[Jonny5]

Waiting at Union for a 509 or 510, I have found the published times are almost always way off. Often it takes triple the amount of time posted. This has been a consistent problem for over a year. The system would supposedly learn and adapt, but for this route, it just isn't able to figure it out. I have seen it say next streetcar in "5 minutes" for more than 5 minutes. Also I have seen a 509 arriving in "3 minutes" show up after a 510 which the sign said would arrive in "7 minutes". It really is not a sophisticated system.

 

[nfitz]

I find that service is actually pretty good in my part of the city, too, being more central. Large gaps are rare. I think that's because the TTC tries to maintain their schedule in the centre of the city to the detriment of service on the outer parts of the routes.

That's because when things go sour, they short-turn about 2/3 of the 504s north on Parliament and back south on Broadview. Catching a 504 south at Gerrard can be frustrating sometimes at rush-hour, but if a 505 comes and you jump on it to Dundas, invariably you find a 504 at Dundas turning south on Broadview. Your much more likely to see a large 504 gap north of Dundas on Broadview than your are in Corktown.

 

[GTS]

I lived a good chunk of my adult life in Vancouver and one thing I wish the TTC would do is too make an informative sign for its transit stops like Vancouver does. Not only does each sign tell you what route or routes stop at that particular stop their is a phone number to call so you can find out how long of a wait you are going to have for your ride. This is from Translink's website:

http://tripplanning.translink.ca/hiwire?.a=iNextBus&.s={$SID}

It helps commuting greatly and it wouldn't cost the TTC too much to add this type of convenience. You can look at images of the signs that link is referring to as well and I am sure their are some design houses here in the TO area that would be able to improve on TO present design of its transit signs.

 

[DSC]

Yes, almost every city I can think of (Montreal, London, Dublin) has the route number(s) listed on the transit stop signs - it is odd that the TTC never bothered to do this. Some stops do have schedules posted, but normally only for one route (even if several serve the stop).

 

[GraphicMatt]

Every streetcar stop has a number you can send a text message to which will tell you when the next car is coming. This will be rolled out to the bus network sometime this year.

 

[nfitz]

I lived a good chunk of my adult life in Vancouver and one thing I wish the TTC would do is too make an informative sign for its transit stops like Vancouver does.

That phone number only tells you when it's scheduled to come, not when it's really coming. When I've had guests here from Vancouver who saw that we could check when the streetcar was coming on the Internet and the cell phone they said that they wish they could do this in Vancouver! And personally when I'm in Vancouver, I find it much easier to get that information from Google Transit on my cell phone, than phoning.

 

[Electrify]

It's no wonder that people want to ditch streetcars and replace them with subways.

And just think: For the last 8 years we had a very pro-transit mayor and for at least a few years we've had a very pro-streetcar chair. If they couldn't get the streetcars operating efficiently and fix TTC culture, is there any hope?

 

[Thoughtless Miscreant]

I remember having a terrible time navigating on the bus network when I first moved here, which is a shame because it's so easy once you know how to use it. Every stop on the system should have a sign which includes route number and name, destination, direction of travel, and the name of the stop itself. That might sound excessive but I know I ended up in situations where I've specifically needed any one of those pieces of information but didn't have any means of accessing it.

 

[nfitz]

Agreed. The lack of route numbers at bus stops is baffling. It's certainly the only way I've managed to navigate bus systems in Asia ... I have no idea how someone not local who doesn't read English could navigate our bus system here.

Yet in Montreal they seem to be onto the 4th generation of route numbers on bus signs that I've personally seen ... and the last 2 generations have clearly shown which Metro or Commuter train station that they would hit next (if any).

 

[jje1000]

And just think: For the last 8 years we had a very pro-transit mayor and for at least a few years we've had a very pro-streetcar chair. If they couldn't get the streetcars operating efficiently and fix TTC culture, is there any hope?

I think the inefficiencies have to do with the culture from within the TTC- the two are mutually related. Even Steve Munro has stated so.

 

[Dan416]

Agreed. The lack of route numbers at bus stops is baffling. It's certainly the only way I've managed to navigate bus systems in Asia ... I have no idea how someone not local who doesn't read English could navigate our bus system here.

Yet in Montreal they seem to be onto the 4th generation of route numbers on bus signs that I've personally seen ... and the last 2 generations have clearly shown which Metro or Commuter train station that they would hit next (if any).

The Montreal signs look great, although I've only ever taken the metro in Montreal.

 

[Jonny5]

The TTC's NextBus pages appear to have had a minor upgrade today. It now shows Humber vs. Long Branch destinations for the Queen Car. I don't know if this is real time or scheduled. The site was also adapted for the Roncesvalles and Dundas construction.

 

[nfitz]

Seem to have added more information for all routes. I see 510s north to Spadina and Queen at Bremner. 511s north to Bathurst and Roncesvalle on Fleet. And 512 East to St. Clair and Short-turns at Old Weston!

This might be useful!

 

[nfitz]

Looks like the whole thing crashed. Down when I checked about 5 pm.

Was working okay at 6:00 AM this morning when I left for work (some odd things, such as Sunday stops showing in Nextbus and 506 West both to Bathurst and High Park ... (but not Dundas West).

Edit - there's a thread about the upgrade at Steve Munro's site - http://stevemunro.ca/?p=5093

 

[W. K. Lis]

Remember that the application is in BETA testing. That means changes can and will occur, since it not the "real" application until it is has been tested after looking for problems to be fixed.