ticky
Active Member
Another water main break inside a TTC station this morning. This time, St. Clair.
Seems a little unusual this keeps happening.
Seems a little unusual this keeps happening.
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TTC: Other Items (catch all)
- Thread starter drum118
- Start date
MegaMax
New Member
If they weren't underground, though, they wouldn't flood!
M II A II R II K
Senior Member
Andy Byford is making a speech right now about the TTC's inadequacies.
TheTigerMaster
Superstar
This is why subways suck. Third world commie transit. Replace them with busses! Do the same with those damn streetcars too!
W. K. Lis
Superstar
There will be more water-main breaks when the temperatures go above zero this weekend.
salsa
Senior Member
At Queens Park there are buckets set up that collect leaks from the ceiling. The water in them is frozen. What a mess.
Johnny Au
Senior Member
You can see a Timmies cup in it.At Queens Park there are buckets set up that collect leaks from the ceiling. The water in them is frozen. What a mess.
Electrify
Senior Member
Having seen the numbers, like it or not, in Canada the vast majority of transit funding comes from the municipality. The premise that the TTC would be so much better if the province paid its fair share would mean that all transit in Canada sucks. While not usually as extensive, many Canadian transit systems have features such as free ride zones, two hour transfers, unlimited passes which pay for themselves after a reasonable amount of rides, etc. without crying poor at every opportunity and far less of their operating costs covered by higher levels of government.
The TTC has about 100 million more riders than STM, yet receives about $250 million from the city while Montreal gets $400 million.
(Source: Canadian Urban Transit Factbook, which I don't have in front of me and is not freely accessible online. So the numbers may not be 100% accurate as I am recalling them from my head, but the narrative is spot on)
rbt
Senior Member
Those numbers are correct for operating expenses. The situation changes somewhat when you include the complete budget (capital and operating).
In fact, Toronto (municipality) put about the same into TTC's 2013 capital budget ($1.5B total; $638M from Toronto) as STM had as a total 2013 capital budget ($692M total; $560M was from province and feds, $142 from munipalities).
A large part of the difference in budgets between STM and TTC is expansion projects; $600M for Spadina extension, new LRT infrastructure, etc. That doesn't even count things like Union Station which only have a small piece in the TTC budget.
Toronto's capital contributions are going to increase over the next few of years as LRV delivery starts and the Scarborough subway gets underway.
The TTC has some serious capacity constraints, so at this time I would choose to fund capital over operating expenses any day. Ultimately, riders need to get to their destinations and that doesn't happen if they cannot get on the vehicle.
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Electrify
Senior Member
Thing is that the TTC has the most trouble securing operating expenses, not capital. Politicians love the photo ops that capital projects provide, but actually running the vehicles is less sexy.
Not saying that capital is not important, you point out why it is pretty well. And securing funds is hardly a cakewalk either. Just when we hear that the reason the TTC isn't as good as it should be is because of the province not supporting the operating costs, the fact is that most systems in Canada don't get much from higher levels.
Not saying that capital is not important, you point out why it is pretty well. And securing funds is hardly a cakewalk either. Just when we hear that the reason the TTC isn't as good as it should be is because of the province not supporting the operating costs, the fact is that most systems in Canada don't get much from higher levels.
rbt
Senior Member
Expansion capital projects perhaps. General maintenance and legislated capital projects (like elevator installation, tunnel repairs, plumbing maintenance, etc.) are all regularly deferred. Expansion of the surface fleet at this time seems to be a bit of a challenge due to the personal tastes of the Mayor. The capital budget shortfall for mandatory or approved items is about $230M/year at the moment. Of course, the municipal portion of the new transit taxes would close that gap.
There are a large list of things in the not-yet-approved list which will result in significant pain if they are not funded; like the additional 60 LRVs.
Operating isn't really any tighter than it was pre-Miller; every vehicle owned is getting out on the road and getting left behind isn't a frequent occurrence. It is highly annoying that the city refuses to allow fare increases when they don't bump the subsidy though.
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M II A II R II K
Senior Member
TTC’s Andy Byford says transit visionaries are needed at city hall
Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...eeded_at_city_hall_ttcs_andy_byford_says.html
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- “Whoever the mayor is and whoever the city councillors are, I want them to be pro-transit,” he told reporters following a lunch speech at the Toronto Region Board of Trade. The business event Thursday was attended by TTC chair Karen Stintz, who has declared her intention to run against Mayor Rob Ford. Painting a bleak picture of the system’s precarious finances, Byford insisted he won’t back away from the fight to wring more TTC funding from governments.
- Four years ago, the TTC delivered 462 million rides on a subsidy of $430 million. This year it is projected to carry 80 million more rides, on a city subsidy of just $427 million. That’s an increase from the past two years, but city council, later this month, will debate boosting the subsidy a little more to close the remaining $6 million gap in the TTC’s operating budget. The system’s $9-billion, 10-year capital spending picture looks dire right now, with a $2.3-billion shortfall in needed purchases of new equipment, repairs and maintenance, Byford said.
- Over the past 20 years, the TTC’s workforce has increased only 18 per cent, while service has been expanded 27 per cent and ridership has risen by 32 per cent. Byford acknowledged that it’s difficult to justify fare hikes to TTC riders, now adjusting to a New Year’s increase, when the service is increasingly crowded. But he promised that, given more money, he can transform the TTC into a modern, customer-oriented business. However, he is under no illusions. “We are still nowhere near good enough. Consistency of our service is till patchy, delays are far too frequent and our capability both in terms of equipment and people performance has a long way to go,” he said.
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Read More: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...eeded_at_city_hall_ttcs_andy_byford_says.html
.....
- “Whoever the mayor is and whoever the city councillors are, I want them to be pro-transit,” he told reporters following a lunch speech at the Toronto Region Board of Trade. The business event Thursday was attended by TTC chair Karen Stintz, who has declared her intention to run against Mayor Rob Ford. Painting a bleak picture of the system’s precarious finances, Byford insisted he won’t back away from the fight to wring more TTC funding from governments.
- Four years ago, the TTC delivered 462 million rides on a subsidy of $430 million. This year it is projected to carry 80 million more rides, on a city subsidy of just $427 million. That’s an increase from the past two years, but city council, later this month, will debate boosting the subsidy a little more to close the remaining $6 million gap in the TTC’s operating budget. The system’s $9-billion, 10-year capital spending picture looks dire right now, with a $2.3-billion shortfall in needed purchases of new equipment, repairs and maintenance, Byford said.
- Over the past 20 years, the TTC’s workforce has increased only 18 per cent, while service has been expanded 27 per cent and ridership has risen by 32 per cent. Byford acknowledged that it’s difficult to justify fare hikes to TTC riders, now adjusting to a New Year’s increase, when the service is increasingly crowded. But he promised that, given more money, he can transform the TTC into a modern, customer-oriented business. However, he is under no illusions. “We are still nowhere near good enough. Consistency of our service is till patchy, delays are far too frequent and our capability both in terms of equipment and people performance has a long way to go,” he said.
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TheTigerMaster
Superstar
Reminder that they'll be no service on the 1 Yonge-University-Spadina this weekend.
EDIT: Between Union and St. Andrew
EDIT: Between Union and St. Andrew
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M II A II R II K
Senior Member
That time the subway had a moving sidewalk
Read More: http://www.blogto.com/city/2014/01/that_time_the_subway_had_a_moving_sidewalk/
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When the Spadina line opened in the 1970s, the long walk was made easier by a lengthy moving sidewalk that simultaneously delighted and enraged subway users. It was one of the most interesting features of the subway system - and a hell of a lot of fun for kids - but it was also expensive to maintain, prone to break down, and ultimately went the way of the Dodo in 2004 when the TTC decided that it just wasn't worth the money to keep.
- When the Spadina Extension was built in 1978, the current north/south platforms were initially designed to be a separate station altogether, one which would go by the name Lowther, after the street which runs immediately to the south of the station. In the end, the TTC had a change of heart and decided to build the 150 metre long walkway to link the two stations under the the same designation. There are a couple of reasons why they did this. Aside from the obvious savings on staffing costs (the north/portion of Spadina Station does not feature a fare collector), Transit Toronto explains that concerns about the financial viability of the University Line might have played a role.
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Read More: http://www.blogto.com/city/2014/01/that_time_the_subway_had_a_moving_sidewalk/
.....
When the Spadina line opened in the 1970s, the long walk was made easier by a lengthy moving sidewalk that simultaneously delighted and enraged subway users. It was one of the most interesting features of the subway system - and a hell of a lot of fun for kids - but it was also expensive to maintain, prone to break down, and ultimately went the way of the Dodo in 2004 when the TTC decided that it just wasn't worth the money to keep.
- When the Spadina Extension was built in 1978, the current north/south platforms were initially designed to be a separate station altogether, one which would go by the name Lowther, after the street which runs immediately to the south of the station. In the end, the TTC had a change of heart and decided to build the 150 metre long walkway to link the two stations under the the same designation. There are a couple of reasons why they did this. Aside from the obvious savings on staffing costs (the north/portion of Spadina Station does not feature a fare collector), Transit Toronto explains that concerns about the financial viability of the University Line might have played a role.
.....
Johnny Au
Senior Member
I miss those moving sidewalks! I remembered that there were some who were sitting on the handrails. Since the removal of the moving sidewalks, they were able to install trash and recycle bins, as well as space for the subway musician.