[taal]

Last question

Who's a frequent rider of Viva blue?

Has anyone else noticed they've been doing a really bad job of sticking to their schedules, more so then late. i.e. I've been noticing considerable bunching (not TTC style , but close).

Because of all this some buses are packed until your north of RHC while others have extra seating room!?

 

[lordmandeep]

expanding the subways to suburbs may seem wasteful but I would imagine if they are done right, they could allow for really easy access in and out of the city.

 

[TJ O'Pootertoot]

A question for you all?

So once the line is complete, the TTC will be in charge of running / maintaining the line - along with getting all the proceeds correct?

Isn't York region slightly worried about this?

It's a good Q (and it should provide SOME comfort to TTC-lovers). I also recall TTC getting all the parking fees AND there was some provision on the Spadina extension (someone can correct me on the details) that the VCC parking lot HAD to cost twice as much as the lots south of Steeles. It's reaonableto expect the Langstaff parking lot will be similar. So, TTC ain't losing money on this.

I guess the region will reap a lot of development money and then the commerical /property taxes after that.

I also suspect that when Presto is in play and Metrolinx unveils its funding strategy we'll see a totally different model for where transit money comes from and where it goes.

 

[smuncky]

Last question

Who's a frequent rider of Viva blue?

Has anyone else noticed they've been doing a really bad job of sticking to their schedules, more so then late. i.e. I've been noticing considerable bunching (not TTC style , but close).

Because of all this some buses are packed until your north of RHC while others have extra seating room!?

it depends on the time. during rush hour yes, especially southbound because sometimes the buses coming from newmarket meet with the buses coming from bernard.

northbound buses generally stick to their timetables when leaving from finch.

during other times (non-rush hour), i've sometimes seen that they don't keep the 10-12 min frequency. for example, the times for the next few viva buses would be something like 1min, 6min, 8min, 23min, 35min.

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Sticking to a schedule is more of an issue when you're walking from home/work and are attempting to time your arrival with the bus' departure. If you're transferring from the subway, you are more or less unable to time the two and so brute frequency can be more desirable than a stuck-to schedule.

 

[xtremesniper]

The Viva isn't designed to stick to a hard schedule, anyway. The buses are just supposed to keep a certain frequency between them.

I do notice that on some days, they do a good job of it. On others, the driver arrives at Richmond Hill Center and takes a bathroom break (I'm guessing this is one of the only places that Viva drivers are allowed to stop over if they aren't changing drivers). But unfortunately a lot of the time the driver takes a little longer than they should, so the bus behind us catches up and then we have two buses going back to back all the way to the end of the line. There should be some rules against drivers taking a 8 minute bathroom break.

 

[Disparishun]

But unfortunately a lot of the time the driver takes a little longer than they should, so the bus behind us catches up and then we have two buses going back to back all the way to the end of the line. There should be some rules against drivers taking a 8 minute bathroom break.

Maybe, when a second Blue comes in and sees a first Blue waiting for its driver, the driver for Blue #2 should take over driving Blue #1. Then, when the first driver finishes the bathroom break, she can get behind the wheel of Blue #2. Spreads the wait over the two buses rather than isolating it to the first.

 

[lordmandeep]

Just heard on the news TTC ridership went from 459 million from last year to 465 million this year.



An increase of 1.3% but looking at the times, its good.

 

[xtremesniper]

Maybe, when a second Blue comes in and sees a first Blue waiting for its driver, the driver for Blue #2 should take over driving Blue #1. Then, when the first driver finishes the bathroom break, she can get behind the wheel of Blue #2. Spreads the wait over the two buses rather than isolating it to the first.

That would probably create too much confusion amongst the drivers, and then they'd ask for a raise due to stress.

 

[taal]

Don't forget the Yorku strike effects the TTC more then anyone else by far!!!

The 196 and 60C have been absolutely hammered!

Let's say 15,000 Go to Yorku everyday. That's 30,000 trips lots a day.
11 weeks * 5 (days per week) * 30,000 = 1.7 million.

Doesn't change the yearly % to much But it's a lot closer to 2%.

 

[xtremesniper]

Don't forget the Yorku strike effects the TTC more then anyone else by far!!!

The 196 and 60C have been absolutely hammered!

Let's say 15,000 Go to Yorku everyday. That's 30,000 trips lots a day.
11 weeks * 5 (days per week) * 30,000 = 1.7 million.

Yep, even the Viva has been affected quite a lot, though obviously on a different scale.

I'll kind of miss the fact that I would always be able to get a seat on my way there now that the regular students will be coming back soon.

 

[taal]

I am absoutly in love with the 60 every since the strike started.

You can get a seat on it most times of day no problem! It seems to be sticking to it's schedulel a lot better too as of late. Frequently I wait at Finch station for 2min only during rush!

I love it.

The 196!!! You have to remember there's sub 2min service (almost) it's kinda sad seeing empty bus after empty bus!

 

[taal]

RedRocket191, I think you mentioned this a long time ago. What's your affiliation with the TTC?

 

[RedRocket191]

RedRocket191, I think you mentioned this a long time ago. What's your affiliation with the TTC?

None. I served on the Metrolinx citizen's advisory committee. In addition to giving my advice I learned quite a bit about the planning process and the interesting dynamic it has with the political process. It's left me with a pro-Metrolinx bias which I'm not really going to apologize for.

 

[taal]

None. I served on the Metrolinx citizen's advisory committee. In addition to giving my advice I learned quite a bit about the planning process and the interesting dynamic it has with the political process. It's left me with a pro-Metrolinx bias which I'm not really going to apologize for.

Ha! Explains a lot

When all is said and done some credit must be given to Metrolinxs. I hope know one underestimates how complex any of these projects are along with the huge amount of political pressure involved that they MUST deal with. It's so easy for us to say this would be the perfect line (even if it probably is) and scold all these agencies for not developing them in the most optimal way. At the same rate it is unfortunate.

Well that being the case do you have any idea why/how York region didn't object in any way to the TTC running/maintaining/collecting all proceeds from both subway expansions when it will eliminate the need (or shorten) many of their routes. Like I said it'll be more of an issue when the stretch along Yonge develops (in the way of lost potential ridership).