SeanTrans provides a nice summary of the situation. Is it so much to ask that some thought be given to those of us who aren't part of the "premium market" but still have places and jobs to get to but are simply ignored because we're not profitable enough?
I've never said that blue 22 should somehow preclude GO improvements, and I don't see how it does. In fact, it makes them much more likely thanks to the many line improvements that would be built as part of the project.
The common approach to this in most cities in the world is to charge a premium fare to the Airport while regular fares to intermediate stops. Examples include New York, San Francisco, London, Rome, future Vancouver (IIRC), and many others.
I never claimed that local service should be covering its costs. I don't expect any sort of local transit to cover its costs... what's important is providing that transit in the first place. I'm sure more than a half-dozen Weston passengers would be willing to ride such a service. As for "taking seats"... trains can be extended, I don't think we have to worry about packed 8 car trains running to the airport. Heck, reserve as many carriages as you need for premium airport travellers and let local travellers use the rest.
The markets are simply completely different. As we all know, there is no profit to be made in running local transit. This is a premium operation that will be successful based on its premium quality service. A car tacked onto the back of a GO train won't cut it. Arlanda Express, Stansted Express, CDG Express, Narita Express, and countless others don't stop at intermediate points. I obviously think that local transit service should still be provided to the airport. I just also think that Blue 22 should operate if it proves financially viable, because I think it provides a unique service that will get cars (cabs) off the Gardiner (these riders are not getting poached from the Airport Rocket) and make downtown more accessible.
I'll be fine if a private express service operates under these conditions:
I definitely agree with some of these conditions, but I think that others pose significant issues.
- That a slightly slower transit service also provides a reasonable and frequent serviceto the airport and the communities along the route.
Absolutely. Pending the construction of a major high-speed, GO, and Airport Express hub at Terminal 1, the most reasonable approach would be a people mover to the GO line, which would be benefitting from all-day service thanks to the improved line.
- That the transit service is given the same access to the rails as the private express service, and not excluded because of some deal between SNC Lavalin and the GTAA or CN
Absolutely. It's simply absurd that this line will be upgraded from a mostly single track line from the turn of the 20th century to a four-track speedway entirely at public expense and will then be handed to CN for free, only so that CN can fight every passenger service improvement. The line should be publicly owned and fairly dispatched for all users. That goes for the adjacent CP line, too. The capacity of a four-track line is far higher than two adjacent double tracks.
- That the private service pays its own share of the costs of the upgrades to the tracks (say pay into an infrastructure fund for GO track improvements that it is already benefiting from)
Lavalin will be paying some of the capital costs, but as we all know, transit services simply cannot afford to cover both their capital and operating costs. Lavalin will be taking a significant risk just getting the operating costs below the revenues.
- That GO/GTTA is able to provide a regional rail service to Brampton or Georgetown along the tracks, either as part of the transit service to Pearson, or as a separate service.
GO should absolutely be offering S-Bahn level service on the improved corridor.
- That VIA can also provide additional service on the corridor
You know where I'm coming from, so it won't surprise you to know that I wholeheartedly agree. I also want that VIA service to stop at the new airport people mover station.
They didn't even promise hourly GO service in the original EA consultations, just the 20 minute frequency Blue22 and a few additional GO trains.
Blue 22 wouldn't have provided local service, but it didn't somehow preclude local service improvements. They're completely different markets. Improved local services would have been much easier with the infrastructure improvements accompanying Blue 22.
