AlbertHWagstaff
Senior Member
The same happens in the York Concourse, the Presto machines closest to where the crowd comes from the subway have line-ups to tap while the ones further down in the middle are much less busy.
Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR
The same happens in the York Concourse, the Presto machines closest to where the crowd comes from the subway have line-ups to tap while the ones further down in the middle are much less busy.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
The "problem" is that they seem to have this idyllic vision of riding the GO, where people can take the time to tap wherever they want. That maybe true for off-peak periods or other stations - Union isn't that duck - good luck if your train is leaving in a few minutes and you have to find a clear Presto terminal - and there is a zillion people in front of you (some of whom will insist that that tapping multiple times will turn a red into a green; or that it will read their card buried in the inner sanctum of their MK on the 11th try). They will however let us know they have customer service ambassadors and that stupidly grating AI announcement though.
Oh and in case you decide screw that wait and take your chances - you'd be pleased to know they are getting quite diligent with fare recovery. Another thing that gets me - that yellow balance checking terminal that I have seen umpteen people thinking they have tapped after using it.
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rbt
Senior Member
Amsterdam has by far the best «I'm in a hurry» process at Centraal. They ring the entire area with fare-gates with the tap pads functional but the doors removed. Anybody can enter or leave; but those tapping will find it both very easy to do and it's very clear that you should be doing so (impossible to forget).
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AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Always count on the Europeans - particularly the Dutch to come up with these practical schemes. You have to wonder what's so rocket science about it that they can't do it it here (cheapness?) It's not even that hard given the number of access points to the concourse and teamways.
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junctionist
Senior Member
Perhaps fewer people who design and oversee these systems here actually use them. When you use something everyday, you're more likely to have a better grasp at the flaws and possibilities for improvements of a system. When you don't, your perspective as to what's practical and possible is more limited.
Allandale25
Senior Member
City fighting fire code charges after Union Station construction blocked doors for concertgoers
The City of Toronto is fighting charges it violated the Ontario Fire Code after thousands of people clamoured to exit through barred doors at Union Station following a Mumford and Sons concert in December 2018. The doors were blocked by construction fences placed by Bondfield Construction as...
toronto.citynews.ca
littlewill1166
Active Member
It's such a waste of taxpayer money, the city is literally fining itself. The only winners are the lawyers. The city should just plead guilty, pay itself the fine and move on instead of wasting court time and legal fees.City fighting fire code charges after Union Station construction blocked doors for concertgoers
The City of Toronto is fighting charges it violated the Ontario Fire Code after thousands of people clamoured to exit through barred doors at Union Station following a Mumford and Sons concert in December 2018. The doors were blocked by construction fences placed by Bondfield Construction as...
FC_
New Member
I was just thinking this while reading through about the teamway readers. Union station should be setup the same way.
I never understood the placement of presto scanners "off to the side" of doorways?! Why aren't they lined up along the width of entrances/exists? Just have people tap the second they enter and exit the concourses and teamways instead of having them next to the platform staircases. This way you get a clean flow of people coming through all doors instead of bunching at the sides.
This is especially a shit show at the Union UP station with only TWO readers on the far sides of the station entrance. It's comical watching people surround the readers as a train disembarks, especially when half the passengers have roller luggage.
BjamesT
Active Member
Or make them big enough to read, and redesign the screen layout - they're insanely hard to read.
BjamesT
Active Member
Which is annoying for me as my train is on track 4. Waiting behind people tapping for trains on 13+...
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
My only sense is that Metrolinx/GO is desperate to keep the number of Presto readers at Union down due to cost (or whatever) - that's the only rationale explanation I can imagine.
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daptive
Active Member
More reason for them to place them in the most effective places! I couldn't agree with junctionist more, the people who plan our public services are not themselves users. They just look down from above and space things out in a neat little map and call it a day.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
They don't have to be users - they just have to observe and think and anticipate like users. I mean, that's what they are paid the big bucks for, no?
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Mercenary
Active Member
There is a lot of advanced software available which simulates crowds and how they would operate in a given space. This is really helpful in designing public spaces to have optimal flow of people.
I am really surprised that they didn't even consider this and just aesthetically placed presto readers evenly.
AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
Arup handled the in-station foot traffic simulation for the project if I remembered correctly. Whether Presto terminal placement takes that into consideration is a big unknown.
Edit - yes it was Arup:
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Explore Arup's range of projects, from major infrastructure work to supporting clients in their journey to net zero. Our projects provide a demonstration of our work and ability to solve the built environment's most pressing challenges. Find out more.
www.arup.com
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