MISSISSAUGA TRANSIT PLAN

[scarberiankhatru]

"That will happen when hell freezes over or Hazel dies, and I wouldn't lay bets on which would happen first."

Neither will happen first...Hazel will be frozen over!

 

[doady]

A cold-hearted woman cannot be frozen... you must use fire or acid.

 

[cdl42]

The thought of the bureaucracy that would be needed to administer a single GTA-wide transit system makes me shudder. Never mind the political arguments that would be guaranteed to follow... "GTTA customers in Toronto can expect a bus every 4 minutes. The taxpayers of Burlington are not second-class citizens, they deserve the same level of service!!!".

 

[doady]

The thought of the bureaucracy that would be needed to administer a single GTA-wide transit system makes me shudder. Never mind the political arguments that would be guaranteed to follow... "GTTA customers in Toronto can expect a bus every 4 minutes. The taxpayers of Burlington are not second-class citizens, they deserve the same level of service!!!".

If GTTA cannot work, assinine comments like this are the real reason why.

Does Mississauga Transit provide the same level of service in Meadowvale that it provides in Cooksville? Does York Region Transit provide the same level of service in Thornhill that it provides in Keswick?

Some people here seriously need a reality check.

 

[Darkstar416]

If GTTA cannot work, assinine comments like this are the real reason why.

Why is it assinine? It's exactly what happned in Metro with de-zoning? The only way one transit agency for the GTA should ever be construed would be to base service on ridership, but politics doesn't allow that to happen.

The TTC is fine for T.O. GO is fine for the regional shuttle service. What is needed is some amalgamation in Peel-Halton. Preferably even a "Peel-Halton Transit" allowing for one western agency, one northern and one eastern (with York and Durham Transit). Thereby, the GTTA would provide guidance for the five remaining agencies.

BTW, it's not necessary to amalgamate the agencies in order to make transit across the region seamless.

 

[cdl42]

Exactly, Darkstar.

Comments like the one I posted above happen all the time, I didn't just make it up. And yes, it's always politicians "sticking up for their constituants" and it's not just with regards to transit; luckily we have planners and engineers to balalnce them out. As Darkstar pointed out, this is what happened following the creation of Metro. The same sort of thinking led to the creation of the TTC in the first place. It's a simple question... in Toronto we have a higher level of service with a lower level of subsidy while the suburbs are vice-versa. How do you work this out if everything was merged into one?

You don't need to assimilate and merge to co-operate. A GTTA would be best doing route planning and coordination but subsidies and administration were left to be decided at the local level. If Clairington wants to spend less money on transit and Mississauga wants to spend more it would be easier for all involved if we just let them do that. Never mind getting into issues of unions and handling customer complaints and concerns for an abolutely massive system.

 

[doady]

Why is it assinine?

Of course it is assinine. I guarantee you Burlington would not get 4 minute bus service if all transit the GTA was amalgamated, nor would they ask for it.

Of course, there is also this belief on this forum that when regional initiatives don't work out, it is always the 905's fault, even though, for example, the TTC is only system refusing to participate in the farecard.

It's exactly what happned in Metro with de-zoning?

I am not sure what you mean by this... Are you suggesting that Scarborough, North York, and Etobicoke have too much bus service, that the buses in these places are empty? I would beg to differ.

Also, remember that the TTC is the second most efficient urban transit system in North America, and that the downtown bus and streetcar routes are not anymore efficient than the suburban bus routes.

The only way one transit agency for the GTA should ever be construed would be to base service on ridership, but politics doesn't allow that to happen.

The TTC is fine for T.O. GO is fine for the regional shuttle service. What is needed is some amalgamation in Peel-Halton. Preferably even a "Peel-Halton Transit" allowing for one western agency, one northern and one eastern (with York and Durham Transit).

Transit service is always based on ridership. If it wasn't, then a Peel-Halton Transit would have the exact same issues a GTTA would. Mississauga is to Oakville as Toronto is to Mississauga. And as the I stated before, even the existing 905 systems do not provide equal service on all their routes. The TTC does not provide equal service on all its routes. You are seriously deluded if you think otherwise.

 

[Ed007Toronto]

Quote:
It's exactly what happned in Metro with de-zoning?


I am not sure what you mean by this... Are you suggesting that Scarborough, North York, and Etobicoke have too much bus service, that the buses in these places are empty? I would beg to differ.

Also, remember that the TTC is the second most efficient urban transit system in North America, and that the downtown bus and streetcar routes are not anymore efficient than the suburban bus routes.

Are you aware that before dezoning in the early 70's the TTC actually ran a profit. That adding transit to areas of North York, Scarborough and Etobicoke that were not dense enough created a lot of the issues the TTC faces today. This is why some people are against things like the Sheppard subway or the extension to VCC. A subway under Queen would probably make money from the get go whereas VCC and Sheppard will be money pits for a long long time.