AlvinofDiaspar
Moderator
From the Star:
Transit road map to recovery
Tess Kalinowski
Daniel Girard
Transportation Reporters
Every day, Rob MacIsaac gets a unique perspective on the monumental task of weaning the Toronto region off its automobile addiction.
The Metrolinx chair's ninth-floor office at the foot of Bay Street overlooks an exit ramp of the Gardiner Expressway where a seemingly endless flow of traffic inches into the city long after the traditional morning rush has ended.
Fewer than 8 per cent of regional commuters outside Toronto and 23 per cent in the city use public transit, according to the 2006 Transportation Tomorrow survey of the Toronto area. Add that to a rapidly growing regional population and it is clear nothing less than a massive cultural shift can save us from choking on our own congestion.
Smog days are now the norm in summer. Last year was the second-worst on record, with 29, contributing to an alarming incidence of respiratory illness and childhood asthma. Obesity has become the scourge of our drive-through lifestyle. Economically, road congestion costs $2 billion a year in lost productivity in the Toronto region.
And, without swift action, it's only going to get worse.
Metrolinx is planning based on a projected growth of 2.5 million in the region, pushing the population to 8.6 million by 2031. Most of that growth will occur in the municipalities outside the city of Toronto.
The job of Metrolinx as the province's transportation planning agency for the region spanning Oshawa and York Region to Hamilton, is to help us clean up our act. Its blueprint for an integrated infrastructure, the roads and rails, buses and bicycles that could help effect that shift, is due out this spring.
"We need to change the culture in transportation," said MacIsaac. "The car is going to play a role for the foreseeable future, but we can introduce a lot of elements in combination with the car to have a much more effective system than we have today."
That's especially true in the regions outside the city, where the convenience of a car almost always trumps an incomplete and inconsistent public transit system.
But for MacIsaac and the regional politicians on the Metrolinx board, at least the timing for change seems right. An Ipsos-Reid survey of 1,000 residents of the GTA and Hamilton last fall found two-thirds believe the best way to improve the region's traffic situation is by increasing public transit, compared with one-third calling for more roads.
The public is also clamouring for action on global climate change. And, earlier this month, Statistics Canada figures showed that between 2001 and 2005, the number of people walking or using public transit to get to work in Toronto was up 7.2 per cent, with those cycling rising by one-third in the Census Metropolitan Area.
Meanwhile, all three levels of government have pledged big money for public transit. Queen's Park, through Metrolinx, is spending $11.5 billion for 52 regional projects to expand subway, streetcar, light rail and bus services by 2020. Some of that money will help expand the TTC's Spadina and Yonge subway lines into York Region and build a network of light rail stretching to the farthest corners of the city's suburbs. Ottawa, which is being asked to pony up $6 billion for the provincial plan, hasn't committed to the Metrolinx plans but has earmarked some cash for its own transportation priorities.
So where do we go next?
Today and for the next five days, the Toronto Star will look at key transportation challenges facing the region and how other cities have tackled them. Ideas include road tolls, HOV lanes, parking and financial incentives to get people to share rides, take transit, walk, cycle and work a compressed week. Planners are trying to create communities easily accessible by public transit and other modes but also destinations in themselves, attracting workers, residents, shoppers and recreation seekers.
The series also examines some customer-service ideas, the high-tech and common-sense enhancements that could transform public transit's image.
MacIsaac does more than talk about being a model commuter. He takes a GO train from Burlington to downtown daily and uses a car-sharing firm or the subway if he needs to get around during the day.
His task now is to come up with a road map that will persuade others to get on board.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 great fixes for transit
Some low-tech, customer-friendly ideas:
• Increase service so waits are shorter, rides less crowded
• Post schedules for buses running more than 10 minutes apart
• Put electronic signs at GO station parking entrances to let riders know when a train is late so they don't need to rush
• Ensure transit stops offer shelter, a bench, clean, dry surfaces and have snow and ice cleared
• Offer tax exemptions for employer-provided transit passes
... and some high-tech ones:
• Offer a web-based trip planner that allows riders to easily map out a trip on one system or many
• Offer smartcards so users can put value on a card and use it to travel without cash, tickets or tokens on multiple transit systems
• 511 toll-free telephone service with real-time info on trains, buses, roads; allow people to personalize it to get daily commute updates by email and text
• GPS-based next-bus information system telling customers when the bus is delayed and why
• Electronic display boards at major transit stops with route information that can be accessed by cellphone and BlackBerry
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just dial 511
Since 2000, when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission designated "511" for use by state transportation departments, at least 32 services have been launched offering up-to-the-minute information on transit schedules and traffic by dialling 511.
One of the most comprehensive was begun in 2002 by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, serving a population of 7 million in nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It gets 100,000 calls and 500,000 hits on its 511.org website weekly. The toll-free calls are largely from drivers checking on freeway traffic, while Internet users are most often planning a trip via public transit.
The service takes in eight primary transit systems that together cover an area of about 11,000 square kilometres. It allows drivers to personalize requests; for example to get a daily email alert on driving conditions on their route to work. That feature will soon extend to transit.
Environment Canada said nearly two years ago it would have a 511 line in place for weather and travel information by 2007. It has yet to materialize.
In January, Nova Scotia launched a 511 system for highway conditions.
Here, a system with real-time schedule, fare and travel information is at least a couple of years away.
- Daniel Girard
AoD
Transit road map to recovery
Tess Kalinowski
Daniel Girard
Transportation Reporters
Every day, Rob MacIsaac gets a unique perspective on the monumental task of weaning the Toronto region off its automobile addiction.
The Metrolinx chair's ninth-floor office at the foot of Bay Street overlooks an exit ramp of the Gardiner Expressway where a seemingly endless flow of traffic inches into the city long after the traditional morning rush has ended.
Fewer than 8 per cent of regional commuters outside Toronto and 23 per cent in the city use public transit, according to the 2006 Transportation Tomorrow survey of the Toronto area. Add that to a rapidly growing regional population and it is clear nothing less than a massive cultural shift can save us from choking on our own congestion.
Smog days are now the norm in summer. Last year was the second-worst on record, with 29, contributing to an alarming incidence of respiratory illness and childhood asthma. Obesity has become the scourge of our drive-through lifestyle. Economically, road congestion costs $2 billion a year in lost productivity in the Toronto region.
And, without swift action, it's only going to get worse.
Metrolinx is planning based on a projected growth of 2.5 million in the region, pushing the population to 8.6 million by 2031. Most of that growth will occur in the municipalities outside the city of Toronto.
The job of Metrolinx as the province's transportation planning agency for the region spanning Oshawa and York Region to Hamilton, is to help us clean up our act. Its blueprint for an integrated infrastructure, the roads and rails, buses and bicycles that could help effect that shift, is due out this spring.
"We need to change the culture in transportation," said MacIsaac. "The car is going to play a role for the foreseeable future, but we can introduce a lot of elements in combination with the car to have a much more effective system than we have today."
That's especially true in the regions outside the city, where the convenience of a car almost always trumps an incomplete and inconsistent public transit system.
But for MacIsaac and the regional politicians on the Metrolinx board, at least the timing for change seems right. An Ipsos-Reid survey of 1,000 residents of the GTA and Hamilton last fall found two-thirds believe the best way to improve the region's traffic situation is by increasing public transit, compared with one-third calling for more roads.
The public is also clamouring for action on global climate change. And, earlier this month, Statistics Canada figures showed that between 2001 and 2005, the number of people walking or using public transit to get to work in Toronto was up 7.2 per cent, with those cycling rising by one-third in the Census Metropolitan Area.
Meanwhile, all three levels of government have pledged big money for public transit. Queen's Park, through Metrolinx, is spending $11.5 billion for 52 regional projects to expand subway, streetcar, light rail and bus services by 2020. Some of that money will help expand the TTC's Spadina and Yonge subway lines into York Region and build a network of light rail stretching to the farthest corners of the city's suburbs. Ottawa, which is being asked to pony up $6 billion for the provincial plan, hasn't committed to the Metrolinx plans but has earmarked some cash for its own transportation priorities.
So where do we go next?
Today and for the next five days, the Toronto Star will look at key transportation challenges facing the region and how other cities have tackled them. Ideas include road tolls, HOV lanes, parking and financial incentives to get people to share rides, take transit, walk, cycle and work a compressed week. Planners are trying to create communities easily accessible by public transit and other modes but also destinations in themselves, attracting workers, residents, shoppers and recreation seekers.
The series also examines some customer-service ideas, the high-tech and common-sense enhancements that could transform public transit's image.
MacIsaac does more than talk about being a model commuter. He takes a GO train from Burlington to downtown daily and uses a car-sharing firm or the subway if he needs to get around during the day.
His task now is to come up with a road map that will persuade others to get on board.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10 great fixes for transit
Some low-tech, customer-friendly ideas:
• Increase service so waits are shorter, rides less crowded
• Post schedules for buses running more than 10 minutes apart
• Put electronic signs at GO station parking entrances to let riders know when a train is late so they don't need to rush
• Ensure transit stops offer shelter, a bench, clean, dry surfaces and have snow and ice cleared
• Offer tax exemptions for employer-provided transit passes
... and some high-tech ones:
• Offer a web-based trip planner that allows riders to easily map out a trip on one system or many
• Offer smartcards so users can put value on a card and use it to travel without cash, tickets or tokens on multiple transit systems
• 511 toll-free telephone service with real-time info on trains, buses, roads; allow people to personalize it to get daily commute updates by email and text
• GPS-based next-bus information system telling customers when the bus is delayed and why
• Electronic display boards at major transit stops with route information that can be accessed by cellphone and BlackBerry
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just dial 511
Since 2000, when the U.S. Federal Communications Commission designated "511" for use by state transportation departments, at least 32 services have been launched offering up-to-the-minute information on transit schedules and traffic by dialling 511.
One of the most comprehensive was begun in 2002 by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, serving a population of 7 million in nine counties in the San Francisco Bay Area.
It gets 100,000 calls and 500,000 hits on its 511.org website weekly. The toll-free calls are largely from drivers checking on freeway traffic, while Internet users are most often planning a trip via public transit.
The service takes in eight primary transit systems that together cover an area of about 11,000 square kilometres. It allows drivers to personalize requests; for example to get a daily email alert on driving conditions on their route to work. That feature will soon extend to transit.
Environment Canada said nearly two years ago it would have a 511 line in place for weather and travel information by 2007. It has yet to materialize.
In January, Nova Scotia launched a 511 system for highway conditions.
Here, a system with real-time schedule, fare and travel information is at least a couple of years away.
- Daniel Girard
AoD
