get to take it up with their local government.

 

[micheal_can]

There must be a better way to coordinate service than having the provincial government run every municipal transit service touched by GO rail. Coordination with interurban transit is only part of their individual service delivery. If the local taxpayer isn't happy with the way they get to a train or a hospital, mall, school, etc. they get to take it up with their local government.

For over 50 years, GO has existed. If the local transit agencies haven't figured it out by now, how much longer would it take?

 

[lenaitch]

For over 50 years, GO has existed. If the local transit agencies haven't figured it out by now, how much longer would it take?

Until the taxpayers that fund and elect the leaders of the corporations demand it.

 

[micheal_can]

Until the taxpayers that fund and elect the leaders of the corporations demand it.

You're funny. At the rate we are going, Ford will sell GO to one of his friends to save the government money.

 

[Northern Light]

@smallspy Any word yet on what the GO April service increase is likely to involve? I'm assuming by now permissions are being or have been obtained and jobs are being or have been posted?

 

[gweed123]

What I would like to see is Metrolinx come out and say: "Instead of charging extra for parking, we are going to be un-bundling the parking cost from the transit cost. Instead of paying for them in one combined fare, you will now pay for them separately. If you drive, your overall fare won't change. If you take another mode to get to the station, your fare will go down."

Since most people drive to GO stations anyway, I'd imagine the impact on the bottom line wouldn't be substantial. If more people switch to other modes to take advantage of the lower fare, well then the stick has done its job.

 

[smallspy]

^A knowledgeable source suggested that this “leak” did indeed catch ML by surprise and before it had all of its analysis complete and ready for what was anticipated to be a heated debate. It’s not clear whether ML and government were on the same page when the story broke, or where the push for this initiative came from.
- Paul

One of my contacts was in the office when the news broke, and can confirm that the CEO was extremely unhappy - to put it mildly - with the news leak.

And frankly, this has been a bit of a recurring theme under the current management regime. This is about the 3rd or 4th time in the past couple of years that a big change/project has been leaked, and that the organization has been caught with its pants down.

Which begs the question - why are they getting caught out so many times? Is there so much indecision at the top that they can't sort themselves out to the point of being ready to deal with the fallout?

Actually, I know the answer to that last question already....

@smallspy Any word yet on what the GO April service increase is likely to involve? I'm assuming by now permissions are being or have been obtained and jobs are being or have been posted?

Nothing as yet - not even rumours. Jobs won't be posted until the end of March or beginning of April, so at this point they are still in the discussion stage with CN and CP in terms of track time.

But if I had to guess, with all of the upheaval and turmoil going on at CN's dispatching centres, I suspect that we may see fewer improvements than were originally expected.

Dan

 

[crs1026]

And frankly, this has been a bit of a recurring theme under the current management regime. This is about the 3rd or 4th time in the past couple of years that a big change/project has been leaked, and that the organization has been caught with its pants down.

Which begs the question - why are they getting caught out so many times? Is there so much indecision at the top that they can't sort themselves out to the point of being ready to deal with the fallout?

Actually, I know the answer to that last question already....

There's that old saying about historians able to explain any event as a conspiracy or a screw-up.... in ML's case it's likely "both".

I can understand why Verster would want to be very careful. He has a pitch that will trigger immediate angst at the political level. First he has to convince the Minister, then he probably has to get Cabinet comfortable. Many pols will want to avoid the issue simply because it's controversial and why stir up a sleeping dog? Just imagine if it were John Tory that Verster were taking the issue to...... So yeah, he would go slow and get his ducks in a row before there were any public mention of this proposal.

My consipracy theory is that the leak came from government.....they get wind of what Verster is about to bring to the Minister, and they leak it so the Minister can jump in and save the day - makes her look like the voice of reason and ML the villain. If I were Verster, I might accept a clear "No" from government, but I would not appreciate a skunkworks that sets him up publicly as the fool.

I actually liked it better when ML was an aloof, haughty agency that did whatever the hell they felt like. Now they are second guessing themselves and much of their decision making autonomy has been clipped by successive governments. Who is influencing what is doubly vague. The Ford government claims to be setting things straight.... but on the transit file, they have discovered how convenient it is for things to be confused, so they are leaving things as they were - or doubling down - and reaping the same benefits as the previous government.

- Paul

 

[robmausser]

What I would like to see is Metrolinx come out and say: "Instead of charging extra for parking, we are going to be un-bundling the parking cost from the transit cost. Instead of paying for them in one combined fare, you will now pay for them separately. If you drive, your overall fare won't change. If you take another mode to get to the station, your fare will go down."

Since most people drive to GO stations anyway, I'd imagine the impact on the bottom line wouldn't be substantial. If more people switch to other modes to take advantage of the lower fare, well then the stick has done its job.

There is one other advantage to this however. In places like Oriole GO, where tons of people park in order to go to North York Hospital for free, for example, it will mean that no one is using GO parking for illegitimate purposes.

So it will mean that parking will strictly be for GO.