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