Toronto Spadina Subway Extension Emergency Exits | ?m | 1s | TTC | IBI Group

mdrejhon said:
It's the butterfly in the Chaos theory -- a small thing cascaded into a major thing:
The missing segment caused certain transit search results to completely disappear from Canada's Wonderland search results since only the fastest 3 routes are usually displayed. Meaning, at times, there were no transit search results that included the Vaughan subway extension. Few Google Transit search results (and any apps that relied on Google data) returned any optimal transit routes for Canada's Wonderland.

You might not be dependant on Google but your children (the Texting Generation) is increasingly dependant on it, and it is important for data for popular transit destinations to remain accurate.
Click to expand...
Google is really bloated these days.

What happened to the day when Google was a very simple search engine?

It does not take much effort to fix that issue. But no, Google Maps is more interested in ephemeral time-wasters like Santa-tracking and Pacman street mazes than in actually making transit routing accurate. Making transit routing accurate would increase productivity significantly for many. Santa-tracking and Pacman street mazes are just entertainment at best (for Christian (or even secular) families with very young children and retro gamers, respectively). Open Street Maps does a better job at actually fixing streets (and none of the people who add the streets on OSM are even paid)! Open Street Maps does not aim to include time-wasters.

To Google: please hire competent GIS technicians, especially those who volunteer for Open Street Maps. Keep the Santa-tracking and Pacman stuff separate (or spin them off like Niantic).
 
Last edited:
Johnny Au said:
Google is really bloated these days.

What happened to the day when Google was a very simple search engine?

It does not take much effort to fix that issue. But no, Google Maps is more interested in ephemeral time-wasters like Santa-tracking and Pacman street mazes than in actually making transit routing accurate. Making transit routing accurate would increase productivity significantly for many. Santa-tracking and Pacman street mazes are just entertainment at best (for Christian (or even secular) families with very young children and retro gamers, respectively). Open Street Maps does a better job at actually fixing streets (and none of the people who add the streets on OSM are even paid)! Open Street Maps does not aim to include time-wasters.

To Google: please hire competent GIS technicians, especially those who volunteer for Open Street Maps. Keep the Santa-tracking and Pacman stuff separate (or spin them off like Niantic).
Click to expand...

To Google: hire an intern to code in the yellow line marker showing the TYSSE.

It’s disgusting that a company like Google is too incompetent to add this, months after this extension opened.
 
WislaHD said:
This.

I have heard from co-workers who would have benefited from the Spadina extension that they are instead opting to drive to Wilson's parking lot to bypass the delays on Sheppard West.
Click to expand...

From my personal experience it’s not the extension that is the problem but the changeover from ATO to the old system. The ATO is so efficient that there’s a back up of trains heading southbound just after leaving Sheppard West. If you are ever on the platform at one of the new stations during rush hour, you will notice that trains will depart and another one will immediately (less than 60 seconds) be pulling in. I believe Steve Munro discussed this problem a few months ago and how the current old system can’t seem to keep up with trains leaving the network and reappearing; some trains go “missing.”
 
yrt+viva=1system said:
From my personal experience it’s not the extension that is the problem but the changeover from ATO to the old system. The ATO is so efficient that there’s a back up of trains heading southbound just after leaving Sheppard West. If you are ever on the platform at one of the new stations during rush hour, you will notice that trains will depart and another one will immediately (less than 60 seconds) be pulling in. I believe Steve Munro discussed this problem a few months ago and how the current old system can’t seem to keep up with trains leaving the network and reappearing; some trains go “missing.”
Click to expand...
If this is the case, what is going to happen when work finishes at St Clair West? Union? Bloor Yonge? It seems like things are about to get a hell lot worse.
 
I think there will need to be refinements to the tech system. ATC headway management is much easier if 100% ATC than when transitioning from the block system to ATC where headway management gets out of sync due to the different granularities/estimates.

It's like trying to combine 5-day weather forecasting (non ATC) and 1-day weather forecasting (ATC) for predictions consistency. Totally different error margins, and timing errors/timing offsets. Keeping reliable headways through the seams between ATC /non-ATC is hard.
 
Copper1212 said:
Disgusting? They are providing a free to use service they could pull the plug on tomorrow if they felt like it.
Click to expand...

Yup! It’s disguating. Embarrassing. This is one of the wealthiest, largest, most successful companies in the world and it’s pathetic that a basic function cannot be implemented properly.
 
^Think you may be exaggerating perhaps just a wee little bit?
 
Golly, whatever did people do before?

It is true that Google and their ilk are gazillion dollar companies, not a dime comes directly from me or most users. I'm sure if they felt their bottom line would be better by adding every transit line on the planet then they would do it. Utility distribution networks interest me - I should complain.
 
lenaitch said:
Golly, whatever did people do before?
Click to expand...

That was my thought.

Of course, nearly everyone under 23* has been using generated created maps for their trips over their entire lifetime. Generated includes a printout of directions, not necessarily a real-time GPS backed display.

* I've made the assumption very few people under 10 self-navigated for trips without an escort who knew where they were going. That is, they've not relied on a fold-out map.
 
Copper1212 said:
Disgusting? They are providing a free to use service they could pull the plug on tomorrow if they felt like it.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt call it disgusting, but Google removed the collaborative tool to add new features to Google Maps about a year ago.

Previously I could draw the new Spadina extension myself as a casual user on Maps, submit the request to Google, and then the line extension, bike trail extension, new road, etc etc would be added to Google.

No idea why they removed this, they were getting free updates from the public.

Google Maps has suffered hugely since this was removed.
 
robmausser said:
Previously I could draw the new Spadina extension myself as a casual user on Maps, submit the request to Google, and then the line extension, bike trail extension, new road, etc etc would be added to Google.

No idea why they removed this, they were getting free updates from the public.
Click to expand...

If it's anything like OpenStreetMap, half the additions were walking paths across private land (requiring trespassing). I gave up deleting trails and adding fence markings years ago; evidently satellite images are the perfect source.

I can see a few legal issues. A random user taking material from one map and injecting it into Google Maps puts Google on the hook for copyright fraud fines when they publish those changes. A stop&desist order from another map vendor with evidence Google had their data (inaccuracies are often purposefully added for proving this kind of thing) would have done it.
 
Last edited:
rbt said:
If it's anything like OpenStreetMap, half the additions were walking paths across private land (requiring trespassing). I gave up deleting trails and adding fence markings years ago; evidently satellite images are the perfect source.

I can see a few legal issues. A random user taking material from one map and injecting it into Google Maps puts Google on the hook for copyright fraud fines when they publish those changes. A stop&desist order from another map vendor with evidence Google had their data (inaccuracies are often purposefully added for proving this kind of thing) would have done it.
Click to expand...

I think it's more due to trolling. People adding places that outright don't exist, changing the names of Trump properties etc.

Also as I've said before, Google Maps is mainly a business listing (they're essentially the modern version of the Yellow Pages) and location data-gathering app. Transit directions are essentially an afterthought and largely exists to get you to turn on location.
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top