[dowlingm]

Because the premium express routes wouldn't pay their way without the additional fare (and even then, most don't), whereas the regular express routes come much closer to covering their costs.

It's a chicken and egg thing though. The 14x have a premium fare so people don't take it so ridership is poor. A 100pc premium is a ridiculous penalty. As I said, we can now countenance expresses on other routes, there is better cooperation with GO, we have two hour transfers but then we also retain this "it is what it is" attitude to these routes.

 

[DSCToronto]

Jarvis huh? Might have to take that as Sherbourne is an utter mess.

What exactly are you trying to say - and in response to what?

 

[TheKingEast]

What exactly are you trying to say - and in response to what?

I didn't know about the Jarvis route. It may be an option as Sherbourne during rush hour or anytime really is a mess of a route.

 

[DSCToronto]

I didn't know about the Jarvis route. It may be an option as Sherbourne during rush hour or anytime really is a mess of a route.

Still quite confused about what you are referring to but Jarvis is certainly no faster than Sherbourne and the City are about to start (or have started) an 18 month project to lay a new watermain on it from Dundas to Queens Quay.

 

[dowlingm]

I didn't know about the Jarvis route. It may be an option as Sherbourne during rush hour or anytime really is a mess of a route.

The only route along Jarvis is the premium express route from Mount Pleasant, no? Not new at all.

 

[TheKingEast]

Still quite confused about what you are referring to but Jarvis is certainly no faster than Sherbourne and the City are about to start (or have started) an 18 month project to lay a new watermain on it from Dundas to Queens Quay.

Sherbourne is full of overcrowded buses and plenty of incidences that I rather avoid. Jarvis may not be faster but much less of a headache.

The only route along Jarvis is the premium express route from Mount Pleasant, no? Not new at all.

It's new to me.

 

[DSCToronto]

It's new to me.

In that case you have not been paying attention - it's been on Jarvis for at least a decade.

 

[smallspy]

It's a chicken and egg thing though. The 14x have a premium fare so people don't take it so ridership is poor. A 100pc premium is a ridiculous penalty. As I said, we can now countenance expresses on other routes, there is better cooperation with GO, we have two hour transfers but then we also retain this "it is what it is" attitude to these routes.

I don't think that it is a "chicken and egg" problem, though.

The first version of what are now the premium express routes didn't charge an extra fare - and the ridership wasn't high enough to sustain them. The only reason why they have remained is because the rancor from the few people that did make use of them, they so they were kept on the caveat that they would require paying an additional fare to help make ends meet for the TTC. And even then, they still don't.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[dowlingm]

I don't think that it is a "chicken and egg" problem, though.

The first version of what are now the premium express routes didn't charge an extra fare - and the ridership wasn't high enough to sustain them. The only reason why they have remained is because the rancor from the few people that did make use of them, they so they were kept on the caveat that they would require paying an additional fare to help make ends meet for the TTC. And even then, they still don't.

If Transit Toronto is correct, the premium was levied twenty six years ago when conditions were significantly different - condos going up in the Beaches, Mt Pleasant, Avenue Road - YUS line creaking under strain as TTC tries to fit more gap trains in. Might be time for another look. If it still doesn't work then abolish the routes and put the buses where they are needed more.

 

[smallspy]

If Transit Toronto is correct, the premium was levied twenty six years ago when conditions were significantly different - condos going up in the Beaches, Mt Pleasant, Avenue Road - YUS line creaking under strain as TTC tries to fit more gap trains in. Might be time for another look. If it still doesn't work then abolish the routes and put the buses where they are needed more.

At the time of launch, the YUS was creaking - for the first time - under the strain of the ridership gains of the 1980s. And remember, this is prior to the expansion of the Bloor platforms. The "premium" wasn't put into place until 1992, after several years of operation and as ridership started to drop due to the recession.

Considering that the ridership on the premium expresses has remained largely stagnant as the ridership elsewhere around them has grown, I wouldn't hold much hope for them.

Dan
Toronto, Ont.

 

[W. K. Lis]

Instead of the 195, we have the 935 JANE EXPRESS.

 

[Neutrino]

The 984 needs artics.

 

[W. K. Lis]

The 984 needs artics.

...that's 984 SHEPPARD WEST EXPRESS for the rest of us not near Sheppard Avenue West.

 

[Neutrino]