Get something from Go Transit. You pay enough

Go Transit has a new contest and there are some cool prizes.

For once they actually announced it on facebook and the link works.

Here is the link to the contest:

https://secure.gotransit.com/en/contest/ZipWin2010.aspx

Presto - You Gain Some You Lose Some

Everyone is so excited about Presto. You are going to save money. Its going to be more

convenient going cross systems, however for Go Transit riders that have monthly passes you are not saving anything. In fact you are losing.

How are you losing you ask? Well Presto costs the same amount each month as your Go Transit Monthly pass but one perk that Monthly pass holders got was the free ride for another on the weekends. Its not every month that I use it but it is nice to enjoy a day in Toronto with my wife or my son. It would cost me $14 more for those trips.

Secondly, the reason a lot of people went monthly is because then they don't have to remember to scan every trip. They just have to remember end of month to buy another. This is another loss of convenience.

I am okay with losing those two perks if there were new perks with Presto like savings. I am very disappointed in the lack of extra discount to get people on presto even just for the first month or two months. Instead all you save is the $6.95 setup fee.

What a rip off. But I guess we are all going to bite the bullet and get one on June 1 to save the $6.95 All I know is the first time presto does not scan for me I am headed to customer service for some free rides. I suggest everyone else do the same.

Earth Week - Some ways Go Transit has made changes for the environmental worse

Go Transit public relations love to tell you how they are making things better for the environment but you don't really see how they are not.

The extension of Trains on the Lakeshore Line to Aldershot seems a good move on reducing the footprint on the environment but it also hurts it. If you listen closely to the campaign Go Transit has about parking, they mention alternative means of getting to the station. A lot of people relied on the Go Bus as an alternative to get to the station if they live between stops. Removing the once an hour bus during the day ensures those people drive to the station.

Recently, Go Transit removed bus routes from York region. This forced people to drive rather than take the slower local transit. http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/627577--go-poised-to-cancel-local-bus-routes

These are only a few examples I found with a simple google. If you have more examples, please comment on this blog so Go Transit can see the ways they can change during this earth week.

Just what is the process for Go Transit to resolve customer issues?

Here is an example of a rightly frustrated customer:

We are very disappointed with the evidenced bad attitude of your bus driver for Go bus departing from Hamilton GO station, Ontario at 11 p.m. on 22 January 2010. The bus destination was Union Station in Toronto, Ontario.

The bus-driver was an apparently "middle-aged", tall, Caucasian-white male, clean-shaven, with a bald head [and a fringe of white hair on the back of his head].

In spite of our polite request for it, he did NOT assist us to load our bag at Hamilton, NOR did he even have the door opened for the luggage compartment until we asked him for it a FOURTH time, needlessly making us wait out in the cold weather.

When we reached Union station, he began YELLING at us IN FRONT of all other passengers SWEARING AND RUDELY demanding: "Why THE FUCK did you put your bag in the back?". We politely tried explaining to him that since there were other passengers BEHIND us with luggage AND OTHERS who may get onto the bus [since the bus may make multiple stops in Hamilton] AFTER it leaves the Hamilton GO station, we did not wish to inconvenience others NOR have them damage our fragile bag and it's fragile contents.

He shouted: "I am IN-CHARGE and you are not supposed to place it further in the back".

We politely pointed out to him that there WAS NO CLEARLY visible POSTED sign ANYWHERE [on the bus NOR on the luggage compartment] that confirmed his flimsy verbal assertion: "you are not supposed to place it further in the back".

In response, he angrily kicked our bag and broke an expensive glass-vase that was inside it.

He refused to provide us his name/driver-operator-number NOR would he let us write down the bus-number and/ or the bus license-plate information.

Here is customer services response:

I am following up on your email of March 18, 2010. I am sorry that you
had this unfortunate experience on our system and we certainly
understand your frustration.

An investigation was conducted by Bus Operations supervisory personnel,
however, we were unable to establish the issue of a broken vase. As you
are requesting reimbursement for the cost of the vase, your request must
be addressed directly in writing (electronic not accepted) to our Legal
Services and Claims Department for consideration.

Please send a detailed letter, including a copy of the original receipt
to:

GO Transit Claims Department
20 Bay St. Suite 600
Toronto, ON
M5J 2W3

We appreciate you bringing your concerns to our attention.

The question here is how did they follow up. Did they ask for witnesses that also took the bus trip

were there video cameras in the station? or did they simply talk to the driver? Are there cameras at the Hamilton bus station that could have seen this happen? If not, this brings up a safety concern especially for female passengers taking late night buses to Hamilton from Toronto.

As for foul language and harsh treatment, I too have experience this attitude from both train and bus personnel. It has not been to the extent of the above but I can relate.

I would like to hear someone from Go Transit comment on the safety concerns at the Hamilton Go Station and how it plans to resolve these issues.

Shopping carts please stay well behind the yellow line

It seems that the message for people to stay well back from the yellow line is working but those shopping carts are not listening. They are making their way onto the tracks and causing serious concerns. I guess they are following those mattresses across.

Seriously, whomever is putting shopping carts, mattresses and other large items on the tracks, stop it. You are going to kill somebody. This is a serious safety concern. Maybe we need cameras on the tracks in areas this is happening more often to catch these people.

If you have any safety concerns or other issues you would like to share with the group please post them here or email them to Susan Fischer at susan@clinchportal.com

Average 80 minute commute, Government Surplus but delayed transit plan funding

A study released today shows how commuters in Toronto spend an average of 80 minutes commuting http://ipoint.to/80minutecommute

Not much earlier was the news that Transit funding was being delayed http://ipoint.to/transitfundingdelay

But wasn't one of the major announcements in the latest budget transit spending? Am I missing something?

Where is this transit money going?

I would love to hear responses on where this money is going. Please comment on this post.

Warning: Schedule Changes April 3, 2010

For all those loyal blog readers, I thought I would remind you of the schedule changes that are happening April 3, 2010. If you are taking the Lakeshore line the normal trains will be leaving earlier from your stations.

If you have any tips, comments, etc you would like to share with the followers of this blog please post them as comments or email them to Susan Fischer at susan@clinchportal.com and we will post an article.

More money for transit less money for silly songs

O Canada, our home and native land.

True paitrot love in all your coyotes command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise

Our Go and TTC Fares.

The tax money is better spent

To ensure our anthem is gender free.

As you may have guessed, the opposition party does not like the word sons in

our anthem but has no problem letting coyotes run wild in our school yards and

attack pets in our backyards. They also have no problem giving no more money to

public transit to help the environment.

If you would like to let the government know that our kids safety is important join the protest here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Petition-To-Protect-our-kids-from-Coyotes/339212382988?ref=ts

If you don't like the go transit fee hikes, fill in the petition at:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/reject_go_fare_hike_2010/signatures?page=2

Had an affair? Work for TTC

It seems rather hypocritical to be all up in arms about a company paying millions to advertise on the subway saying its morally wrong but then as head of the TTC do those same immoral acts.

This hypocracy between management at TTC and its employees is unfair to both the employees and the customer. Change really needs to happen at the TTC and removing the highest person for someone ready for change is a bold move that needs to be made.

Reasons to feel lucky you take Go Transit

You have come a long way Go Transit when it comes to customer service.
Lucky for us passengers we don't have to deal with employee feuds with management,
employee passenger feuds. Here is an article that points out some of the reasons I am
glad I no longer take TTC and simply purchase my Go Monthly Pass:

http://ipoint.to/jjnqj8

Just when the Go-ing was good

It looks like another switch malfunction. This is two in the same number of weeks.
Both times service was suspended on the Lakeshore West line.

Due to an ongoing CN signal and radio communication malfunction, train
service on the Lakeshore West and Georgetown lines is temporarily suspended. CN
and GO Transit are working to resolve the issue and resume train service. We
apologize for the inconvenience. An update will be provided.

At least last time they gave us a free ride. For those who have not collected it you should check it out. I know if service is still out at the rush hours I will be asking for another free ride.

Here is another update. Looks like a 40 to 50 minute delay. That is possibly a 70% delay for the 5:19 train that normally arrives in Burlington at around 6:20

The CN signal and communication malfunction has been resolved. Train
service on the Lakeshore West and Georgetown lines has resumed. Passengers may
expect delays of 40-50 minutes. We apologize for the inconvenience as we work
with CN to resume regularly scheduled train service on these lines.

Excuses and Changing it to make it work.

Two things I found very interesting over the past couple days.
Firstly, the TTC has a public relations nightmare on their hands.
They have a fare hike nobody wants, they have people pointing out
waste of resources in the system. Now we have a 6 hour outage. From a
public relations point of view its easy to blame the subcontractor but
what about easing the passengers needs. It was cold and damp out.
People were standing for hours waiting. Why not bring out some portable
heaters to keep them warm or maybe supply them with a warm cup of coffee.
Its not our fault but we care. A missed opportunity they could maybe do next
time. Given the disorganization of TTC we know there will be a next time.

On another note, I had not taken the train leaving burlington at 7:38 for a while.
It used to arrive at Union at 8:22 am and the conductor would announce that it was on time.
I noticed that now the train arrives at 8:30 am and the conductor would announce that it was on time. I guess the way to reduce delays is to adjust the schedule to compensate. Way to go
Go Transit.

Susan came across this article about schedule 'Inflation' written by Ed Drass in the Metro News. You may wish to check it out here is the link:

http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/blog/post/389624

Go Transit and the Pan AM Games

It is understandable that bringing the Pan AM Games to the GTA will help out the cities
economy and we really need to show them our world class transit system but with limited resources at Go Transit and thus cancelling trains are we not proving the opposite to them.

http://www.thespec.com/article/627028

A better approach, would be to cut the train in half. You do have extra engines at Mimico I see them every morning during the rush just sitting there. Why not split up the train and at least run a shorter train through the normal line. Commuters are used to delays so a delay due to congestion would not produce the negative feedback you are getting now.

It is all about thinking smarter. I think Go Transit really needs someone to take control of the behemoth organization and clean it up. Someone needs to look at Go Transit from the switch and dispatch level all the way up and figure out solutions fast. From my experience with him in the past I really think Rob MacIsaac is your man to do it. Every day it becomes clearer that MetroLynx should talke control of the TTC and Go Transit and make them more efficient and work together with existing transit.

I look forward to hearing your comments on this and other postings.

Go Transit Paranoia

Imagine what would happen if a real disaster happened on the Lakeshore West line.
All that happened here was a track outage and it is utter chaos at Union. From
what I heard from the Engineers on my train the 6:03 pm train from Union, there were
2 go trains ahead of us. So counting back that is the 5:43 and 5:34 train so that means it took Go Transit over a half an hour to determine that there was in fact a track outage.

Our train got stopped at Exhibition and the public relations person on the train told us the track was out at Oakville. From speaking directly with him he said that came straight from dispatch. Upon calling 1-888-get-on-go they told me long branch was out. To make matters worse, anyone traveling from Union to anywhere west except Hamilton and Aldershot were SOL as far as buses were concerned.

You would think this was Go Transit's first disaster by how they reacted but in fact only a few short years ago there was the were 3 such in one year, a fire at Clarkson, a track outage at Mimico due to a CN derailment. Even still the big Toronto blackout had buses available for people to get home. You think they would get better but I have to say that in past, they actually did a better job getting us home.

While we wait for the bus, three other buses come in and one express bus heads back to Union. Optimization would say to have that bus with only a hand full of people on it, go back to Aldershot with our load too, then to Union rather than sending another bus one stop and use extra fuel. I guess that is where are go transit pass increases come from, unnecessary fuel consumption.

As I sit on the bus in Hamilton at 8:37 they just announced that the trains are running. So leaving Union at 6:03, I have already been on the Go system for over 1 and 1/2 hours and the bus is still sitting here waiting to leave. One passenger was so irate at Hamilton bus terminal by the lack of information that Go Transit kicked him out of the station rather than simply answering which stop we needed to wait at.

Just as go transit thought their concerns were over with the trains running. Some incident at the Union Station bus terminal which included an ambulance needing to get through, stopped all go busses from entering the terminal. The dispatch told all buses to stay away from Union Bus terminal or they would be sent right through.

It is 9:00 pm and I am now at Aldershot. I am one of the luckier ones that got off at Aldershot to a ride waiting for me. Unfortunately most passengers heading back East will have to wait until 10:00 pm for the next train even though two empty west bound trains headed on to Hamilton which is not even a regular stop at this time of night. Another way to piss off us passengers and waste more fuel.

I look forward to hearing from Go Transit how they are going to improve the situation in the future at least on par with future major disasters and possibly a refund or rebate to those travelers who took the train and were stranded.

As a footnote for those people that want to bury the gardiner because its an eyesore, well if they had done that already then all the highway communter would be stranded too.

Feel free to comment on the blog and I will approve them. You may also email Susan Fischer at susan@clinchportal.com and we will post any comments you have anonymously.

GO Transit and Burlington Transit Rip Off Students

The Burlington Transit has 2-4-1 bus passes for students. If they pay $64 for the july pass they get august free or they can get the July pass for $40. I went to the Go Transit Burlington station and the attendant was rude and told me she didn't know about the deal.

I went home and brought the ad in the Burlington Post newspaper advertising it and she still said no. I called 1-888-Getongo and they put me on hold and finally told me they don't sell discounted passes, however they have sold Student passes at full price to many students already. So anyone buying the BT Student bus passes Go Transit and Burlington Transit just ripped you off for $64. If you are concerned about it please contact Burlington Transit and Go Transit Customer Service and let them know how you feel about being ripped off.

For those who have not bought yours yet, which I figure are few since its already July 1st. Go to Mapleview mall or Burlington Mall to get them. I guess in future the lesson is beware of buying your tickets or passes at the Go Station as they may be ripping you off.

Arriving on Platform 6 Today. Good Job Today Keep it Up.

I just wanted to say that bringing the 7:15 train from burlington in on track 6 today
was a good move. It allowed the platform to clear easier and by doing so when the 7:25 train
comes in on the outer platform its not as congested.

I hope you will keep this up for the 7:15 train as it makes sense from a safety concern. You get the train in and out and then pull in the east bound so it leaves on time and there is limited crowding on the platform.

Cheers to Go Transit. You made a good decision.

Go Transit Safety : The next sexy issue

Everybody is talking about the next sexy issue ever since that MP was quoted at claiming it was the isotopes issue. With the pending election to be announced probably in the Summer so most of the population is away, Susan Fischer predicts that Go Transit Safety will become the next sexy issue.

There has been a lot of talk lately about the safety of the new platforms at Union. For a while now we have been pointing out safety concerns on this blog. There are new lines being constructed and expanded. There is lots of talk about electrifying the tracks but nothing yet about safety concerns about people crossing them illegally like they do now and getting electricuted.

If you have any comments on this post them here or email them to Susan Fischer at susan@clinchportal.com and we will post them here.

Platform 26: It worked once why do it again?

Go Transit suffers from two syndromes which are veryapparent in their response to Ed Drass' article on theuse of Platform 26 and 27.

Early in the article he mentions that the issue is thatthe stairway is wide enough for two people but the dooris narrow and only lets one person through at a time.

To which Go states that the platforms are as large as theycan be without removing tracks. Duh, we are not complainingabout the platforms. The doors on platform 4 could easily havebeen placed on platform 26 had the door frame been made wider.

Now let's look at "It worked once why do it again". The reasonI say this is that all the older platforms have doorways wide enough for two people to get through so why change that for platform 26. Now let's lookat Thomas' comment "The design is being reviewed to see if wider doors or double doorscan be developed at each stairwell"

These after thoughts seem to be huge with go transit. I recommend the following solution.

1) The engineers on any project related to the rider should have to ride the effected train both before design an on the first trip during rush hour both directions. That way any changes can be started the day of the first trip not after a load of customers complain and an article is written.

2) Committe members and dispatch operators should be obliged to take a rush hour train preferrably one of the major delayed trains and keep an eye out for possible improvement in switch optimization and other optimizations in train scheduling.

If go transit were to implement these two solutions you would probably see a lot of issues get resolved. I look forward to Go Transit's comments in this manner and for a timeframe on implementing at least solution 2.

Nobody Working in Customer Relations At Union

It appears that nobody is on the payroll for customer service at Union. My friend tried calling about a lost blackberry and was informed that there was nobody to take his call and that he should run to union and deal with the matter in person.

Upon calling 1-888-getongo she tried for a good 1/2 hour to contact someone even a supervisor with no luck. Eventually after trying for another 1/2 hour to contact the next person up the chain of command I got transfered to Esther in Public Relations that told me that I was to just leave a voice mail and that the would deal with it in their own time. So if nobody is working in Customer Service then the 20 or so people sitting in the customer service office should not be getting paid. So if each person made 30,000 a year that is a cost savings of $600,000. Wait a minute if you took that savings and decided there were other jobs in public relations and administration you didn't need then there would be no need for the fare hike we had this year.

Hmm. Maybe getting rid of customer relations and public relations is a good thing. They don't appear to be doing anything anyways.

If you fail this quiz then you either don't take Go Transit or you wear your ipod too often.

This is an easy quiz. I challenge you all to try it and win a prize:

http://www.gotransit.com/publicroot/en/contest/railsafetyweek2009.aspx

Let's show Go Transit that their little rant before each train trip is working.

Presto and Initiatives to Get people taking bus to the train

You would think that since they are pushing hard for people to take alternate moves to the station and given the money they are spending on the Presto people at the station to ramp it up that the Lakeshore line Presto program would be moving at high speed.

I asked one of the representatives about the Burlington Transit and she told me that Bronte Station will be getting it first sometime in 2010 and then it will slowly roll out from there. The milton line has had it for what seems ages now while the rest of us wait. Wouldn't it make sense to roll it out at Oakville Station since there are definite parking problems there. Bronte station is the secondary station so it doesn't necessarily need it. How about Clarkson or Port Credit since there are a lot of bus connections and limited parking.

I hope someone at Presto and Metrolynx is reading this and takes heed. This is where the real need is not just Bronte. Think about it too, at Oakville you have Via rail. Wouldn't it be amazing if you could tie Via into Presto too?

I look forward to your comments.

Metrolynx and Go Transit Merging

That is actually quite funny since Go Transit runs little more than customer service.
All the major stuff is done by CN/CP or Bombardier. But I guess merging them will get rid
of some of those politicians trying to get in the way. Possibly Metrolynx can merge with CN and
produce efficiency there. The issue here is switch optimization, politics over whether CN or Go Transit owns the new tracks. Well if Metrolynx owned them both, no problem no fight.

I look forward to the merger and hope Metrolynx realizes the next move is taking over CN and possibly VIA.

I look forward to your opinion in this matter.

Go Transit's Solution to not enough parking spots

Blocked parking campaign: Please practice safe parking
http://www.gotransit.com/PUBLIC/en/news/whatsnew.htm#Pleasepracticesafeparking

Rather than creating more spots at the stations, they decided it was more profitable for tow truck drivers to just tow the cars away. I would like to hear from Go Transit what else they are doing to fix the parking situation. We got the new parking garage in Burlington, have you thought about doing the same in Oakville?

TTC Parking Lots - Where are the profits going?

The question I have for David Miller is if its only costing 1 to 2 cents per metropass to maintain the parking lots, then where are the profits from the $3 to $12 a day parking going to. I think the ttc riders have a right to know where that money is being spent. Are the factoring in the cost of riders lost when determining the price calls? If so that is a lot of riders.

I noticed too that in the Metro article this morning, a TTC official compared parking at go stations to ttc. Well, Burlington GO created a new parking garage to assist with congestion. They also allowed people to purchase preferred parking. Maybe this is a route TTC should do. Make part of the lot preferred parking at a premium and the rest free to metro pass holders. The few reserved spots could help fund lot maintenance.

Interestingly enough, the TTC has been running the same service over the past 10 years as far as trains, cutting corners on cleanliness of stations and raising fares. So why now are they screaming for more money when there has been no improvements. At least Go Transit has shown some improvement in the past 8 years. New trains, track extensions, but what have we seen from the TTC.

Please post your comments on this article and please fill in the survey at http://www.petitionsite.com the survey is called say NO to TTC.

GO Transit Fare hike. What if GO Transit ran the streets

Firstly let me comment on the GO Transit fare hike. Us riders have been putting up with poor service for so long and now the fake delay numbers are being used to tell us they deserve more because they are 90% on time. Here is the link to the fare increase article.

http://tinyurl.com/bgkqho

Secondly, let's think to if GO Transit ran the roads. Here are some changes in service we possibly would see:

1) Traffic lights would intermittantly work in cold weather or hot weather (Signal issues)
2) Your car would overheat or freeze up in winter on a random basis.
3) Go Transit would convert all streets to toll roads and charge you more money to drive on them every year.
4) Traffic lights would realize that you are already late for work and would adjust the signal to make you later. You are already late so you are in their negative stats. The light for the other direction would stay green until after rush hour.
5) You would in some occasions be allowed to run the red light if it appears they are red in all directions but you must do it a the normal speed limit. Any slower and you would get a speeding ticket.
6) Your radio would be hijacked by Go Transit as they appologize for the safety hazzard they caused by the traffic lights not working.
7) Drivers would be allowed to stop at a red light then the passenger get out and protect the crossing while the driver drives through.
8) Shopping cars and other debris would be placed in front of cars to cause further delays so there is an excuse for poor service.

It would be interesting to see the stats on how often traffic signals fail and how often train signals do. Are they not the same technology? Are there not many times more traffic signals than train track signals.

Shadow Delayed Trains

It is very interesting how GO Trains can be up to 45 minutes late but never make the delay board on the website or hit the alert application.

I challenge anyone to look at the go train schedule for February 26, 2009 and compare the on-time schedule to that posted on the website and to the alerts. You may also want to look at the logs of what train went through what switch as well.

What you will find is if the train ride ends at Union, odds are the delay may not be logged as it did not delay another train. You will find that sometimes trains get flipped to hide delayed trains. It's a conspiracy that should be uncovered as it is deceiving and makes it look like Go Transit is doing a better job than they are. I wonder how many bonuses at Go Transit are tied to ontime.

Green Means Go, Red Means Slow, Yelow Means Go Fast So What Signal Means Stop

I came across two dangerous safety hazzards both for passengers and crew yesterday.

The first was during the morning rush. I took the 7:38 am train from Burlington and upon arriving at Union there was excess traffic so they pulled our train past the switch and past the red signal in behind another train. I have seen this a lot lately and that combined with conductors always having to reposition the train, it could end up being a collision at Union.
Someone may want to investigate this.

The second is a bit more dangerous. I was on the 5:34 pm train out of Union. When we reached Burlington, specifically signal 393P1, we got stopped on all red. Our conductors did their job and called dispatch and they told them to go manually flip the switch. While the employees were at track level flipping the switch and standing on track 2 to do so, another Go Train rushed by and I heard the conductor scream. He looked and was relieved his co-workers were okay. As I looked up at the signals, I noticed all were red except the yellow light in the top corner. So I guess Yellow means go fast. The danger here near the mall is that this part of the track is extremely dark even if the engineer had put on the front light of the train. But the train that rushed by didn't even use his train whistle all we could hear from him was the clacking of the tracks.
If we don't be careful we are going to have another incident like we did on the ttc where an employee got hit in the tunnel.

Safety Issues With The Doors On Go Transit

Since this blog was originally created to bring up safety issues. It seemsa good time to not that this morning's train leaving Burlington at 7:15 am left Appleby Station and after passing the refinery, which means totally clearing the station, they then realized there were door problems.
My question is should it not be common practice to check that all the doors are closedprior to leaving the station. As a safety concern and especially in the winter when all the cold air pushes in while the train is moving probably around 60 km / hour. This season has been plagued with door problems but at least past ones were discovered at the station rather than when the train wasin motion. I will give them credit though. When we stopped at Bronte and the doors opened upon closing thedid check the doors again and found there was trouble. However after traveling 100 metres from the station we were stopped again.

I would love to see a response from vanessa, the spokesman for Go Transit that said they wereoptimistic about the winter season.

I would also like to hear her comment on where the additional fare increase went. You know theone that should have gone to air blowers on the most important switches. Although being pushed pastas an issue in yesterday's delay, the switch in the Oakville train yard that gets used by the 7:15 am and 7:25 amtrains and many other trains every day was frozen. The conductor told us they were manually flipping the switchand they would lie would they? So where is the air blowers on this troublesome switch?

Next time there is a fare increase, I am sure you will hear a public outcry into where this money went. It isbetter for Go Transit to get it all out in the open now as everybody on the train today was talking about that veryissue.

Switch and Statistical Optimization (Post Delayed Just Like GO)

This post is actually from yesterday but given the Go delay I did not have time to post it until now.

This morning is a good example of swich and statistical optimization.The train that was supposed to leave Burlington at 7:25 am was already 4 minutes late when itarrived at Union. We arrived at Oakville at 7:45 am and it was noted that trains were cancelledso our train was additionally crowded. After leaving Oakville we sat literally 100 m from the stationwaiting for a broken switch, however as we sat for the hour, other trains were allowed to pass us in both direction including other Go Trains.
Here is the two statistical optimizations:
1) Cancelled trains to NOT appear on the results on the Go Transit website By cancelling a train that is most likely to run late, it does not affect the stats.2) Since our train was already late and would appear on the stats as a negative, it was better to let all the ontime trains pass us than to back us up to Oakville and let us use another switch.
The other thing to note is that this particular switch seems to be the one that fails most of the time and is highly used. Given this knowledge should this switch not be up for replacement and possiblythe air blowers. There were three CN trucks on scene watching the conductor manually flip the switch.
This brings up a vital concern that Metrolynx and possibly Transport Canada needs to address.Passengers complained about the poor service from Go Transit but rather than actually improvingthe service for all passengers, they are just playing the statistics game.
If anyone has any better explanation on why a train leaving oakville at 7:45 am was still 100 metres from Oakville an hour later when other trains that left Oakville after it arrived at Union Stationon time. I will also note that this is not a one time issue. Over the past month, I personally have been on 2 such trains, one had switch problems like this one, the other had issues with the doors openingand shutting at stations on route. Other trains were allowed to pass us by.

When does 1/2 hour = 1 hours? Under new Go Transit Math

Go Transit Math can be interesting. I left work at 2:30 pm. Missed the 2:43 train even though it was delayed to 2:47pm. The next train was supposed to be 3:43 pm but was cancelled and a new train began at 4:10pm making all stops. Now this all stop train reached long branch and the doors would not close so they got maintenance staff to try and close them. Port Credit, Clarkson gave us the same problems. We rolled into Burlington station at 6:30pm so 4:10 to 6:30 = roughly 2 hours. The train usually takes 1 hour in good weather so that would be a 1 hour delay but according to Go Transit reps on the news trains were only delayed by 1/2 hour. I did notice that while we were stuck a few trains passed us. I am wondering if the train that passed us arrived at Burlington and was flagged in the logs as our train giving it the 1/2 hour delay. Then when ours arrived it became their train giving it a half hour delay or did they simply average the two.

Guessing they averaged the two, a 10 minute delay could then mean that three trains were on time and one was 1/2 hour late. It is my opinion that current metrics for go transit performance is not working.

Good Job TTC. Keep it up. Paramedics in the train

This move is one of the rare good moves the TTC has made lately and I would like
to congratulate them and tell them to keep it up. This is a great way to help save lives
and reduce train delays all in one sweep. You can read the article here.

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/545077

Actually there are two good moves they are doing. The second is finally putting up those
protective screens for drivers. Police officers have had them for decades, Cabs have had them for quite a while now too. Its about time buses did the same especially with the 2 am routes through some rough areas.

Service over safety: TTC employees

I challenge anyone who takes the TTC to read this article. I know we all complain about
late trains and buses. We cry for express buses and all but this is not the way to fix the problem.
I for one would rather know I am riding on a safe bus than get there 1/2 hour earlier.

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2008/11/24/7520206.html

The problem here is that public outcry has not led to efficiency in the areas it should.
There are things you can do for us that do not cost more money or put us in danger.

1) Make buying transit passes easier. That means filling the transit pass machines before and during the commute not at 9:00 am at the busiest hub (Union Station)

2) I know some commuters are going to laugh at this but when a train is late Go will appologize on behalf of Go Transit for the delay and make you aware why. When the doors are closing on a train you do not hear Go Transit yelling and screaming about the doors they simply say stand clear and give people a chance to get in. If someone does run the doors the Go Embassador says, "For your safety and the safety of others please stand clear of the doors" Its polite and friendly.

3) Maybe sweep out the stations once in a while. You will save in escalator repairs and maintance and people will start respecting their stations too.

Yes buses are over crowded and we need more so why not order more. It makes you wonder where all the TTC budget goes. I challenge any MP to look into the TTC budget and do an audit and if the books are clean give them more money but I am guessing there are a lot of black holes our money is falling in.

Go Transit Delays and cancellations not being sent out on go alerts

This morning on the Lakeshore Line in burlington the train that normally arrives at 7:15 was 17 minutes late. The 7:25 arrived on time but they decided it would bypass some stops so when the 7:15 train arrived the station worker announced that the 7:43 train was behind us. Our conductor had to correct her so people were not left stranded.

When I got to work I noticed none of these were mentioned in Go Transit Alerts is it possible that they are not being logged in the 90% on time stats either? I remember arriving late on a train and complaining at customer service where they claimed my train was not late when on the board it showed yellow for the next train east since ours was late arriving.

I would love to hear answers on this from someone from Go Transit reading this. Please comment and I will approve them. I think other riders would love to hear what Go Transit has to say.

90 on time rate and winter is coming. Let's See

I know you are all going to bring up the flaw in their 90% rating in that
they average it so when the 5:19 train leaves that minute early its factored in but come on.
They have been using the same flawed method for years and its only this year they got their
fudged number so high.

But alas winter approaches and this will be the tell tale sign of the new system. The new trains
are awesome but this will be their first real winter experience. I am crossing my fingers that
it all works. I have to admit over all Go Transit has been getting better. In some ways I think it
has some to do with the work Ed Drass and I along with all of you, giving Customer Service a good kick in the pants.

I know for a fact that Go Transit reads this blog and I hope those working there share it with their conductors and customer service embassadors as they are doing an amazing job. I want to point out one in particular. The blonde haired female embassador on the 5:34 train leaving Union. I saw how polite, helpful and friendly she is to everyone on the train. During the construction, she makes sure everyone knows about the cars not opening at some stations in a polite and friendly manner.

One more note: Do cancellations count in the on-time calculation. My go alerts today showed 2 train cancellations and a train modification. If they don't then in theory Go Transit could fudge the numbers by simply cancelling a train if its not in a busy time period instead of taking the late penalty. If someone from Go Transit is reading this I would like to hear a comment on whether this is a correct assumption. Also what are the stats on cancelations?

Its been a long trek but it is making a difference so keep sending me your stories and comments at susan@clinchportal.com

Customer Appreciation Day

Thanks to Go Transit for the muffins, bags and gum this morning. It is good to see Go Transit showing appreciation for its riders. I am wondering when the TTC will be doing the same.

I have been writing this blog for over a year now and I have seen vast improvement in Go Transit Customer Service. Case in point, the sign change at Union a year ago we probably would not have seen all the newpaper ads, handounts, announcements on the trains they probably would have just done it. But now they communicate.

TTC needs to take a look at how Go Transit is doing things and make the change. When the trains stopped at Yonge and Bloor for the power line falling on the tracks, there was no communication just chaos. I was there and saw everyone still trying to get on the train. There were limited announcements, police were down there trying to get people up but the website still said business as usual.

If you have any comments on this post or any post please post the comments on the blogpost or email Susan Fischer at susan@clinchportal.com

Express Trains To Stop At Exhibition, I wish

I found it funny seeing one of the election candidates standing at Exhibition station but ignoring one of the Lakeshore Line communters major beefs. People getting off at Exhibition pay the same fare price as those at Union but they don't get the advantage of express trains. Out of fairness, all express trains should stop at both stops in the same zone. It is not going to cost them any more money.

For those taking express trains we know that they usually end up slowing down there anyway waiting for signals so why not just stop and be done with it.

Hopefully being an election year and the focus being on transit one of the candidates will read this and do something about it.

If you have any comments or suggestions for articles please email me at susan@clinchportal.com

Another Year Of Two Fare Hikes

I find it interesting how the transit systems have found a way to give communters two fare hikes in one year. What would happen if most employees asked for two raises a year? Oh gas is costing more so we have to raise the fare. Okay, transit is costing me more, I am going to have to raise my salary.

It doesn't work that way. There are a lot of people who are starting to take transit because fuel costs have gone up. Now with a surcharge it will cost them the same for a longer commute so back to driving. Then the government wonders why we are not meeting our green quota.

I can' t wait to hear a response from the government and transit systems. I am guessing they will ignore it and hope the issue goes away.

Asked for Reciepts again by revenue canada for the tax credit

Again I have been asked by revenue canada to send in all my reciepts for transit. This is two years in a row and the program has only been active two years. I am interested in how many are in the same boat or if they are simply picking on me. It seems that Mike Wallace is teaming up with them on this and is not going to help me. They say simply to mail them off my damn self. Rather than working on fixing the system, they are more interested in passing the buck back to us as its too time consuming. I guess its too time consuming to vote for them next election. I challenge all others who are having this issue to contact their MP and if they get the same response boot them out of office.

If I don't hear anything I will assume they are picking on me because I am writing this blog. If you are in the same boat and are facing the task of faxing in every receipt then please email me at chrisw_88@hotmail.com as well email Mike Wallace at Wallace.M@parl.gc.ca so he will have ammunition for this issue.

Finally a smart move by TTC and the Union. No Strike Monday

As is expected by anything that bears the ttc name the 4:00 dealine came and passed with no
word on strike or not. It was not until almost 6:00 that they finally told us that they reached a tentative deal.

http://thestar.blogs.com/ttc/2008/04/559-good-news.html

So I guess we can take the train on Monday if we want. I still say we should boycott them in May and through the summer by walking that extra 1/2 hour or so instead of paying ttc the extra $100

Let's Show TTC how little we need them!!!

If we do get the strike on Monday then I for one will not be buying my May MetroPass and simply start walking from Union Station to Bloor. It will save me $100 a month and I will get the exercise. I highly recommend that the rest of us do the same. When they see the ridership fall then they will do something.

Its interesting hearing some of the comments like in 24 hours newspaper this morning.

"Our subway operators obviously have to be highly skilled to perform their jobs and they're always at risk of trauma from the tragedy of suicide.. but the TTC subway operator now makes less than a Mississauga bus operator."

I thought this was interesting because the focus here is on the more money the operator should get because of the trauma. But wait, what about more money to make the tracks safer. France has the enclosed platforms where the doors open when the train doors do.

The other thing is there is no reference here to Go Transit. Why are people not jumping in front of Go Trains? I guess the TTC makes it too easy for them. Instead of spending millions on cameras, why not spend it on making the stations safer for everyone.

The recent article I saw from Ed Drass was interesting too. He focused on the cleanliness of the ttc interesting how they do a major or minor clean once every 21 days. Imagine if you cleaned your house once every 21 days.

The Brad Ross Strike

If the TTC goes on strike and we get service disruptions we can call the Rosses.
For example, we are currently experiencing a Ross in service please be patient.

http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/newsrelease.html

Ross is promising that there would not be an issue with service for the customers so if we experience them, we can blame him. He is the one negotiating with the Union so not only
can he be held accountable for his negotiations but his comments on our not being delayed.

If the strike does happen and we do get delays I will be using this new nomenclature on my blog
when referring to TTC delays or service outages.

Go Transit Will Become Slow Transit From April 10 through 24

It seems that we are going to be experiencing delays between 5 to 10 minutes. I am guessing
that is on top of the usual under 10 minute delays.

So I guess with this blanket statement possibly any delay under 20 minutes during this period will not be listed on the go transit delay page.

LAKESHORE WEST: Due to CN track work from April 10 through 24 between Port
Credit and Oakville, trains will slow down through the work areas,
which
may result in delays of five to 10 minutes. We apologize for the
inconvenience.

So maybe now I will actually catch the 5:19 train at Union as it will be late and arrive in burlington possibly its express status will get me home by 6:20, when my usual 5:34 train from Union would normally reach there.

TTC Survey - If you haven't filled it in you must. Let them know where they suck so they can improve things. LOL

I went to the TTC Suvey at http://www.ttcsurvey.ca/ and it was only about the
marketing board at the station and what ads you saw. Funny that the ad revenue
stream is more important than customer service.

I hear a lot of people complain about the TTC and that there is nowhere to complain.
Well here is the ttc survey. This is your chance to let the TTC know what you think.

I went to a free survey place and created a survey that asks real questions. Please go here
and fill it out. I will be posting the results here and sending a link to the ttc and metrolinx so
they can see what customers really think.


Click here to take our Online Survey

Give your opinions to Metrolinx

I found this in an awkward way but here is the place you register to send comments to metrolinx about the GTTA and TTC:

http://metrolinx-consult.limehouse.com/portal

You know I registered and voiced my concern for more buses, more reliable buses and possibly
a mopped floor once in a while in finch station. I think most commuters would agreee these are bigger concerns than showers at the stations and millions of dollars on cameras.

Wellesly is not well today, neither is the whole Yonge Bloor line from Union to Bloor

When arriving at Union on the 6:34am train and getting to track level with no announcement just a train running backwards out of the station I got concerned. I went back upstairs to see utter chaos. Purple jackets were handing out emergency shuttle vouchers and told people to take the Yonge Bloor bus. As more people pour in on the other trains people are told the stations are closed from Union to bloor.

Once I reached the shuttle bus two blocks away from Union Station and got on I found out that it was due to a fire at the Wellesly station. In this situation they lost a couple station on a busy line but and they had issues dealing with it. It does make you wonder what if the fire had happened at Yonge and Bloor or god forbid when they break foundation on that new condo, they penetrate the tunnel and stop trains in all 4 directions. That would mean 4 shuttle buses in opposite directions. Imagine the chaos. I wonder if that scenario plays out in their plans to make customers safer.

Originally this blog was to address Go Transit Safety issues but is seems Go Transit is starting to do a better job at that. Now let's hope the TTC can do the same. As far as safety goes, I think instead of those new safety cameras costing millions they should start now to find ways to inform passengers of what is going on and where they should go to get on with their commute. In future it would be great if the shuttle bus was right outside the station instead of two blocks away at Union. Plus with the number of communters coming in at this time there should be a team of buses there not just one special bus.

Interestingly enough I ran into a City Tv reporter out the front of Union and told him about the story of the line closed and he was more interested in doing a but about being someone neighbor.
I got my free box of Honey Bunches of Oats cereal from the Post guy. He was being more helpful than the TTC was, giving me and others directions to Yonge for the bus.

Make Love, Not War

After looking at the latest from Go Transit on the petition. I am not very impressed. Again they
are not fully listening. Let's form a committee to deal with this. Sounds like a good idea to add penalties for their suppliers if they don't measure up. All talk but no promises. The only promise we do have is that we are getting an increase in our monthly pass.

But alas, didn't Lennon say "make love not war?" Interestingly enough while the war brews with Go Transit and its riders take a break and check out How To Make Love To My Wife that launched yesterday as well on slice.ca Maybe it could be a learning video for Go Transit to satisfy their customers. Check it out at: http://www.slice.ca/love

Go Transit Petition For Fare Rebates

Susan Fisher pointed this out to me as she read it in the 24 newspaper and heard it on 680 news.
Finally someone has stepped up and said how we all feel.How many other businesses do you know allow their customers to be late with producton a regular basis or worse cancel deliveries.
I challenge anyone wo takes Go Transit or any transit on a regular basis to sign this petition.Let's show Go Transit how we feel.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/go_on_time/

Go Transit Says "Family Day Like A Saturday"

If you are unlucky enough to not get family day as a holiday, case in point unioned employees, you will not only fail to get the day off but your commute will be greater as all the express trains will not run. You will get Go Trains every hour.

Thanks Go Transit for the foresight in scheduling.

Fare Hike and Tracking train delays

First of all, we are seeing another fare hike but not an improvement in service. The switches are still freezing and they have been given money to fix them.

Secondly is a bigger issue, Go Transit is more interested it appears in the number of delayed trains rather than customer service. At Burlington yesterday they had no idea when the next train was coming and when it did arrive they forced it through express so the express to pickering train was not delayed. The issue is that at Oakville they notified passengers that it would stop and as the passengers loaded up on the cold platform for the train it rushed by and then the announcement came on saying he is not stopping wait for the next one. I understand that the stats are important and in a way you were caring about the Pickering passengers but come on. You have a pa system. You knew when the train left burlington that it was not stopping at Oakville. Why not make the announcement at Oakville to say that so they can wait in the warm station instead of the cold platform.

Derailment - February 4, 2008

I read Ed's article in the Metro this morning on the derailment and how TTC reacted to it. I think however Ed is missing the real issue.

1. A part fell off the bottom of the train dragging on the track. Is this due to failed maintenace? What if the train had derailed with people on it. Are there not checks done before each run to ensure the trains are in safe working order or at least at the start of shifts. Possibly trains should be taken off service throughout the day to check for damage. These trains make hundreds of trips a day.
2. How about a spare track? I always found it odd that the ttc only has one track each direction. This causes a lot of problems as one delay in the system sends it all to a halt. Having the extra track would allow trains to be removed from the line to make room and allow trains to bypass stations with problems. So there is a customer issue or a train malfunction. Why can't the train simply bypass that station and everything move as usual. Once things are running again open that station. On the Yonge line the stations are not that far apart. If you really needed that station you could get off the next stop and catch the next one back. Trains run every two minutes. Its not like missing one on go.

I hope Ed and more importantly MetroLynks and TTC will read this. The extra track is money better spent than trying to get people to ride their bike to the station by providing showers.

I look forward to hearing comments on this.

Also, check out Ed Drass facebook group and join it to show TTC that we are coping with their incompetance : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=10149407497&ref=share

Newer Trains Introduction Delayed...By a few minutes

Its funny. I was reading the Metro the other day and saw Dalton McGinty and the new Go Trains. Funny that the article said the new trains were supposed to make service run more on time. The intro featuring the new trains was delayed.

The metro this morning mentioned another few things that are interesting. The government is saying that the tax credit is not working to promote new ridership. Well duh, any commuter could have told you that. The trains are so packed in the mornings that there is not a lot of room for people from their cars to ride the train. The plague of delays does not help either.

How about punishing people who claim the tax credit? Does that help? Well they are doing it to me. I put a legitimate deduction but they insisted I go to the ttc and get official reciepts because they didn't print prices etc on the cards. Also, as noted in the Metro this morning, transit ad campaigns are promising 15.5 percent back for the credit but now it will only be 15. That is false advertisement. Is the goverment going after them for that? No because they are not going to see any money from it, but if they bug us enough we will not claim it because its a hassle.

The funny thing is they are now looking at a carbon tax to promote ridership. Funny how the government sees credits or taxes as the solution. How about making the commute faster or more comfortable. I posted info about the Carbon tax asking where it was going but still have not heard any answer. I and I think a lot of commuters are thinking the money should go to transit funding and that should be audited. if money from the tax is going elsewhere the auditor should sound the alarm and the money should be siphened back from the department that stole it.

I look forward to hearing an answer.

No Lights in Burlington Go North Parking Lot

Although its tempting to complain about the engine failure this morning on the Lakeshore West line. The bigger issue and a safety one is that last night the lights in the Burlington Go North Parking Lot were off.

This poses a potential danger for women walking from the train to their cars. Go and TTC keep going on about passenger safety and that they will drop you off at a lit area between stops for safety. But if they take the go and get off and have to walk through darkness to their cars in the Burlington North Lot then they are at risk of being attacked and not knowing at all what the attacker looks like. This was not just an oh the lights burnt out. There are 4 bulbs per light post and many light fixtures in the lot. The only ones running were the distant ones so we all had to walk through the construction scaffold path with minimal light. This morning the light fixture in the construction area was on so either they fixed the broken bulbs on that one or someone noticed the error and turned that one back on. However the other ones in the parking lot were still off. Only the two far ones were on much like the evening. I will keep an eye out tonight to see if they are still off. I know Go Transit reads my blog so I am hoping for an answer to be posted or an eta on when they will be turned back on. If you don't see a posting here assume they are still broken. I will be sending an email off to Go Transit as well mentioning the blog post.

Carbon Tax and Service Improvements

I glimpsed a headline today about a Carbon Tax in the wings the help curb emissions. Much like
the cigarette tax curbed smoking. Let's hope the government uses the money from the proposed tax wisely and improves service for public transit. The way to get people riding the buses and trains is to improve service. The strange thing is that transit does not know what do do with the money. Here are a few tips:

1) Make TTC and Go Transit stations wheelchair accessible. I still find it ironic that Appleby Station, a relatively new station does not have elevators. I also find it hard to believe that the Yonge and Bloor subway station which is a link between the two subway lines has no elevator for the bloor line access and only one elevator to get to street level. Someone with a stroller or a wheelchair have no way to the surface if the one elevator is broken like it was today.

2) New switches. It is also odd that the main reason for Go Transit delays is switch problems yet when money comes in to help transit, the first thought isn't let's repair them. Its let's see how we can use it to open more lines and make money that way. If switches worked more regularly you would get less delays and more of us would take the existing trains.

A funny thing happened the other day that shows how much they are listening. I was at union for the first working day of the month. One of the TTC managers was looking at the line and trying to figure out why there were some many people in line and nobody using the machines. I proceeded to tell him that the MetroPass machines do not get filled until 9:00am after the morning rush. Also two of the token machines were broken. He was shocked and said we should do something about that. Its funny because for the past 6 months I have been sending in feedback to ttc. I sent on something to Metrolynk and even posted it here on my blog that I know is read by TTC and Go Transit staff as they have commented on it.

I look forward to seeing if this new Carbon Tax will be use properly or if its just another way for the government to get money and look like they are doing things for the environment.

400 Millions and It will take 2 years to figure out what to do with it

This is very interesting. Communters have been complaining for years to Go Transit and the TTC and suggesting small things they could do now to improve things. The excuse was we don't have to money to do it.

Ironically, now they have the money and it will take them two years to figure out what to do with it. Well commuters can tell them a lot and the auditor did too. We need the switches replaced that are always breaking. For example the one leaving union on track 3. Its always frozen or broken or someone needs to jackhammer it. I am sure out of $400 million you could afford to do that.

For TTC, how about spending money on repairing some of the platforms. There are tiles that look like they are going to fall off above us at some stations. How about re-opening the order for the buses you were going to use to expand the fleet. Are you telling me it takes 2 years to make a new bus? If so, no wonder there are so many cars out there. They can mass produce millions at the blink of an eye.

If the problem is that you are not getting the money for 2 years from the government that is another story. The government has no problem taking our tax money every year but when it sponsors programs they always defer it. They get the popularity now but the next guy in office flips the bill. If it happens to be themselves then they reiterate how they are keeping their promise now after 2 years and here is the money.

The solution here is for more of us to be vocal to Metrolinx and Go Transit as well as to the Ministry of Transport. I know people from Go Transit and the Ministry of Transport read my blog so its a perfect place to post comments.

McCarter's Auditors Report says Poor Service. Will Go Transit Respond?

Its interesting because last night I was on the 8:43pm train out of Union and we sat on the train until after 9:00pm while all the crew at Union worked on getting the switch fixed. Its funny in a way because the conductor joked about the dispatch finally waking up and maybe they would let us back up and go through another track when we finally moved forward. What if at 8:43 when the switch was determined to be broken they had backed us up and put us on our way. We could have got out of Union almost on time.

This morning on the 6:55am train arriving at Burlington, the entire train had no head and minimal lighting. Since this is a common occurance in winter, I have a good cost cutting measure for Go Transit. I came up with it as I wore my NorthFace Coat and Merrel Shoes. Why doesn't Go Transit run their engines all the time with minimal heat and provide all Monthy pass holders with a new NorthFace jacket. It would be a lot cheaper than fixing all the trains. The customers would be very happy getting their coats and would be warm, not noticing the missing heat. How about it Go Transit? You could take the added savings and use it to fix the switches.

I found it interesting how the Auditor himself got stuck at Clarkson waiting for 40 minutes due to mechanical conditions. The thing I found interesting was the 89.5% on time, I guess that is the official numbers, so since I have been on late trains that the customer service at go says never occured I wonder where the real number lies. I am thinking a lot lower.

Riders on the rapidly growing commuter-rail service endured more than 160 train
cancellations and 3,400 delays between October, 2006, and February, 2007, the
report says. Over all, only 85 per cent of trains ran on time, nearly 10 per
cent off GO's performance in past years.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071212.AUDITORTRANSIT12/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/

Here is an idea, how about a rider suggestion box on your website one you actually look at to find ways of optimizing rail traffic. We ride it every day so we know first hand where, when and why the trains are getting delayed. Sometimes its just a matter of the train changing track unnecessarily.

The other comment the Auditor made was about fare collection and 40% of the time them not getting a ticket but a warning. One of the problems with the system is that a lot of the ticket stampers simply don't work. The other day I spent 3 minutes trying to get the ticket stamped and ended up missing my train because it arrived and left early. Most months I buy my monthly pass but in december since most of us have christmas break off its not economical to do so but I notice a lot of people use the ten rides year round and I see a lot of them complaining.

Now that the Auditor is complaining and not just all the Go passengers, it will be interesting if Go Transit responds. I know they read my blog so posting comments here would be one way to show you are listening. Another would be to issue a press release with what you plan on doing over the next couple months to help.

Metrolinx NOT Metrolynx or Metrolinks

It seems when it comes to the TTC they always do everything confusing and backwards so why
should their new name be any different.

Metrolinks would be obvious as a link of the metro transit systems. MetroLynx would be a cat
that runs really fast but maybe they decided not to because of all the transit delays. I guess they opted for a name that says we are metro and we will try and appear to be faster but not really.

Here is the real link to their site. Check it out and hopefully they will put up some area where we can voice our concerns to help improve transit.

http://www.metrolinx.com/default.aspx

Since I could not find the comment area on their site here is my first comment for them:

At the beginning of the month when people are wanting to buy their transit passes at Union Station. Instead of filling the metropass machines after the morning rush, how about doing it before so all those people in line for passes at the booths could use the machine. This would allow people buying tokens to get through faster and the same for those purchasing passes. It took me over an hour to buy my pass at union station because your guys filling the machines didn't arrive until close to 9:00. This is not just this month. Over the past 4 months it has happened each month.

Hope some of the MetroLinx people will eye my comments and take action. Once your commenting section is available I would appreciate if you would place a comment here with the link. It would help those reading my blog to take advantage of it.

Go Transit To Use Bombardier More

I read recently that Bombardier won some more contracts with
Go Transit. The plus side is that with everything under Bombardier
they cannot blame each other for delays. Oh it was the conductors,
oh it was the engines. Since the trains are theirs, the staff are theirs
everything but the track is theirs so if its broken it them.

This is a good thing. Now the only complaint we will hear from Go is
congestion on the tracks. The CN and Via trains. But with new track
being added that should help reduce them too.

Things are picking up at Go Transit. They are getting smarter and doing
all they can for Customer Service. Here's hoping they continue this trend of smarts.
I have to say the additional weekend trains to Aldershot and running more evening trains there is a real plus.

The other morning one there were some delays so they did an express train Burlington to Toronto to make up time. This was a smart thing to do. The two trains were close and it got all the people from the first train to toronto in good time. Whomever made that decision deserves a good pat on the back for a job well done.

Audited for Transit Credit

I have been asked by revenue canada to send in all my reciepts for transit. Not just the metro pass but the official receipts. I called ttc and it seems they were not always handing them out but will allow you to bring your passes to the Davisville station to get them. I am interested in how many are in the
same boat or if they are simply picking on me. If I don't hear anything I will assume they are picking on me because I am writing this blog.

If you are in the same boat and are facing the task of faxing in every receipt then please email me at chrisw_88@hotmail.com as well email Mike Wallace at Wallace.M@parl.gc.ca so he will have ammunition for this issue.

Expanded Weekend Schedule - Now I am really loving Go Transit

I just received a Go Transit Alert about a schedule change and got scared but it was a good thing. Instead of weekend trains starting at Oakville, they will be now starting at Aldershot. That means we don't have to drive to Oakville then catch the train saving on gas and helping our environment.

I have to say, Go Transit is finally making us Lakeshore Customers a little happier paying more than the other go lines for passes.

Keep up the good work!!!

New Long Weekend and Transit Funding?

Now that Dalton McGuinty is in power for another term, hopefully his promises will
be kept. The big ones for me are the February Long Weekend promised and the promise
of vastly improving public transit.

We have seen some improvement but not a lot. We are still fighting issues with crowded parking lots. If I catch a train in Burlington after 8:00 it means I have to drive a lot further using more gas to take transit. I have heard worse stories from fellow commuters further east down the tracks. If they don't find parking they have to drive to work.

Its interesting that a study got released yesterday that said we should raise gas tax to prevent people from driving. How about give them a place to park in the Go or TTC parking lots. Then more would drive. Its like taxing cigarettes to get people to stop smoking then taxing the medicines they use to quit. He wait a minute don't we already to that.

Oops, I spoke to soon!!!

Well I guess I spoke to soon on that one. It seems Go has made improvements but today they fell back into their old pattern. This morning I went to take the train leaving Burlington at 7:25 am and unfortunately it left a couple minutes early so I missed it. Now normally I would say ok, you have to keep your schedule so next train. However, the difference today is that Go Transit knew at after 6:00 am that there were going to be train cancellations so the next train at 8:00 was cancelled. Knowing this it would have helped if they had been flexible with the schedule for the 7:25 am train so we could have caught it. Instead we had to wait for the 8:14 am train.

On top of this the 8:14 train was 15 minutes late so instead of arriving at work early at 8:00 am I arrived late at 9:30 am. I understand there are accidents, I understand delays are part of the situation but what Go Transit needs to understand is that sometimes, because of a cancellation it would actually help out the customer to have the prior train be a little flexible on its leaving time to catch a few strays that are going to miss the next cancellation.

I found it interesting that in the Metro this morning someone was actually complaining about Go Transit giving money to people left stranded because of the fire. I am guessing he is not a regular go user or possibly a go employee because I think most Go-Transit riders would appreciate the token of appreciation Go gave and that it was not the delay per say but kind of an apology of sorts for how they reacted.

In general, Go-Transit has gotten a lot better. This morning was a slip I think (hope), and possibly they will examine their behavior and fix it. A small change would help a lot.

Go Transit is now the Better Way - TTC Show us you deserve your title

I have to say, Go Transit has done leaps and bounds in customer service. I noticed today outside customer service people were waiting in line to get credits for the delays on the lakeshore stoffville lines. So now I am changing focus, at least for this posting to another big transit system TTC - The better way?

Here is the issue, its the beginning of the month and everyone gets their tokens and Metro Passes. So why is it that only one automated MetroPass machine is working. Secondly, from the looks of it, a large amount of the extra line this month and possibly next month with the increase in the price of metropasses was token buyers that could not use $20 bills in the token machines that had small lineups. Also the token machines today did not accept change either even though they are clearly marked with toonies and loonies on the front. I waited for almost an hour for my metropass this morning.

The interesting sidenote is that the TTC wondered why everyone jumped to get Metropasses they cited that it was simply money but fail to see that getting tokens is a pain. You have to have a $10 bill and are only allowed a maximum of 20 tokens at a time. Otherwise you need to buy tickets which means you are in line anyways so you might as well buy a metropass so you only have to lineup once.

In closing, Go Transit you have come a long way, keep up the good work. TTC, now its time to take a look at Go Transit and raise the bar because right now Go Transit is the better way.

Lakeshore East, Alternate Routes

There are some things that are out of Go Transit's control but then there are others they should be arranging better. This latest cancellation of trains East is an example. I heard about the fire at 3:00 and stayed later to avoid it.

Upon reaching the station, I noticed that the Lakeshore East trains were still cancelled and commuters were being told to go back up to yonge and bloor and take the train to scarborough and there were go buses waiting. Wouldn't it be great if that announcement were made on the ttc line as well. That way you would not have people rushing for Union Station on the subway only to spend another 1/2 hour on the subway to get to Scarborough to catch the Go Bus.

A lot of passengers do cross-over from the ttc, some from north up at Yonge and Finch so knowing they could have transferred at Yonge and Bloor instead. Hopefully they will take this advice and use it in the future.

I have to say, Go Transit has been doing a lot better job in the past year of listening to its passengers. I have seen vast improvement in service. Keep up the good work.

Good Job!! I have to give credit when its due

I have been through quite a lot of these delays due to police emergencies but I have to admit
the way they handled it last night was awesome. Even though almost all the trains were cancelled, they managed to get a train out westbound at 5:43 and actually managed to get a large number of people from the 4 missed trains on that one.

It was the excellent work of the Go Transit Workers that was very convincing in his banter to get people to squeeze in. Their orgazation meant I was only 1 hour late getting home. In the past it had been as much as 4-6 hours late so vast improvement. Hopefully this is not a fluke but actually a deliberate improvement on their part.

Keep up the good work!!!

Issue with Go-Transit and the Transit Tax Credit

I filled out my tax return as normal and put on the new Transit Credit info. Since I am coming in from Burlington and taking the TTC. This value is at a maximum. I tried to reach Revenue Canada but the line was busy all day. I got a hold of the media relations person Sam Papadopoulos and he explained the procedure.

"The computer based on past filing history could ask for validation of application before assessing or within 3 years of assessing. A computer also picks random people"

So because they goofed up one of my claims in the past, now any time there is a new deduction they are going to target me. If you are in the same boat and are facing the task of faxing in every receipt then please email me at chrisw_88@hotmail.com as well email Mike Wallace at Wallace.M@parl.gc.ca so he will have ammunition for this issue.

Props to Go Transit Customer Service

It was a nice surprise last night on the commute home to see that Go Transit had someone handing out printed apologies and stated the real reasons for the delays. This is a positive
step for Go Transit and I thought I would say thanks and keep up the good work. A little communication goes a long way.

New Track in Burlington, Any Relation To Cancellations?

So the train stopping in Burlington at 7:25 is now using the new track 3. How ironic that now the new track is there that there are train cancellations and delays everywhere.

Its interesting that now they have the new track they are still not optimizing their schedules.
The 7.25 train got to Oakville and told people about the all stop train across the platform. That train was allowed to leave before us. Given that we were the express train and would only be making a couple more stops, wouldn't it make sense to let us go ahead so we would not get stuck behind it at port credit. I guess that is why they work where they do. If they were educated in time management they would be in charge of more time critical stuff.

Why not ask the passengers for information and suggestions on scheduling. Its a shame because the passengers of the trains would be able to provide very good feedback on where the bottlenecks are and often time how to avoid them. Sometimes its a simple as not making that extra track change or letting one train go ahead of another in a logical manner.

Presto Chango - Let Me Pull More Revenue Out Of My Hat

Presto sounds like a good idea. It allows you to transfer between systems with a single pass. But from the documentation I received from Union Station this morning. It seems to be missing something.

Why would I want a Presto Card?

* Easy transfers within and between transit systems with just one
card.
* No more searching for the right change
* Peace of mind. Riders who report a registered card lost or stolen
can have any remaining value transerred to a new card.

Wait a minute here, exact change, but what about my discounts I get now for Go Transit and TTC Passes. As we all know from recent news, so many people are using MetroPass that the TTC is short millions of dollars. So are these cards only aimed at people that don't have monthly passes?

You just have to look around when security officers are on Go Transit to see how many people pull out their Monthly Passes. They are cheaper and there is a government tax credit to make it even more so. The same for the TTC, you just have to look at the station entrances to see everyone pulling out their MetroPass. So my question is will the Presto Pass support individuals paying a flat rate for a month and then carrying their Presto pass instead of 2-3 transit passes. That would be very good. I currently have a Metro Pass and a Go Transit Pass, other have local transit on one end, Go Transit and MetroPass.

Let's break it down: I take Go Transit from burlingtion and MetroPass for the TTC every day.

Go Adult Pass $247.00
Metro Pass $99.75
---------------------
346.75


Go 10 Ride $69.75 x 4 = $279
Metro Pass $99.75
-------------------------
378.75

Go Single Ride $7.65 x 2 x 5 x 12 = $306
Metro Pass $99.75
----------------------------
405.75

Go Adult Pass $247.00
Tokens $21.00 x 4 = $84
---------------------

Go 10 Ride $69.75 x 4 = $279
Tokens $21.00 x 4 = $84
-------------------------
$331

Go Single Ride $7.65 x 2 x 5 x 12 = $306
Tokens $21.00 x 4 = $84
----------------------------
$390

Go Adult Pass $247.00
Cash fare: $2.75 x 2 x 5 x 4 = $110
---------------------
$357

Go 10 Ride $69.75 x 4 = $279
Cash fare: $2.75 x 2 x 5 x 4 = $110
-------------------------
$389

Go Single Ride $7.65 x 2 x 5 x 12 = $306
Cash fare: $2.75 x 2 x 5 x 4 = $110
----------------------------
$416


I await someone from Presto to clarify this as it could be a good marketing move for you to push this in your brochure too as there are a lot of us using the system this way.

From my calculations, the fare could be anywhere from $346.75 to $416 depending on how the Presto card works. Its only beginning so I am sure there will be more press on it coming soon and more information throught the newsletter. I suggest we all subscribe to the newsletter at http://www.prestocard.ca and keep in the loop. It could be a good service but if we see now that it doesn't look useful we may want to let them know. They have many years before its fully implemented so lots of time to make changes.

Save the Shepard Line. Buy token not your MetroPass?

I thought this was odd that more ridership meant a loss of $30 million but it
does make sense. Tokens are more expensive so TTC makes more money off them so with all of us buying MetroPasses we are costing the TTC money it needs to maintain the network. The thing that doesn't make sense is didn't they realize people are going to want to save as much money as possible. How come it took so long before they realized that they were $30 million dollars short? Sounds like they need a new accounting team to look at their books.

I wonder how many other of these things are being missed and maybe instead of a fare increase they could find another way to get the money. While we are at it let's get the new accountant to look into where all the gas tax money went.

Closing The Sheppard Line

Its interesting that the TTC would choose the Sheppard Line to close as this is the transit route for many to get to IKEA. For those familiar, IKEA is known for needing police to do traffic duty in their parking lots because of the number of people driving there. This route is not just for IKEA but it is an interesting fact.



Anyways, on to the true issue here. It seems that because the TTC has been so good at marketing to us to use them and with the government incentive tax credit we have all switched to Metro Passes. Since the TTC does not make a lot of money off them they are $30 million short. But the real issue here is that the government is collecting almost half the amount we are using to fill out tanks with gas. Where is that money going? Is it all going to public transit like it should? I remember David Miller was fighting for that.



In the past 5 years, gas prices have more than doubled, since half of that is tax and if it were going where it should (public transit) we should see some improvements in this sector.



The TTC and Go Transit lines are the heart of the transit systems in Ontario, so why are there already less buses on the road now than 5 years ago. Why is the system overcrowded? Why are we actually reducing service during this time when Gas Tax revenue is up?



Whose pockets are getting lined? What private companies are getting public money as profit for building public transit? Well let's see, there is CN who is building the new rail lines with government money only to own them later themselves because they own the land. So the goverment pays to build them then pays to use them. Ok the 407, the government helps pay to build it but how much money is the government seeing back, plus government workers such as police, and public transit (buses) have to pay to use it Ok the rapid transit link to the airport, goverment funded but privately run. These are but a few examples of waste.



The answer is clear, the government likes to look good for their pictures and cameos but when it comes to really being dedicated to a better transit system it turns out to be all smoke an mirrors.



Maybe this should be the subject of a Michael Moore movie, "Full of Gas Tax, Empty on Transit"



This is only one opinion. I look forward to seeing others comment on this issue.

Train 407 Where Are You? That's Right You Are Delayed

The key to delays on our systems have been told to us over and over. Government is not giving transit enough money so they are cutting corners and having to order replacement stuff at the last minute sometimes these will create more than delay but also could be a danger to the passengers. Note in the July 5, 2007 article that the Train 407 is delayed 50% of the time and that one of the potential causes is the reduction of staff on the trains that happened in January.
But this is Go Transit you say the TTC is the Better Way. Well I have pasted in an article about that too.

The TTC is having its own issues, from the older article I found on them but the new chief over there is starting to get things going by doing much needed repairs on subway stations. Things were really starting to fall apart. The construction means delays but so be it if it means we are going to be safer. On the other hand Go Transit is delaying us, but not to make us safer.

Excerpts from July 5, 2007 http://www.metronews.ca/column.aspx?id=59806

GO
Transit packed its schedule with trains over the last decade, partly to make up
for a lack of new tracks and infrastructure, but the result is brief holdups can
begin a cascade effect.

This train, identified by GO as No. 407, is chronically late because it runs at
the end of rush hour, according to agency chief Gary McNeil.
It is delayed at
least five minutes almost 50 per cent of the time, he says, and has one of the
worst records of all GO trains.
There is so little time between trains that
small delays during peak hours get compounded, he says.
“It’s symptomatic of
the majority of the GO system, especially along the Lakeshore line and the
Georgetown line and Richmond Hill lines.
“We are operating at capacity, from
a train movement perspective. Everything has to function to 100 per cent in
order to keep all the trains on schedule.
“There’s literally no slough in any
of the times.”
GO Transit packed its schedule with trains over the last
decade, partly to make up for a lack of new tracks and infrastructure, but the
result is brief holdups can begin a cascade effect.
McNeil admits the recent
change from two locomotive engineers on Lakeshore trains to one has cost
precious minutes when trains turn around.
McNeil says this problem should
“evaporate” when a new crewing contract begins next year.
As for train 407,
GO has asked CN Rail for permission to shift an earlier run by three minutes to
ease the pressure on the schedule.

Excerpts from October 17, 2006 : http://www.metronews.ca/column.aspx?id=14002&searchtype=1&fragment=False

Quote from Bob Boutillier:

“This last year in particular has been, I guess, the perfect storm — the
retirement of old buses, late deliveries (of new buses), and on top of that we
had to do a lot of warranty work that we would not normally do
(due to a manufacturing flaw that led to small fires on some
buses).”
Next is a persistent shortage of bus operators,
aggravated
by a higher-than-normal rate of new drivers failing the training
process."

...

“There are actually seven ... command posts where you have people sitting in front of the computer — and it’s old technology.”
Some of these routes have 20 or 30 buses, and one person may handle eight or nine routes. More supervisors would mean more cost to the TTC, as would a decent notification system to tell riders why their bus is late, or why a vehicle must be short-turned. Getting the word out won’t fix the problem, but at least explain to us what’s happening."

I think that getting the word out lets people know how short changed we are when it comes to safe and reliable public transit and the reasons is our tax dollars are not going to transit. On top we expect people to stop driving and take it.

Driving Can Be Dangerous

I know most of you take Go-Transit but you may be driving to the station.
For this reason I thought I these commandments passed on by the Vatican.
Maybe they could save your lives.

The 10 commandments of driving

1. You shall not kill.
2. The road shall be for you a means of communion between people and not of
   mortal harm.
3. Courtesy, uprightness and prudence will help you deal with unforeseen
   events.
4. Be charitable and help your neighbour in need, especially victims of
   accidents.
5. Cars shall not be for you an expression of power and domination, and an occasion of sin.
6. Charitably convince the young and not so young not to drive when they are
   not in a fitting condition to do so.
7. Support the families of accident victims.
8. Bring guilty motorists and their victims together, at the appropriate time,
   so that they can undergo the liberating experience of forgiveness.
9. On the road, protect the more vulnerable party.
10. Feel responsible toward others.
    
    Source: The Vatican website and
    the Associated Press

Hope these commandments will help you in your day to day travels.

If It Were Not An Election Year .. Ontario Transit Plan

Kudos to Dalton McGuinty for finally realizing the crisis we have in transit. Unfortunately it took an approaching election for him to do it and interestingly enough this will start after the election.

The plan will see $17.5 billion invested in transit over 12 years starting in 2008.

It is unclear form what I have seen what the timeline is other than it will end in 2020. There are some good ideas here, like:

• Adding GO Bus Rapid Transit from Burlington to Highway 401
• Increasing speed and reducing emissions by electrifying the GO Lakeshore line.

Being a passenger on the Lakeshore line I will be keeping a close eye on this. Saving 15 minutes off my commute would be awesome,

Now, if they could do something to reduce the number of times we have to switch tracks that would further reduce delays. I didn't see anything about this in the plan but here is hoping.

Passenger Chaos, No Real Explaination

It all started on June 14, 2007 at 5:19 when the express to Oakville train was scheduled to leave the station. At the last minute all the passengers were sent down to the concourse with no explaination except that there was a Police Investigation. There was no sense in how long we would have to wait as in the past Go Transit had made us wait hours before telling us trains were cancelled for good during the Mimico derailment.

Time passed and more rush hour trains were cancelled so more people started to huddle in Union Station. It was getting crowded and no news except the recording that kept saying. Trains are delayed due to a Police Investigation. It must have been quite serious because it shut down all west end lines. In the past the Milton line was still running so passengers had some alternate.

Around 6:00 service restarted and the 5:19 express to Oakville stayed an express train. At least Go Transit did that right. Get the trains moving and people out of Union ASAP.

I searched the Go Transit site and even Google but it seems whatever happened its now covered up. We can only assume someone crossed the tracks outside union and did not have a safe crossing.

If this was the case it brings up an issue of Go Transit Safety and it starts with us the Passengers. The signs are everywhere and they announce it on every trip. Don't Cross The Tracks. Watch the signs and obey them.

Sometimes people cross the tracks for other reasons. This is a big problem in our society especially since there is really no action plan for the government for teens in this situation. Charities like www.lamplight.org that help teens in crisis has to survive on the help of good people donating and out of the founder's pockets. Its about time the government stepped up and instead of just preserving our world for our future generations how about funding agencies to keep our future generations safe now.

Cash for going green

Its an election year so its understandable that politicians are really acting green gung ho.
Its the season. Here is an article about money being given to municipalities that are going green.

http://www.metronews.ca/story.aspx?id=54964

The question I have is how much of this "green" money is going to help the overcrowding on public transit. If you really want to go green then pump more money in for buses and trains.
Pump money into analysing the Go Transit lines, especially the lakeshore line for inefficiency.

I take the line every day and on the 5:34 train we always wait at the hydro station for a train to leave the station so our train can arrive. We wait for 5 minutes every day. Why not move the other train to track 3 so we can arrive on track 1. It means we don't have to use up 5 minutes of extra fuel every day. Some times it 15-20 minutes if the go bus is late and the eastbound train waits.

If you know any politicians please point this out to them. It only makes sense since more riders want to use public transit instead of taking the cars. While we have to momentum lets improve things to keep them and have them invite more.

Let's get green together. By green I mean environmentally friendly, not green as politicians lining their pockets with it and only focusing on the environment close to an election.