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TTC: Flexity Streetcars Testing & Delivery (Bombardier)

4472 is now tracking

Will 4469 enter service tomorrow after being here 22 days so far??

4470 out for testing as an in service car on Queen, west of Dufferin.
 
But it's already internally renumbered to 4604 according to Transit Toronto: https://transit.toronto.on.ca/streetcar/4509.shtml
They better go fish the transponder out of Lake Ontario then!

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The doors on the Flexities are definitely slower, but the cars themselves accelerate more quickly than the As and Cs do.

The doors themselves are slower, but you no longer have to wait for people to descend and ascend the stairs. Stops are quicker.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

Something I noticed is the chime has been shortened. A full TTC 3-chime ring used to go off before the doors started closing. Now, it's just one beep and they go, in most cases anyway. Saves 1 or 2 seconds.

They also will only start to close as long as people haven't gone past the doors, I think the sensors pick up on people jumping on at the last second, and that door will actually pause for an extra couple seconds before closing, even after the other doors have closed.

Overall though, I do think the Flexities are a bit slower because of a multitude of factors, which adds a few seconds at each stop, and adds up to a few minutes on each route run:
  • The Flexity kind of gums up into a full stop for a second or two before anything can happen; the CLRV's front door would activate the split second the wheels were almost stopped. Seems like a safety brake feature for the Flexity.
  • The Flexity sounds one beep and activates lights, and then the doors open, which takes a few extra tenths of a second vs CLRV/ALRV doors.
  • As per above, doors stay open until people stop walking on and off.
    • Higher capacity Flexitywith crammed walking spaces means onboarding and offloading takes a little longer during busy periods. Certainly affects any streetcar, but slows it down compared to a CLRV at least, if one of those gets full, you just go 'ah f*ck' and wait for the next one, current one shuts the door and goes.
    • If wheelchair access is needed, that operation takes time.
  • Door closes, chime has to play first, and again which takes a few extra tenths of a second vs CLRV/ALRV doors.
  • Flexity stays gummed up with brakes on for a second after doors have closed.
That's just my view, but I think if you stopclocked each aspect of operation of the Flexity vs the CLRV, its modern electronic motors and safety features take extra slivers of time which add up. Death by a thousand seconds.
 
Something I noticed is the chime has been shortened. A full TTC 3-chime ring used to go off before the doors started closing. Now, it's just one beep and they go, in most cases anyway. Saves 1 or 2 seconds.

They also will only start to close as long as people haven't gone past the doors, I think the sensors pick up on people jumping on at the last second, and that door will actually pause for an extra couple seconds before closing, even after the other doors have closed.

There are 2 main modes on the Flexity for the doors, "all doors" and "enable". All doors opens all of the doors when pressed, and closes all of them when pressed again, it's intended for very high-traffic stops and end-of-line stations. Enable makes it so that individual doors open when the button on them is pressed, and they close automatically after a few seconds if nobody is walking through, or when the operator presses enable again; this mode is intended to be used at the majority of stops, mainly to keep the cold/hot air in the vehicle rather than letting in outside air of an undesirable temperature.

Both modes trigger a single chime, and a high-pitched tone for some reason, when they open. All doors results in the traditional 3 chimes when they close, whereas Enable triggers the single chime. As such, some operators who prefer all doors have discovered a trick--they open all doors, then when it's time to close them instead of pressing all doors 1 time they press enable 2 times, which switches the doors to enable mode and closes them with the shorter single chime.

Unfortunately, in my experience, the majority of operators open all doors the majority of the time, which really sucks in the summer/winter. It's gotten a bit better recently, but nowhere near what it should be.

As for the sensors, you can clearly see multiple infrared sensors just inside of each doorway, which form a sort of "tripwire", if someone is detected within it they won't close in the automatic enable mode, they will only close if the operator closes them. I've found when the operator closes the doors from the cab, passengers are expected to stand clear, and the doors only stop closing if someone physically blocks them.
 
There are 2 main modes on the Flexity for the doors, "all doors" and "enable". All doors opens all of the doors when pressed, and closes all of them when pressed again, it's intended for very high-traffic stops and end-of-line stations. Enable makes it so that individual doors open when the button on them is pressed, and they close automatically after a few seconds if nobody is walking through, or when the operator presses enable again; this mode is intended to be used at the majority of stops, mainly to keep the cold/hot air in the vehicle rather than letting in outside air of an undesirable temperature.

Both modes trigger a single chime, and a high-pitched tone for some reason, when they open. All doors results in the traditional 3 chimes when they close, whereas Enable triggers the single chime. As such, some operators who prefer all doors have discovered a trick--they open all doors, then when it's time to close them instead of pressing all doors 1 time they press enable 2 times, which switches the doors to enable mode and closes them with the shorter single chime.

Unfortunately, in my experience, the majority of operators open all doors the majority of the time, which really sucks in the summer/winter. It's gotten a bit better recently, but nowhere near what it should be.

It's silly the operators have to rely on that workaround to shut the doors with a single beep. It's also silly that enable mode even exists. I get the argument for it on particularly harsh weather days, but at the same time, too many TTC riders are poorly educated and don't know to use the button in a timely fashion. It would just result in delays I think vs. just opening them all.

It would be better to have 'all doors' mode with the single beep. But I'm sure that would be something we'd have to pay Bombardier to change...
 
I get the argument for it on particularly harsh weather days, but at the same time, too many TTC riders are poorly educated and don't know to use the button in a timely fashion. It would just result in delays I think vs. just opening them all.
And which one of those settings then do you leave it on, when the operator has to rush out and change a switch or take an emergency washroom break.
 
The Flexity might be slower in terms of having a full stop before anything happens like the TR trains. Dwelling time would be saved if TTC assigned enough capacity instead of operating every car in rush hour at crush load. They should get people to learn to press the button instead of opening every doors every time that increase unnecessary wear and tear. Even with the LRT lines, this is absolutely unnecessary on every single surface stops.

If 4466 just suffers a pole damage, BBD could just send a team down to replace it. It would have been way cheaper than shipping it back. The damage must be beyond just the pole.
 

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