GO Transit: Service thread (including extensions)

[reaperexpress]

I'm between these two statements. I'd rather have a 90% chance of a less than 10 minute wait than an almost 100% chance of a 30 minute wait... but there is a limit to how late something can be. I would think 30 minutes late is too late for any local trip... even at a rare 1% of the time because for a local service it means being late to work, late to an event, etc. For the 10% chance of being late the late time acceptable for an intercity probably extends to 1h to 1h30, for long haul maybe 2-3h.

I also prefer that, but the fact is that most people don't think like us. We are much more willing to take risks and adjust plans in real time to optimize our trips than the average person because we have a much more comprehensive understanding of how transit works. The average person loses their mind when their trip doesn't go to plan. They have no concept of the level of risk in a given transfer, they just expect it to work and if it doesn't it will ruin their day and they will curse the transit agency till the end of time. This makes transit planners extremely risk-averse when planning transfer times.

 

[anb]

Yes technically the GO bus is more expensive but the fare difference between GO and MiWay is only $0.30. I just take whatever shows up first, and if it's a GO bus I'm happy to pay the extra 30 cents to get much more comfortable seats and a slightly faster trip.

For a trip Square One - Kipling - Union on Presto:
Miway+TTC costs $3.40 (MiWay ticket + free transfer)
GO+TTC costs $3.70 (GO fare + free transfer)

Going the other way it's a $0.35 difference since TTC costs $3.35.

I am aware of GO’s base fare just being a couple cents more and you get a 3 hour transfer instead of 2 which makes it more beneficial, but that’s actually not the case with what I was making with my previous post, talking about the lower ridership with the GO bus routes at Kipling.

This is how much it actually costs to do the whole Transitway route on GO without transferring to another bus at Square One. A whole $2.37 extra compared to just taking MiWay’s 109 route added with the free transfer to TTC all for $3.40. One would question why the entirety of GO in Mississauga wouldn’t all just be $3.70 to begin with but this might contribute huge as to why there aren’t many riders leaving or departing from Kipling.

 

[reaperexpress]

I am aware of GO’s base fare just being a couple cents more and you get a 3 hour transfer instead of 2 which makes it more beneficial, but that’s actually not the case with what I was making with my previous post, talking about the lower ridership with the GO bus routes at Kipling.

This is how much it actually costs to do the whole Transitway route on GO without transferring to another bus at Square One. A whole $2.37 extra compared to just taking MiWay’s 109 route added with the free transfer to TTC all for $3.40. One would question why the entirety of GO in Mississauga wouldn’t all just be $3.70 to begin with but this might contribute huge as to why there aren’t many riders leaving or departing from Kipling.

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I can see why someone travelling specifically from Winston Churchill or Erin Mills would avoid GO due to price, but that is not where most of the ridership on the 109 comes from. I'm pretty sure Square One alone has more ridership to Kipling than Erin Mills and Winston Churchill combined.

The free transfer is irrelevant for the comparison because GO and MiWay both give free transfers to the TTC.

 

[turbanplanner]

How often does freight traffic delay, the trains?

I’m assuming it’s a train coming from Niagara? Also, why would one train have speed restrictions and the others wouldn’t?

 

[dowlingm]

I’m assuming it’s a train coming from Niagara? Also, why would one train have speed restrictions and the others wouldn’t?

My guess would be that the trains are not all being routed over the same physical track, so that the last train is being routed over a section which has one track with construction or other reasons for a speed restriction while something like a VIA overtakes on the full speed track?

 

[crs1026]

^Speed restrictions are imposed when a track defect is discovered, and the defect is not so serious as to require shutting down the track altogether. It may take time to assemble the right people, work equipment, and material to make the repair, and the repair may need a period of time, possibly at night or at the weekend. If it is safe to operate at low speed, the track is kept in service with a Temporary Slow Order until it can be fixed.

Word of mouth tells me that some new slow orders happened on the Oakville Sub this week.

As to the freight interference, the Oakville Sub continues to see local roadswitchers between Oakville and Aldershot and between Aldershot and Mimico. Not all run at night. Depending on their routing needs, time of day, and small hiccups, conflicts do happen sometimes. The RTC's do their best to keep everything moving, but stuff happens.

As one-of's, nothing to see here. If you see the same pattern of continued lateness due to track or interference, there may be an issue.

- Paul

 

[Metroscapes]

As to the freight interference, the Oakville Sub continues to see local roadswitchers between Oakville and Aldershot and between Aldershot and Mimico. Not all run at night. Depending on their routing needs, time of day, and small hiccups, conflicts do happen sometimes. The RTC's do their best to keep everything moving, but stuff happens.

Could it also have been a conflict near Aldershot that trickled all the way towards Union, hence why they labelled it that way?

 

[crs1026]

Could it also have been a conflict near Aldershot that trickled all the way towards Union, hence why they labelled it that way?

Quite possibly, yes.

- Paul

 

[Sunnyside]

How often does freight traffic delay, the trains?

I’m assuming it’s a train coming from Niagara? Also, why would one train have speed restrictions and the others wouldn’t?

To add to what others have said with a personal anecdote, about a month ago I had a train from West Harbour wait near Bayview Junction for ~10 mins before proceeding to Aldershot. This was considered a delay, and I don’t think we made that time up.

 

[stevensontransit]

I've rode the 21A Milton train bus route from Milton GO to Union station bus terminal at around 1:20 pm and already there were lot's of people boarding the bus and by the time the bus got to Meadowvale GO at 1:50 pm it was already at capacity on a MCI D4500CT #2456 and some passengers there and at further stops were left behind because there are no more seats left in the bus as they are 100% occupied. This happens when ridership on the GO surpasses 2019 levels with all of the RTO mandates taking place, population growth in Milton, and the train bus route still runs hourly when before pre-pandemic it was every half an hour.

How would you react to my riding experince?

 

[sixrings]

I've rode the 21A Milton train bus route from Milton GO to Union station bus terminal at around 1:20 pm and already there were lot's of people boarding the bus and by the time the bus got to Meadowvale GO at 1:50 pm it was already at capacity on a MCI D4500CT #2456. This happens when ridership on the GO surpasses 2019 levels with all of the RTO mandates taking place, population growth in Milton, and the train bus route still runs hourly when before pre-pandemic it was every half an hour.

How would you react to my riding experince?

I would react by letting you know they widened the highway to Milton for your driving pleasure. Getting all day service to Milton GO. That’s crazy talk.

 

[stevensontransit]

I would react by letting you know they widened the highway to Milton for your driving pleasure. Getting all day service to Milton GO. That’s crazy talk.

yeah the milton line desperately needs an all day service no doubt considering those explosive demand in recent years! but sadly CN rail has been taking too much control on that track corridor.

 

[T3G]

I've rode the 21A Milton train bus route from Milton GO to Union station bus terminal at around 1:20 pm and already there were lot's of people boarding the bus and by the time the bus got to Meadowvale GO at 1:50 pm it was already at capacity on a MCI D4500CT #2456 and some passengers there and at further stops were left behind because there are no more seats left in the bus as they are 100% occupied. This happens when ridership on the GO surpasses 2019 levels with all of the RTO mandates taking place, population growth in Milton, and the train bus route still runs hourly when before pre-pandemic it was every half an hour.

How would you react to my riding experince?

I had the same experience with taking the first bus out of Milton in the morning - which I only ended up having to take due to Metrolinx's idiotic procedure of closing the train doors a minute before the scheduled departure time from the end station. (Seriously, what the hell is that? It's like the TTC and Metrolinx are having a competition to see who can do the stupidest things a human being has ever done). And in the morning the next bus was only half an hour away! I can't imagine how bad it gets after the noon hour with hourly frequencies.

I wonder what it must be like to live in a country where things work?

 

[sixrings]

yeah the milton line desperately needs an all day service no doubt considering those explosive demand in recent years! but sadly CN rail has been taking too much control on that track corridor.

The government can make a deal. It simply doesn’t want to. Three term majority Ontario government and how many years federal liberals. Don’t worry. We’re building a bullet train to Quebec City so Peterborough residents can get to Toronto faster than Milton riders. Good times.

 

[Bordercollie]

The government can make a deal. It simply doesn’t want to. Three term majority Ontario government and how many years federal liberals. Don’t worry. We’re building a bullet train to Quebec City so Peterborough residents can get to Toronto faster than Milton riders. Good times.

Is that corridor so busy that you can't make slots for an hourly GO train? Really?