[crs1026]

Good letter.

Has anyone ever seen a chart showing a superimposed view of where all the station exits align along a 10- and 12- car train? I suspect that some percentage of patrons do make strategic decisions about where on the platform they will stand, with an eye to being close to their platform exit at the far end of the trip. I wonder if the line is 'loaded' because a greater number of people actually want to be at one end rather than the other. ( Last night's adventure cost me a full-platform-length hike afterwards, because the Mimico platform exit was at the west end also)

I agree - the time for making announcements is before the train arrives, when people can do something before the 'herd' mentality takes over. People get remarkably stubborn - myself included - if directed to move 'promptly' either by PA or by 'greeters'. But they will succumb to common sense and reason if they have a minute to mull the choice over and feel they are moving of their own accord. We tend to hate authority figures!

I experienced this recently with a TTC subway evacuation: it makes no logical sense to remain someplace unsafe, but the crowd on the platform angrily stared down a TTC supervisor who was asking them to evacuate - even though the smell of burning rubbish was already wafting through the station. It took transit security's arrival to make them move.

= Paul

 

[TOareaFan]

A peak at the potential play-off schedules already indicates that there may be both a Blue Jays and Toronto FC playoff game at the same time! Though probably not much worse than the Ex and Blue Jays at the same time.

True but if you throw in a Leaf game (less overlap with Raptors as season starts a bit later) or a concert at the ACC you could have 3 high attendance events letting out at +/- the same time. At least the EX has the advantage of variable departure times unlike things like concerts and sporting events.

 

[TOareaFan]

I have drafted something. I encourage anyone interested to provide comments.

https://goo.gl/IUOYL8

don't you have your easts and wests mixed up in the second paragraph?

Isn't the crowding at the west end and the empty seats at the east end?

Anyway, I don't think your letter tells them anything they don't know and, from my experience, they are trying to address it.

 

[smallspy]

that's excatly what they should do. GO does not exist as a model railway for the pleasure of the people operating it. It is a public asset/service that should have as its one and only goal moving as many people as possible as safely and comfortably as possible. Parking 12 car trains all weekend while 10 car trains cause a convenience, capacity and safety problem at events scheduled well in advance does not meet that goal/mandate.

And who then will be expected to pay for the deadhead moves, and for the crew times, and for the additional fuel needed? How about the additional wear-and-tear on the equipment? Do we cut services elsewhere to pay for these costs?

These decisions don't happen in a bubble - they happen for a reason. As much as I love to complain about GO getting more (capital) funding than it knows what to do with, the fact of the matter is that they have a limited operational budget for these things.

You talk about how they "...[don't] exist as a model railway..." - they aren't. Their operations are organized in the manner that they are specifically to optimize the usage of the equipment while minimizing the costs of running it. What you are suggesting however will make them operate like one.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[TOareaFan]

And who then will be expected to pay for the deadhead moves, and for the crew times, and for the additional fuel needed? How about the additional wear-and-tear on the equipment? Do we cut services elsewhere to pay for these costs?

These decisions don't happen in a bubble - they happen for a reason. As much as I love to complain about GO getting more (capital) funding than it knows what to do with, the fact of the matter is that they have a limited operational budget for these things.

You talk about how they "...[don't] exist as a model railway..." - they aren't. Their operations are organized in the manner that they are specifically to optimize the usage of the equipment while minimizing the costs of running it. What you are suggesting however will make them operate like one.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

Obviously, I do not have knowledge of what those additional costs are....you possibly do. that said, an increase in capacity for the events that we are discussing here would encourage more to use the system.....so perhaps the net impact on budgets is not as grave as you think.

If you wander around BMO Field on a match and ask people "did you drive or take GO" and follow up the drive answer with "why" I don't think you would have to interview too many people before you find ones that tell you the combined impact of the crush to get on and off trains, the crush in the trains and/or the shortage of parking at some of the stations is why they choose to drive....no it won't be the answer for all but there are people who look at the mess and choose to avoid it.

If operating budget is the overriding factor here and all else be dammed....then yes, I bet you could find other services within the GO system that are lower yielding in terms of operating recoveries than you would get from increasing capacity to serve major events.

 

[DonValleyRainbow]

don't you have your easts and wests mixed up in the second paragraph?

Isn't the crowding at the west end and the empty seats at the east end?

Anyway, I don't think your letter tells them anything they don't know and, from my experience, they are trying to address it.

I do have them mixed up, thank you.

And I don't see any issue with putting additional pressure on them about it, whether they know or not.

 

[TOareaFan]

I do have them mixed up, thank you.

And I don't see any issue with putting additional pressure on them about it, whether they know or not.

TBH (and this is someone who does not mind, at all, complaining/pressuring GO) I think when they appear to be doing everything they can and seem to be addressing this dynamically (ie. each week the approach changes a bit indicating they are really working on this) then I think complaining is a bit counterproductive.

Obviously, do what you think is right but this seems to be a case to me that just because the results aren't perfect it does not mean the effort is not there.

 

[TOareaFan]

 

[SaugeenJunction]

Just a heads up, I saw the new GO Transit Cab Car number 303 (the newly designed one) in Willowbrook yard last weekend. Sorry I forgot to post about it until now. 302 was the first one delivered, and I believe 303 is the second for GO Transit to take possession of. Does anyone know when these new cab units will start to go into service? I'm really looking forward to seeing them lead some trains.

 

[mdrejhon]

I was stuck on the GO train that caused the fatality.

Didn't make it into office until 1pm.

This makes me wonder -- as GO RER service increases, if there is any way to possibly make this process more efficient while staying dignified in a sensitive moment where a life is lost -- when the same thing happens to the TCC, the police does investigations quicker for TTC subway incursions -- and resuming service on the TTC is usually quicker. I'm wondering what steps could possibly be eventually done to make sure efficiency and dignity is balanced -- in the era of subway-frequencies on the GO network --

This is going to be a big concern with double/triple the number of commuters and a quadrupling of trains weekly -- how do other countries manage to handle this?

 

[nfitz]

One would assume the suicide rate itself doesn't increase with more trains. So with more trains, less chance of being on the one impacted the most.

 

[mdrejhon]

One would assume the suicide rate itself doesn't increase with more trains. So with more trains, less chance of being on the one impacted the most.

Even people on the trains stuck behind the held train, had multi-hour delays today, too.

 

[Jonny5]

I was stuck on the GO train that caused the fatality.

Didn't make it into office until 1pm.

This makes me wonder -- as GO RER service increases, if there is any way to possibly make this process more efficient while staying dignified in a sensitive moment where a life is lost -- when the same thing happens to the TCC, the police does investigations quicker for TTC subway incursions -- and resuming service on the TTC is usually quicker. I'm wondering what steps could possibly be eventually done to make sure efficiency and dignity is balanced -- in the era of subway-frequencies on the GO network --

This is going to be a big concern with double/triple the number of commuters and a quadrupling of trains weekly -- how do other countries manage to handle this?

I think the TTC police investigations can go faster because of video surveillance everywhere. Basically the investigation is to confirm it was a suicide and the person wasn't pushed or forced on to the tracks which is easy to check on video.

 

[nfitz]

Quite the opposite. More trains passing through a location, means more trains will get delayed. The police shut down the entire corridor down not just the train involved during an investigation.

I said the one impacted the most. The one trapped at the scene, with passengers not able to get off for many hours.

The other trains would presumably stop at the next station, or have to sit a bit, and then be backed into a station.

Though reading the newspaper reports of my great-grandfather's suicide, the train simply proceeded to the next station, when they got out and checked and found blood. But perhaps they don't operate like that any more ... they certainly don't publish in the newspaper how many parts the body ended up in, and where they landed!

 

[nfitz]

Most GO trips I take, go to stations with other transit options. Taking MiWay back from Clarkson, TTC from Rouge Hill, or VIVA from Unionville might not be as fast. But at least you're moving, and not stuck on a GO Train for 3 hours.