The PRESTO readers the TTC is installing are capable of reading credit/debit cards when that functionality is rolled out. When a credit/debit card is tapped against one of the identical readers in Ottawa, the machines flash yellow as they detect the card but can't identify it. London England...

That person is more or less correct, in that there is no such thing as a flashing arrow in Ontario with any meaning. Flashing red and amber lights are different indications than solid red and amber lights, whereas a flashing green arrow means the exact same thing as a solid green arrow. I'm...

Flashing green and solid green arrows are the same thing. The flashing is just a leftover from the flashing advance turn on green days.

I agree with this, as I find the Dash8/Q400s to have an incredibly penetrating sound, especially when taxiing. I can recognize one taxiing from a couple kilometers away.

Ottawa has button-activated heaters, but they're only useful at the fully enclosed waiting rooms. The one stop that has a heated shelter with no doors is useless.

This would make a lot of sense. Most Metro Systems I have used with TVMs have two types, one larger one that accepts cash/coins and debit/credit, and smaller ones that only accept debit/credit. Although the PRESTO AVMs could be equipped with a coin slot like the TTC SRVMs, the machines which I...

Interesting. Hopefully they made a good choice, since unlike other PTC implementations that are either not mainline rail (subway) or are isolated (Capital Railway Indusi system) this system will likely have to expand and be compatible with multiple operators and future plans.

What form of PTC was installed on the Weston Sub? I'm unaware of a common standard for PTC in North America, so it would be interesting to know what method or technology was implemented.

That car has no markings and only a single magnetic light. The flashing light colour is also difficult to judge, but I have a feeling it's yellow and likely belongs to security, who would be opening up gates and facilitating the response.

North Bay service starts October 7th, with a daily flight from North Bay to and from Toronto, and another daily flight from North Bay to and from Timmins.

There is the maintenance issue, as well as the issue of having different types of trains with different door locations stopping. All of your examples are of metros, which probably have only one type of rolling stock/door location.

In Ottawa, buttons that are required to activate the pedestrian signal at any time have an additional yellow push to cross sign. Buttons that lack the sign are only to activate the audible signal. Some signals operate differently at different times of day, example requiring the button on main...

The difference is that HSR would have level boarding, which is nearly impossible to achieve on a curve while meeting accessibility standards, at least without a mechanical solution. Straight platforms or extremely gentle curves are the way to go.

The waiting list is due to the conduit run being done by a different contractor than the actual home install. Aliant used mostly Nova Scotia companies for the work, and it is all contractors including the home installs, while other companies are in house. There are potential legal issues with...

Bell Aliant rolled out FTTH to most of the city of North Bay over the past couple years, including my parent's house. Apparently this was a $17 million investment. Most of the city was wired up, except some MDUs and some lots with rear service. My parents house has rear service for the existing...

That's interesting. The machines in Ottawa are identical, but with different programming. They display a PRESTO logo rather than the green arrow when waiting for a tap. When tapped, they display the balance remaining and time remaining on transfer, or the monthly pass end date. The issue is that...

This is extremely true. I don't use PATH often, but when I try to I remember why I usually avoid it. There are no maps to be found!

The PRESTO 2.0 Hardware installed in Ottawa is identical to that being installed in Toronto and is forward-compatible. As you mention, it's all a software issue now, since there are challenges to overcome with real-time connectivity. A mobile app would theoretically be easier to implement than...

Nothing happens. I tapped on at Union, then tapped on the machine on the car and it spat an error. I'm not sure if this is because the readers at Union don't load a transfer onto the card or not.

The newer PRESTO readers are available with Barcode readers, as they are off the shelf units not specific to PRESTO. These ones appear to have the barcode readers installed, possibly because they came that way from the supplier. It's odd that that functionality would be handled through PRESTO...