TTC's Fancy New Technologies Thread

[299 bloor call control.]

And as has been stated multiple times, it is coming for the streetcar and bus routes.

In fact, based on the article in The Star today:

Tess Kalinowski
Transportation Reporter
It's one more sign that the TTC is getting a foothold in the information age.
Riders at the Dundas station can now tell how long they'll wait for a train by checking the screens on the northbound and southbound platforms. The next-train-arrival information is part of a three-month pilot project experimenting to see what kind of information riders want before the notifications appear in all 69 subway stations – sometime by the end of 2009.
TTC officials acknowledge that next-train information isn't that valuable during rush hour, when trains run about every two minutes. But the system is a way to notify riders of delays, so they can plan their time better. It also reminds riders that when the system is packed at rush hour, the next train is only two minutes down the tunnel.
"If that prevents somebody from jamming in a door, which then causes an eight-minute delay, you begin to think about it being a pretty good investment," said TTC chair Adam Giambrone.
Transit Control already knows where all the trains are in the tunnels, Giambrone said. "This is about taking the information we have already and giving it out to the public. This is really about customer service enhancement today."
Unlike cities with more extensive systems, where trains moving through a line may have more than one destination and may run less frequently, Toronto probably doesn't need sophisticated notifications, acknowledged TTC chief general manager Gary Webster.
"If it were more expensive, you wouldn't do it," he admitted. But the $330,000 price tag is small compared with the $8 million bus-arrival notification system that will roll out on the Harbourfront line and in Spadina station in November. It will provide surface riders with real-time information on the next bus or streetcar's arrival, using LED technology similar to that being used on York Region's popular VIVA system.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

"If that prevents somebody from jamming in a door, which then causes an eight-minute delay, you begin to think about it being a pretty good investment," said TTC chair Adam Giambrone.

It won't stop a single person from rushing through a closing subway door. Not one. Everyone knows the next train is only a few minutes away but they won't want to wait those few minutes if they can squeeze on the train that's right in front of them.

 

[syn]

This is great news. I really miss the phone numbers on bus stops that you could call to find out when the next bus was coming. They eliminated it due to a Y2K compliance problem (or so they said). I can't believe it's taken 8 years to replace it.

 

[Admiral Beez]

I like the old phone in "TTC timeline schedule" or whatever it was called. Hook that system back up, with a GPS system for accurate arrival predictions, and it'll be great. Having electronic signs at anything but the most popular and visible shelters will be expensive and prone to vandalism.

 

[Observer Walt]

I sometimes wonder about the TTC's priorities. Why do we need to tell people exactly when the next subway train will arrive? We know it will be within 3 or 4 minutes. This money would be better spent on any number of other initiatives.

 

[Whoaccio]

Next train designators on the subways come in handy on systems where one line can have multiple termini, branch lines and such. Given that currently a N. bound train on the Yonge line can only end at Finch or... Finch, I don't see the benefit. Maybe I am remembering this wrong, but will the TTC run all of it's trains into York Region? I thought that, if the Richmond Hill extension where completed, it would short-turn half of the trains at Steeles or something. Could come in handy for that.

 

[doady]

The TTC can use all this fancy technology to tell people when the next bus arrives, and yet something as simple and low-tech as posting the full schedules on the website and at the stops is beyond their capabilities.

 

[rbt]

I sometimes wonder about the TTC's priorities. Why do we need to tell people exactly when the next subway train will arrive? We know it will be within 3 or 4 minutes. This money would be better spent on any number of other initiatives.

Many many people bitched and complained that the TTC didn't do tricks like <insert city here> with trains every 10 to 20 minutes.

It was a cheap thing to do ($300k -- pretty much free with the new control stations), so they did it for the check mark on the transit feature sheet.

When I'm in Washington, I can assure you I look at the sign saying 12 minute to next train and curse that the don't run more trains. I'm not thrilled in the least to know it will be 12 minutes.


People on this board and newspaper article comment areas regularly complain about TTC fare collection being antiquated. That's going to cost $400M to change and there is no technical reason for doing so -- strictly to keep up with <insert city here>.

 

[299 bloor call control.]

Well it would be useful in the AM peak for trains that terminate at St Clair West. And when the Yonge/Spadina lines are extended, the short turns in the morning would be at Finch and Downsview.

 

[salmonz]

The Point?

What's the point of this new technology? The bus or train will come when it arrives. There's nothing you can do to change that.

This is a complete waste of money and makes me wonder why they needed to charge for parking at Metropass commuter lots.

Miller and Adam - get your priorities straight!

 

[CGM]

Whatever money the TTC has to spend it better do it quick before the union gets its greedy hands on it... I'd like to see new Street car shelters along Queens Quay... the current ones are pretty old and rusty... St. Clair has nice stops

 

[Admiral Beez]

What's the point of this new technology? The bus or train will come when it arrives. There's nothing you can do to change that.

I could definitely use this technology. In the Beach(es) I've waited 20 minutes or more for a streetcar. If I know when I arrive at the stop that the streetcar is coming in 25 minutes, then I'll walk the 3 km or so and catch the Main Station bus.

 

[dowlingm]

The only people who would be critical of the concept of countdown screens are transit enthusiasts. The details of the screen display and locations need to be hammered out but conceptually this is the best thing the TTC has done in years.

The problem isn't the screens it's the route they started with. A screen at Yonge/Queen could serve 501/301 and 97 so people can decide whether to step into the Bay to wait in the warm/cool (that's aimed at you salmonz by the way).

Starting with subway platforms where the max scheduled time is 5 minutes at any time is stupid - its only utility is indicating which trains go north of St Clair West and I'm not sure this screen even does that. If there is a breakdown on the subway the TTC will rarely be able to indicate a restart time as it all depends on crew response and the situation they respond to.

 

[nfitz]

What's the point of this new technology? The bus or train will come when it arrives. There's nothing you can do to change that.

It will be very useful for surface routes. If I get to the stop going downtown and it says 10 minutes or more, I can check the stop in the opposite direction, and be at a subway station in 5-minutes, and go around a different way. Or I can walk about 800 metres to a different stop, and take a different route. Or I know I can just start walking to the next stop and get some exercise. Or grab a coffee. Or pop into the store and buy some tokens. Or check before I get to the stop and see which routes aren't doing well, and which way to go.

The uses are endless.

I admit the gain is marginal for subways, given how predictable and stable the routes tend to be. But with about 3% of the cost being to do the subways, and 97% for the surface routes, it doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Signs saying a vehicle will be here in 10 minutes are only useful if the vehicle actually shows up in 10 minutes.

It won't be useful for bus branches (A,B,E,whatever) because these buses weave in and out of each other and arrive in whichever order they feel like.