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On a similar note, I've had lots of trouble at York Mills GO station due to the lack of wayfinding. First of all, the signposting from York Mills TTC station is terrible, leaving you stranded partway along the route with no signs indicating how to continue. But to be fair, the signposting is owned by the York Mills Centre, not GO, so that's not directly their fault.

But what is entirely in GO's control is the bus platform assignments. How are people supposed to figure out what platform their bus will be at? I had a meeting at Scarborough Centre one morning, so I tried to take the 92 eastbound from York Mills station. In the terminal building there is a sign showing the layout of the terminal, but the platforms are not labeled and it says "visit gotransit.ca for details" - which I couldn't do since I don't have data on my phone. (And looking it up now, the platform assignments don't seem to even be on the website anyway). So I walked around the entire terminal reading the route signs for each platform and none of them had the 92 eastbound, though I noted that the first and last platforms were missing a sign. I asked a guy standing at the last platform if this was the bus to STC and he said 'yes it's the bus to Oshawa' (the 92 continues to Oshawa after STC). But when the 92 came, it actually served the first platform and drove right by me. So I had to take the TTC to STC instead and was therefore late for my meeting.

Then confusingly when I did the same trip a few weeks later, I stood at the first platform and the bus drove by me again, instead serving the last platform. Fortunately in that case I was able to catch the bus by running across the bus roadway to reach the other platform.
 
reaperexpress said:
On a similar note, I've had lots of trouble at York Mills GO station due to the lack of wayfinding. First of all, the signposting from York Mills TTC station is terrible, leaving you stranded partway along the route with no signs indicating how to continue. But to be fair, the signposting is owned by the York Mills Centre, not GO, so that's not directly their fault.

But what is entirely in GO's control is the bus platform assignments. How are people supposed to figure out what platform their bus will be at? I had a meeting at Scarborough Centre one morning, so I tried to take the 92 eastbound from York Mills station. In the terminal building there is a sign showing the layout of the terminal, but the platforms are not labeled and it says "visit gotransit.ca for details" - which I couldn't do since I don't have data on my phone. (And looking it up now, the platform assignments don't seem to even be on the website anyway). So I walked around the entire terminal reading the route signs for each platform and none of them had the 92 eastbound, though I noted that the first and last platforms were missing a sign. I asked a guy standing at the last platform if this was the bus to STC and he said 'yes it's the bus to Oshawa' (the 92 continues to Oshawa after STC). But when the 92 came, it actually served the first platform and drove right by me. So I had to take the TTC to STC instead and was therefore late for my meeting.

Then confusingly when I did the same trip a few weeks later, I stood at the first platform and the bus drove by me again, instead serving the last platform. Fortunately in that case I was able to catch the bus by running across the bus roadway to reach the other platform.
Click to expand...

Hamilton GO centre is the same way. When I went to Dundas, Ontario a few years ago I took the bus from there to Aldershot only to have to guess which one of the buses was mine.

Realistically though, York Mills is one of the worst GO bus terminals I have ever seen. If I have to go from North York to Pickering or Scarborough I prefer to do it via Yorkdale.
 
reaperexpress said:
On a similar note, I've had lots of trouble at York Mills GO station due to the lack of wayfinding. First of all, the signposting from York Mills TTC station is terrible, leaving you stranded partway along the route with no signs indicating how to continue. But to be fair, the signposting is owned by the York Mills Centre, not GO, so that's not directly their fault.

But what is entirely in GO's control is the bus platform assignments. How are people supposed to figure out what platform their bus will be at? I had a meeting at Scarborough Centre one morning, so I tried to take the 92 eastbound from York Mills station. In the terminal building there is a sign showing the layout of the terminal, but the platforms are not labeled and it says "visit gotransit.ca for details" - which I couldn't do since I don't have data on my phone. (And looking it up now, the platform assignments don't seem to even be on the website anyway). So I walked around the entire terminal reading the route signs for each platform and none of them had the 92 eastbound, though I noted that the first and last platforms were missing a sign. I asked a guy standing at the last platform if this was the bus to STC and he said 'yes it's the bus to Oshawa' (the 92 continues to Oshawa after STC). But when the 92 came, it actually served the first platform and drove right by me. So I had to take the TTC to STC instead and was therefore late for my meeting.

Then confusingly when I did the same trip a few weeks later, I stood at the first platform and the bus drove by me again, instead serving the last platform. Fortunately in that case I was able to catch the bus by running across the bus roadway to reach the other platform.
Click to expand...
Guess I am not the only one who has experieneced this guessing game. It’s surprising how much GO devotes funding to making customer service a top priority but still can’t grasp the most basic concepts of wayfinding and platform maps. Their system map also should be thrown into this mix as it’s absolutely useless. My guessing about why there’s a lack of detailed platform maps is due to GO’s historical culture which comes from the bygone era of early coach operations.

For additional experience I suggest trying to catch a bus at Hwy 407 station. There’s zero platform maps and requires one’s ability to sprint a soccer field in case you find yourself at the other end of the terminal and trying to catch a bus.
 
Do the Lakeshore East and West lines operate today under the standard Monday to Friday schedule? Or is there a special holiday schedule in effect? Don't want to get stranded.
 
Richard White said:
Maple Leaf Gardens used to have arrows on the walls pointing in the direction of your seating level. Red, Green, Gold, Blue, Grey or Purple.. the arrows were all there and quite useful.
Click to expand...
This is becoming a lost art for some reason. Sorry to be so down on the iMemyself device crowd, but that's who GO is now catering to. Screw anyone else who can think for themselves comprehensively when presented with charts and arrows.

Nowhere is this more the case than in many (not all) of GO's elevators. They have all these complex instructions on the buttons for a two level elevator, but not arrows fer Crisakes (some do, so it's not like someone somewhere in the org doesn't 'get it').

And to make it even more perplexing, in at least some cases (like at Bloor Station) the basement floor is termed 'Ground Floor' and the ground floor is termed 'second'. Go figure...and no arrows. I'm the guerrilla who carries a black magic marker to place an up or down arrow next to the buttons so that all those visitors with a language challenge can understand what to do at a glance, let alone those already with perfect language skills. Even Martians could understand what the two arrows mean. It might be difficult to explain to Metrolinx management though.

And to further top things off, since UPX stops at Bloor, the down buttons are marked "UP"....God help us if these people are in charge of weapons one day. We're doomed.
 
steveintoronto said:
This is becoming a lost art for some reason. Sorry to be so down on the iMemyself device crowd, but that's who GO is now catering to. Screw anyone else who can think for themselves comprehensively when presented with charts and arrows.

Nowhere is this more the case than in many (not all) of GO's elevators. They have all these complex instructions on the buttons for a two level elevator, but not arrows fer Crisakes (some do, so it's not like someone somewhere in the org doesn't 'get it').

And to make it even more perplexing, in at least some cases (like at Bloor Station) the basement floor is termed 'Ground Floor' and the ground floor is termed 'second'. Go figure...and no arrows. I'm the guerrilla who carries a black magic marker to put an up or down arrow so that all those visitors with a language challenge can understand what to do at a glance. Even Martians could understand what the two arrows mean.

And to further top things off, since UPX stops at Bloor, the down buttons are marked "UP"....God help us if these people are in charge of weapons one day.
Click to expand...

I worked at a condo where the Ground Floor was actually 2 separate floors because of the nature of the landscape. 15 Fort York in Toronto was built on the side of a hill at Fort York and Spadina. The Ground floor lets out to the Courtyard and the Main Lobby on the 2nd floor lets out to Fort York Blvd. Both are level and direct access to the outside. Essentially they are both ground level.
 
Richard White said:
Both are level and direct access to the outside. Essentially they are both ground level.
Click to expand...
In the case of Bloor Station, the only justification for the confusion is that the main entrance is *under* the bridge. It's *below* ground level. The tracks are "ground level".

So let's presume for a moment that logic does accept the main entrance, even though below *grade* level is "ground level". Then someone designing wayfinding with even half a gram of where-with-all would realize the ambiguity, and use "upper level" and "lower level" and the bog obvious arrows. Just like it's done in...I dunno...the rest of the developed world?
 
Anyone know if the GO coach referenced here is a new one or a rebuild? Does CP bring these down from Sudbury and then transfer them to CN?


20181229_191120.jpg
 
Allandale25 said:
Anyone know if the GO coach referenced here is a new one or a rebuild? Does CP bring these down from Sudbury and then transfer them to CN?
Click to expand...

It’s a very senior GO coach, not a new one. Likely being taken to Aldershot to be handed off to the roadswitcher that goes to Oakville, and from there on another roadswitcher to Willowbrook.

New coaches come by CP to Toronto, and are dropped at the old Obico Yard. Now that ML owns the Canpa Sub, a GO crew comes up with a GO loco to pick them up there.

- Paul
 
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