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Dr. Gridlock
Next stop: TTC updates on your cellphone
JEFF GRAY
To improve those muffled subway announcements that sound like one of the adults in a Charlie Brown television special, the Toronto Transit Commission is looking at ways to use new technology to get information to riders, and not a moment too soon.
Hoping to get in on the action is the company that brought you those once-controversial advertising-laden TV screens, now on platforms in about 40 subway stations.
Toronto-based OneStop Media Group says it soon hopes to show riders up-to-the-minute transit information on those screens, meaning that instead of general information about delays, they could be told exactly how long they'll wait.
Michael Girgis, OneStop's president and CEO, says the company is also working with officials on plans to send news of delays or problems directly to commuters' cellphones, before they head into the subway.
"We all carry cellphones and we're all staring at our BlackBerrys and we all want information now," he said last week in an interview.
He said OneStop would deliver the e-mail service at no cost and free of advertising. A future deal with GO Transit could allow his screens to warn TTC commuters headed to Union Station about any commuter train delays, he added.
Mr. Girgis said the new systems could be online in the next 12 to 24 months if he gets the go-ahead.
While Mr. Girgis said OneStop plans to put as much new information on its screens as it can, it's unclear whether the firm will actually end up being the one that delivers any new TTC rider e-mail service.
New TTC chairman Adam Giambrone, who at 29 was born on the right side of the generational digital divide, has made improving its website and getting it to embrace new technology a key priority.
Already pencilled into the upcoming TTC budget are a series of projects, including plans to gradually roll out a system to let riders know in real time how long they will have to wait for a bus, to allow them to buy Metropasses online and to consult a Web-based trip planner.
Mr. Giambrone, while TTC commissioner, initially opposed the screens, which "public space" activists and others criticized because of the increased advertising.
Last week, he said he doesn't think OneStop's idea to provide more information should be a top priority, since riders are kept warm and trains are supposed to come every two minutes in rush hour.
But on a forlorn suburban route, where riders might like to know if their bus is coming in five minutes or 20 minutes, some sort of new system might be of value, he said.
Then there is the issue of screens on the actual trains. When OneStop's screens were a hot issue (they started installing them in 2005), the TTC approved them for stations but vetoed plans for subway cars, calling the idea too invasive.
But the 234 new cars on order from Bombardier, expected to hit the rails in 2009, will include TV screens as standard equipment. Mr. Girgis laughs when asked about the contradiction. He said he hopes OneStop can retrofit the rest of the fleet with screens one day, although he hasn't convinced the TTC.
"With change comes resistance sometimes," Mr. Girgis said. "But once it's adopted, it's almost like, how did we live without this?"
Dr. Gridlock appears Mondays. Send comments or questions to jgray@globeandmail.com.
Next stop: TTC updates on your cellphone
JEFF GRAY
To improve those muffled subway announcements that sound like one of the adults in a Charlie Brown television special, the Toronto Transit Commission is looking at ways to use new technology to get information to riders, and not a moment too soon.
Hoping to get in on the action is the company that brought you those once-controversial advertising-laden TV screens, now on platforms in about 40 subway stations.
Toronto-based OneStop Media Group says it soon hopes to show riders up-to-the-minute transit information on those screens, meaning that instead of general information about delays, they could be told exactly how long they'll wait.
Michael Girgis, OneStop's president and CEO, says the company is also working with officials on plans to send news of delays or problems directly to commuters' cellphones, before they head into the subway.
"We all carry cellphones and we're all staring at our BlackBerrys and we all want information now," he said last week in an interview.
He said OneStop would deliver the e-mail service at no cost and free of advertising. A future deal with GO Transit could allow his screens to warn TTC commuters headed to Union Station about any commuter train delays, he added.
Mr. Girgis said the new systems could be online in the next 12 to 24 months if he gets the go-ahead.
While Mr. Girgis said OneStop plans to put as much new information on its screens as it can, it's unclear whether the firm will actually end up being the one that delivers any new TTC rider e-mail service.
New TTC chairman Adam Giambrone, who at 29 was born on the right side of the generational digital divide, has made improving its website and getting it to embrace new technology a key priority.
Already pencilled into the upcoming TTC budget are a series of projects, including plans to gradually roll out a system to let riders know in real time how long they will have to wait for a bus, to allow them to buy Metropasses online and to consult a Web-based trip planner.
Mr. Giambrone, while TTC commissioner, initially opposed the screens, which "public space" activists and others criticized because of the increased advertising.
Last week, he said he doesn't think OneStop's idea to provide more information should be a top priority, since riders are kept warm and trains are supposed to come every two minutes in rush hour.
But on a forlorn suburban route, where riders might like to know if their bus is coming in five minutes or 20 minutes, some sort of new system might be of value, he said.
Then there is the issue of screens on the actual trains. When OneStop's screens were a hot issue (they started installing them in 2005), the TTC approved them for stations but vetoed plans for subway cars, calling the idea too invasive.
But the 234 new cars on order from Bombardier, expected to hit the rails in 2009, will include TV screens as standard equipment. Mr. Girgis laughs when asked about the contradiction. He said he hopes OneStop can retrofit the rest of the fleet with screens one day, although he hasn't convinced the TTC.
"With change comes resistance sometimes," Mr. Girgis said. "But once it's adopted, it's almost like, how did we live without this?"
Dr. Gridlock appears Mondays. Send comments or questions to jgray@globeandmail.com.