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GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

And thats exactly the thing - all the plans in the world don’t mean **** when the reality of every schedule release is some new excuse for not running the trains we did in the recent past, never mind ACTUALLY implementing the expansion.
Hold on. Let's take into consideration that during omicron ridership was down 60+%.

It takes time for things to open up again. Let's see if they restore services in March when restrictions go away.

So does that mean you won't have to wear a mask on public transit?
 
So due to flooding at Shakespeare, Ontario the London GO train got canceled and there were so many passengers going west of Kitchener that they had to send a second shuttle bus

Screenshot_20220218-205117_Chrome.jpg
 
And thats exactly the thing - all the plans in the world don’t mean **** when the reality of every schedule release is some new excuse for not running the trains we did in the recent past, never mind ACTUALLY implementing the expansion.
This is not the reality.

The only Kitchener Line schedule changes since 2013 which reduced service levels were the March 2020, June 2020, January 2021, and January 2022 timetables, and all of those reductions were in direct response to severe drops in ridership and/or crew availability. Look for yourself. Every other schedule change has increased service, which is how we ended up with 10 trains per day from Kitchener in September 2021, compared to just 2 trains in 2013.
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Prior to 2013, the only service reductions I'm aware of were in 1993 when GO's budget was slashed and 2010(?) when construction began on the Georgetown South railway expansion project.
 
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Prior to 2013, the only service reductions I'm aware of were in 1993 when GO's budget was slashed and 2010(?) when construction began on the Georgetown South railway expansion project.

Youngin!

April 26, 1994 - All off-peak service on the Lakeshore Line is cut back to Pickering and Oakville.

March 4, 1996 - Roundtrips to Erindale and extra roundtrip to Milton cancelled.

From: https://cptdb.ca/wiki/index.php/GO_Transit_timeline#1990s
 
I'm talking about the Kitchener line.

Fair enough; didn't see in the list I posted, but pretty sure I remember service being cut from Guelph back to Georgetown at one point.

Yup, found it:

Service was extended beyond Georgetown to Guelph on October 29, 1990, but was again cut back to Georgetown on July 2, 1993.

 
This is not the reality.

The only Kitchener Line schedule changes since 2013 which reduced service levels were the March 2020, June 2020, January 2021, and January 2022 timetables, and all of those reductions were in direct response to severe drops in ridership and/or crew availability. Look for yourself. Every other schedule change has increased service, which is how we ended up with 10 trains per day from Kitchener in September 2021, compared to just 2 trains in 2013.
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Prior to 2013, the only service reductions I'm aware of were in 1993 when GO's budget was slashed and 2010(?) when construction began on the Georgetown South railway expansion project.
Thank you for setting the record straight! I really don't understand people who cry that there are no service improvements - less than half a year after (on 2021-08-31 and thus in the middle of the pandemic!) frequencies were increased to their highest-ever level and they are still higher - if we look at the green line - higher than they've been some six years ago...

Anyways, I guess that's why some of us have our own timetable archives to correct such highly distorted claims... ;)
 
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So due to flooding at Shakespeare, Ontario the London GO train got canceled and there were so many passengers going west of Kitchener that they had to send a second shuttle bus
I wonder how many of those passengers at Kitchener were VIA customers. What did VIA do? Did they run VIA 87 via Brantford and run a shuttle bus via Kitchener? or give out GO tickets? Or did they just tell riders to figure it out themselves (thereby causing passengers to take GO instead)?
 
I wonder how many of those passengers at Kitchener were VIA customers. What did VIA do? Did they run VIA 87 via Brantford and run a shuttle bus via Kitchener? or give out GO tickets? Or did they just tell riders to figure it out themselves (thereby causing passengers to take GO instead)?
They ran a J-Train with VIA75 to london and apparently didn't give any accommodations for passengers going to Stratford and St marys.
 
Thank you for setting the record straight! I really don't understand people who cry that there are no service improvements - less than half a year after (on 2021-08-31 and thus in the middle of the pandemic!) frequencies were increased to their highest-ever level and they are still higher - if we look at the green line - higher than they've been some six years ago...

Anyways, I guess that's why some of us have our own timetable archives to correct such highly distorted claims... ;)

Excuse me if I am reading your message wrong (this is more in response to your post before this) but:

I frankly do not like that you are using old timetables to push the idea that currently bad service levels should be accepted "because service was bad not that long ago."

I've been using the GO train since 2019. I didn't start using it as a transit enthusiast or anything, just for college. I found the service in 2019 as adequate/useful as I did in 2021 even with less frequency. The timetable doesn't tell the whole story.

Let me be clear on my point:

The service to Kitchener GO is now is the worst it has been pretty much throughout the entire pandemic, while the ridership is at its highest.

Having used it throughout the pandemic, even the early days where only 3 people would get on in August 2020 and there were less trains, I can say the service is inadequate now because:

1. the trains are piled into the early morning in this timetable for no reason; there was always some afternoon and late night train for leisure purposes beforehand.

Why are you saying it's okay now that ridership has returned; "it was that bad 3 years ago". That's not a defense. That's embarrassing for service I considered adequate between 2019 and 2021.

2. the lack of trains now leads to heavy crowding, especially on some train cars near the end. Crowding should be seen as a blessing because it signals a need for more frequency. But Metrolinx is way too slow to respond. It's been crowded for weeks yet service remains the same.

Easy fix: Add a late morning/early afternoon train: I've already posted photos months ago that a portion of Friday riders need a later train because they are using it to stay in Toronto for the weekend or even to go the the airport. Numbers won't tell you the number of suitcases using the train though! Or even trip patterns. Timetables just show Metrolinx needs to pay attention to rider habits more, instead of reverting to the ancient idea that GO is some commuter only service.
 
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^If the ridership is there, you can expect the service will be adjusted accordingly..

The issue is just the logistics of how often GO wants to change schedules, recall crews from layoff, bid the jobs etc.

The observation that ridership is growing back is encouraging. If a year goes by and nothing is done, then yes I’m eager to protest. But it has been a difficult few months, and I’m not faulting GO for doing what it has had to do during covid.

What would be more telling is whether siding construction and other improvements eg bridges get off to a good start when spring arrives. I have lost track of what tenders have been let and whether the anticipated work is now being done inside Oncorr or still proceeding separately. I’m hoping for lots of activity in 2022.

- Paul
 
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I wonder how many of those passengers at Kitchener were VIA customers. What did VIA do? Did they run VIA 87 via Brantford and run a shuttle bus via Kitchener? or give out GO tickets? Or did they just tell riders to figure it out themselves (thereby causing passengers to take GO instead)?
I was scheduled to ride VIA 84 from Stratford to Toronto today (February 19). VIA sent me an email yesterday (February 18) and told me that 84 was cancelled 'for reasons beyond their control' and that no alternative transportation would be provided.
 
less than half a year after (on 2021-08-31 and thus in the middle of the pandemic!) frequencies were increased to their highest-ever level
I really don't get how having had the frequencies for a few months is anything to celebrate when they are now non-existent and we are hearing precisely nothing about restoring them.
 

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