TTC: Other Items (catch all)

[W. K. Lis]

News Release

TTC to accept debit/credit for fare purchases at all subway stations

December 16, 2014

Toronto Mayor John Tory, Toronto Transit Commission Chair Josh Colle and TTC CEO Andy Byford, today announced that starting Jan. 1, 2015, TTC customers will be able to purchase fares at all collector booths, at all subway stations, using their debit or credit cards. The TTC is also exploring a wave-and-pay option for a single cash fare at all collector booths for later in 2015.

Customers will now be able to purchase 10 or more tokens or tickets, as well as any Metropass or Day Pass, at the TTC's 69 subway and Scarborough RT stations using their debit or credit card. A new point-of-sale system was added and tested this year to ensure inventory control and reconciliation, and is in operation at the majority of stations today. The remainder will come online in the next two weeks. In late 2012, the TTC added debit and credit capabilities for Metropass purchases only at all of its stations.

"I am committed to cutting transit congestion and a big part of that is modernizing the way our system operates," said Toronto Mayor John Tory. "I am thrilled to announce riders will be able to use their debit and credit cards at subway stations in the new year. It's a long-awaited step that I have personally advocated for, and will make commuting more convenient for all TTC riders."

"I am very pleased that TTC passengers will finally be able to purchase fares using debit and credit cards," said TTC Chair Josh Colle. "The TTC will continue to enhance service and look for more ways of improving the customer experience for riders."

With the PRESTO farecard implementation underway, tokens, tickets and Metropasses will eventually be phased out. Until then, customers have told the TTC they want more convenient and modern payment options for all fare purchases. In addition to customer convenience, this change also reduces the amount of cash in the system and helps create greater efficiencies for the TTC.

Welcome to the late 20th century. The bad news, however, is that they will no longer accept beaver pelts as payment.

 

[P23]

It's been a while since I've been to Vancouver, but last time I was there the maps on board the SkyTrain and Canada Line looked like this:

View attachment 39430

(This version is cropped for some reason. The actual version also shows the Horseshoe Bay and Tsawwassen ferry terminals.)

The focus is not simply on "Rapid Transit" but also on key regional destinations that people may frequently need to get to. In Vancouver's case, this includes SFU, UBC, Tsawwassen, and Horseshoe Bay.

What the TTC has done isn't unheard of. It will only make things easier for travellers who aren't familiar with the system.

(Now the graphic design is another matter altogether. For one, why is the airport dot bigger than a subway station dot?)

Vancouver actually hired a professional design agency to overhaul their branding, maps and signage. For whatever reason the TTC just has some random intern churn out halfassed rebrands. The difference is extremely obvious.

 

[nfitz]

Vancouver actually hired a professional design agency to overhaul their branding, maps and signage. For whatever reason the TTC just has some random intern churn out halfassed rebrands. The difference is extremely obvious.

I thought the new TTC map products this year have been more consistent and professional. I'm eager to see the new subway map. I thought the new streetcar one turned out well:

View attachment 31478

 

[ehlow]

Eglinton totally shut down now with a bus there, cop cars everywhere:

Searching twitter for why, I found this:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/bus-strikes-woman-near-yonge-and-eglinton-1.2875381

 

[salsa]

I heard about it just now on CBC radio, that Eglinton is closed for a "collision investigation". The police will probably blame the pedestrian for now wearing bright clothing or whatever, as usual.

 

[P23]

I thought the new TTC map products this year have been more consistent and professional. I'm eager to see the new subway map. I thought the new streetcar one turned out well:

View attachment 31478

They are better than the old, but that's really not saying much. Not to mention their application is at best spotty. The TTC has never taken this sort of thing seriously.

 

[nfitz]

They are better than the old, but that's really not saying much. Not to mention their application is at best spotty. The TTC has never taken this sort of thing seriously.

That is true. But the glass is at least half-full now. If they could sustain this for a few more years, perhaps something will take root.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

That is true. But the glass is at least half-full now. If they could sustain this for a few more years, perhaps something will take root.

It really isn't something that should take several years to "take root".

AoD

 

[nfitz]

It really isn't something that should take several years to "take root".

Culture change takes time.

No it shouldn't be something that takes several years. But ...

 

[P23]

I would rather they save up and get a professional agency to do a complete overhaul of everything rather than their minor initiatives like signage at 2 stations or new maps on 3 streetcars. I can only assume funding is the major issue, I know it's what limited the signage redesign because I talked to a couple of the guys working on it. They said they had to work with the existing signs (i.e. only replacing the lexan panels) rather than actually design a new signage format that would actually work adequately.

 

[mdrejhon]

We have so much resistance after a short section (e.g. Eglington subway cancellation in the 90s, Sheppard Stubway, Scarborough mini-extension), that they are often destined for financial failure. To us, it's an eyeopening miracle if TTC builds even merely one-tenth as fast and committed as as Beijing did after 2000.

In 2000, Beijing had less stations than TTC did....
In 2016, Beijing's subway system will be the world's largest, with more stations than London Underground.

Obviously, we can't afford to send unlimited funds at this (and we should not "become China" governmentally) but man; if TTC built even merely one-tenth as quickly -- being committed to transit plans, without cancelling them part way.

 

[nfitz]

In 2016, Beijing's subway system will be the world's largest, with more stations than London Underground.

And so it should be. Look at Beijing's population and density. They are over 20 million! If you look at their core area of Dongcheng and Xicheng, it's about 87 km² with a 2010 population of 2.1 million (density of 24,100 people/km²). Compare to the old city of Toronto which is 97 km² with a 2011 population of only 736 thousand (density of 7,600 people/km²)!

And then if you look at the ring of inner suburbs in Beijing around Dongcheng and Xicheng (Chayong, Haidan, Fengtai, and Shijingshan), you've got another 1,300 km² with a 2010 population of 9.5 million (density of 7,400 people/km²). Compare to Scarborough/North York/East York/York/Etobicoke at 527 km² with only about 1.9 million people (density of 3,600 people/km²).

There core city has 3 times the density of ours. Can you imagine how many subways we'd need? And their outer city is twice as large as ours, but has the same density as our core city.

If anything, I'm surprised how few subways Beijing has compared to their population and density!

 

[AlbertHWagstaff]

And so it should be. Look at Beijing's population and density. They are over 20 million! If you look at their core area of Dongcheng and Xicheng, it's about 87 km² with a 2010 population of 2.1 million (density of 24,100 people/km²). Compare to the old city of Toronto which is 97 km² with a 2011 population of only 736 thousand (density of 7,600 people/km²)!

And then if you look at the ring of inner suburbs in Beijing around Dongcheng and Xicheng (Chayong, Haidan, Fengtai, and Shijingshan), you've got another 1,300 km² with a 2010 population of 9.5 million (density of 7,400 people/km²). Compare to Scarborough/North York/East York/York/Etobicoke at 527 km² with only about 1.9 million people (density of 3,600 people/km²).

There core city has 3 times the density of ours. Can you imagine how many subways we'd need? And their outer city is twice as large as ours, but has the same density as our core city.

If anything, I'm surprised how few subways Beijing has compared to their population and density!

They're doing a lot of catching up in a short time. It definitely helps that the economy has been booming and that the government has the money and the resources to undertake so much infrastructure work in a short time.

 

[mdrejhon]

True, true --

I hope the future brings something more consistent from TTC than the Eglington Subway (extinct), Sheppard Stubway (too short), and Scarborough mini extension (8 RT stations down to only 3 subway stations!).

Even Shanghai now has more stations (~320) than London Underground (~280). Their subway didn't exist in 1992 (0 stations) --outsizing the 150-year-old London Underground in one single generation.....Imagine if Toronto's condo boom continued for 20 years... we might finally economically justify a massive expansion even at a tenth this pace (TTC isn't even there yet).

So our hopes are, kind of, pinned on Metrolinx (Crosstown, SmartTrack, GO RER) -- they seem to be doubling our subway network for us by bringing subway-feel service onto existing GOTrain routes with extra infill stations and upcoming frequent service (no less frequent than 15min offpeak). The UPX big-spending foresight (or boondoggle) made SmartTrack possible: eliminating level crossings, new bridges and overpasses, new tunnel with 4-track capacity (3 extra track) -- such as the $200 million dollar UPX Georgetown tunnel is also for Metrolinx expansion (a.k.a. SmartTrack, a renamed GO RER).

If you are looking forward to SmartTrack, looking into how UPX money was spent, you will see why the (otherwise-boondoggle) UPX spending may be more considered similar to the Prince Edward Viaduct foresight of a subway level that got activated 49 years later. People say UPX is a boondoggle, while apparently most of the UPX spending isn't really UPX itself -- it is a key piece of funding that made GO RER and SmartTrack possible/feasible on this corridor. John Tory saw this and marketed SmartTrack to us. Whether you hate SmartTrack and Tory, it really looks like Metrolinx will be getting far, far more to us than TTC is, over the next decade -- with Crosstown, SmartTrack, and GO RER coming online in the decade of 2020s. If all of these come online -- Subway-league service will have more than doubled in Toronto in less than 15 years as a result.

This is not quite China-speed expansion for sure, but -- people who leave Toronto today for 15 years will wonder why the subway maps in TTC subway stations have miraculously doubled in size when they come back (Crosstown, SmartTrack, GO RER, Scarb extension, York extension).

It seems pretty clear next decade is Metrolinx's decade -- it has the driver's seat in Toronto's transit expansion. TTC and Metrolinx can work much closely together and agree to build a LOT more interchange stations in the next 15 years, with fare integration when Presto rolls out. (By 2020, urban TTC fares will be similiar to urban GOtrain (RER-ified) fares. Considering the TTC fare rises, inflation, combined with the operating-cost-reductions of GO electrification, combined with Presto finally being TTC-wide)

As this is a TTC thread, cooperation with Metrolinx will be key/critical to doubling Toronto's urban subway network in a mere 15 years (including "surface subways": train-based dedicated-right-of-way with 15-min-or-more-frequent service with similar subway fare system - like SmartTrack, GO RER with extra infill stations, etc) in a mere 15 years. The more cooperation, the faster Toronto's transit is improved. Compared to the last 20 years, this is literally China-speed for Torontoians (even if it's not really).

 

[nfitz]

Even Shanghai now has more stations (~320) than London Underground (~280)...

EVEN Shanghai? Shanghai was always bigger than Beijing (checks ...). Gosh, it's still millions bigger than Beijing - though Beijing seems to be growing faster.

It needs to have a much bigger system than London!

But hang on. Your count of 320 stations for Shanghai counts stations with platforms for different lines more than once! As far as I know, the London Transport number of 270 counts stations with multiple lines only once. If you were to count it in the same manner then London has 379 tube stations, not 270! And that doesn't count the 83 (soon to be 114) London Overground stations and the 45 DLR stations.

I'm sure Shanghai will be there soon though.