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  #2961  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2008, 1:43 PM
p_xavier p_xavier is offline
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I was in Toronto yesterday. They got new buses equipped with the automatic annoucement GPS thingy. What I didn't know, is that there's a next stop display. It's so fun! No more guessing around what the next bus stop is and looking out the windows!

Also, how can they let their subway stations in such a bad shape? North Korea has better stations, that's for sure. I'm traumatised everytime that I go.

They opened the new revamped museum station last spring, the drywall is already peeling off, and oil residue is on the walls
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  #2962  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2008, 2:49 PM
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^What?! Are you teling me that the cracking inaudible sound of the busdriver announcing the next stop is annoying? Are dare you get mad at our stop announcement system that bus drivers were forced into doing a year ago.



Seriously, I agree completely with you. When I first moved to Ottawa I missed my stop a free times just because I could not read the transit way stop and there was not overhead voice.
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  #2963  
Old Posted Jul 21, 2008, 8:26 PM
MalcolmTucker MalcolmTucker is offline
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Originally Posted by d_jeffrey View Post
I was in Toronto yesterday. They got new buses equipped with the automatic annoucement GPS thingy. What I didn't know, is that there's a next stop display. It's so fun! No more guessing around what the next bus stop is and looking out the windows!

Also, how can they let their subway stations in such a bad shape? North Korea has better stations, that's for sure. I'm traumatised everytime that I go.

They opened the new revamped museum station last spring, the drywall is already peeling off, and oil residue is on the walls
Most subway stations around the world I have been in look relatively shabby. It is hard to keep public domain spaces that have tremendous foot traffic that are at least partially exposed to weather looking amazing.

In Montreal, huge buffers between stations and outside entrances help alot, along with massive over building.

Remember, North Korea is like Russia, palaces for the people!

As for automated stop announcements, on local routes I would find that incredibly annoying - in Calgary we don't even have unautomated stop announcements (you can request to the driver while boarding to announce your stop, and they will). All these technical gizmos cost money - the TTC should concentrate more on its mandate instead of whizbang and maybe the station you talked about wouldn't be crumbling!
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  #2964  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 1:16 AM
p_xavier p_xavier is offline
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Originally Posted by kyle_olsen View Post
All these technical gizmos cost money - the TTC should concentrate more on its mandate instead of whizbang and maybe the station you talked about wouldn't be crumbling!
These gizmos were mandated by a court...

It's just that Montréal is the only other subway in Canada, and it just is so much better than the Toronto one it's unbelievable. The signage is horrendous, you're at Queen station, you want to go to Yorkdale, you need to go Southbound, well it goes South for one station... sigh... Anyways that was my pet peeve. It's just being in the green St-George station more than a few minutes freeks me out. It looks like an old hospital surgery room.
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  #2965  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 2:56 AM
kwoldtimer kwoldtimer is offline
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Originally Posted by d_jeffrey View Post
These gizmos were mandated by a court...

It's just that Montréal is the only other subway in Canada, and it just is so much better than the Toronto one it's unbelievable. The signage is horrendous, you're at Queen station, you want to go to Yorkdale, you need to go Southbound, well it goes South for one station... sigh... Anyways that was my pet peeve. It's just being in the green St-George station more than a few minutes freeks me out. It looks like an old hospital surgery room.
You are awfully kind to the Montreal Metro - I find its condition has declined badly over the years. I think the St George subway station is in the International Gothic Bathroom style! But green is such a cool and refreshing colour ....
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  #2966  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 3:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by d_jeffrey View Post
Also, how can they let their subway stations in such a bad shape? North Korea has better stations, that's for sure. I'm traumatised everytime that I go.

They opened the new revamped museum station last spring, the drywall is already peeling off, and oil residue is on the walls
Not sure if you've been to NYC, but many of the stations outside of downtown/midtown look as though they haven't been revamped since they were built:

96th St. Station (sitting on the fence between Harlem and the Upper W. Side)
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  #2967  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 1:11 PM
Suzie Suzie is offline
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Originally Posted by Richard Eade View Post
For a system which was supposed to be 'at capacity' for the past few years, there was obviously at least 5% unused capacity. I wonder how many more riders OC Transpo can absorb before there is an increase in costs? (Apart from fuel costs, of course.) I still see a lot of Express buses leaving downtown which are not as packed as the 9x buses.

On that note, do you think that we could consolidate some of the Express Buses? If, for example, two Express Buses go to adjacent neighbourhoods in Orleans, if those routes were combined, would people from the farther streets mind crusing through the closer areas? They would still not need to transfer, but their journey might take a few minutes longer and the bus would be a bit more crowded. But, the bus frequency might increase a bit.

What do you think of combining some Express Bus routes?
OC Transpo definitely needs to squeeze more capacity out of the existing system in order to meet rising demand and address the overcrowding on routes such as the 95. A good way to do that would be to fill the empty seats/empty aisles on other bus routes.
In the morning peak, this is already partly done through the “Inbound Rule”. Nonetheless, OC Transpo should do more to publicize this rule (many people are still not aware of it) and consider extending it to all Transitway stations (not just between Dominion and Hurdman).
The tough nut to crack is the afternoon peak. The first thing OC Transpo should do is publicize regular-fare alternatives to the 95/96/97 that serve many of the same stations. For example, if one lives near Westboro Station, alternatives include the 50, 67, 87, 156, 172 and 178. Yet, many of the people living in the area are unaware that these alternatives (especially, those other than the 87) exist and thus unnecessarily crowd the 95. Perhaps this could be done by placing signs at downtown stops to inform riders of such alternatives. In addition, pamphlets entitled “Alternatives to the 95/96/97” could be produced and distributed. If the alternative routes end up becoming very busy, they could be served by articulated buses.
As the route is of limited use for most people because it ends Hurdman, some of the capacity of the 96 going eastbound from downtown during the afternoon peak is simply wasted (starting in September, this will also be the case for the 85). Similarly, in the opposite direction, much of the capacity of the 94 (this will also be the case for the new 98 service) is also greatly underutilized since it ends at Tunney’s Pasture. Perhaps this could be addressed by extending the 96 (and perhaps the 85 as well) to Blair Station and extending the 94 (and perhaps the 98 as well) to Baseline Station, at least during the peak periods. This would take a load off the 95 in both directions (i.e., in a balanced way) without adding more buses downtown. Given that the extra distances would all be on the Transitway or on the Parkway, reliability would not be substantially affected. All 90-bus service during the peak periods should be provided by articulated buses.
The more radical option would be to eliminate the express and rural fares during the afternoon peak. In addition to spreading traffic much more evenly across buses, this would reduce the number of people waiting at bus stops. I suspect though that, to work well, this would require a couple of things:
• Some changes to bus numbering in order to help riders better understand where buses are going (i.e., a more distinctive set of decade numbers for the East, Southeast, Southwest and Kanata destinations). The last thing one would want to see is an increase in dwell time due to more people asking bus drivers for directions.
• Rear-door boarding on the forty-foot buses. Practically, I’m not sure if that would be feasible on the older, high-floor buses. This being said, these buses will eventually be scrapped and replaced by low-floor buses for which rear-door boarding is more practical.
Combined with cheap station improvements (moving the Metcalfe and Bank Stations on Albert away from traffic lights, fixing the Lebreton Flats Station, getting rid of the redundant “Good Companion” stop, moving the cross-walk on the Mackenzie Bridge westward and getting rid of the clutter at the Mackenzie Station), off-bus fare payment at all Transitway Stations and real traffic enforcement, the system would be able to meet demand and perform much more reliably over the next five to ten years. With further improvements, additional capacity could be obtained to meet demand beyond that.
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  #2968  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 2:24 PM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzie View Post
OC Transpo definitely needs to squeeze more capacity out of the existing system in order to meet rising demand and address the overcrowding on routes such as the 95. A good way to do that would be to fill the empty seats/empty aisles on other bus routes.
In the morning peak, this is already partly done through the “Inbound Rule”. Nonetheless, OC Transpo should do more to publicize this rule (many people are still not aware of it) and consider extending it to all Transitway stations (not just between Dominion and Hurdman).
The tough nut to crack is the afternoon peak. The first thing OC Transpo should do is publicize regular-fare alternatives to the 95/96/97 that serve many of the same stations. For example, if one lives near Westboro Station, alternatives include the 50, 67, 87, 156, 172 and 178. Yet, many of the people living in the area are unaware that these alternatives (especially, those other than the 87) exist and thus unnecessarily crowd the 95. Perhaps this could be done by placing signs at downtown stops to inform riders of such alternatives. In addition, pamphlets entitled “Alternatives to the 95/96/97” could be produced and distributed. If the alternative routes end up becoming very busy, they could be served by articulated buses.
As the route is of limited use for most people because it ends Hurdman, some of the capacity of the 96 going eastbound from downtown during the afternoon peak is simply wasted (starting in September, this will also be the case for the 85). Similarly, in the opposite direction, much of the capacity of the 94 (this will also be the case for the new 98 service) is also greatly underutilized since it ends at Tunney’s Pasture. Perhaps this could be addressed by extending the 96 (and perhaps the 85 as well) to Blair Station and extending the 94 (and perhaps the 98 as well) to Baseline Station, at least during the peak periods. This would take a load off the 95 in both directions (i.e., in a balanced way) without adding more buses downtown. Given that the extra distances would all be on the Transitway or on the Parkway, reliability would not be substantially affected. All 90-bus service during the peak periods should be provided by articulated buses.
The more radical option would be to eliminate the express and rural fares during the afternoon peak. In addition to spreading traffic much more evenly across buses, this would reduce the number of people waiting at bus stops. I suspect though that, to work well, this would require a couple of things:
• Some changes to bus numbering in order to help riders better understand where buses are going (i.e., a more distinctive set of decade numbers for the East, Southeast, Southwest and Kanata destinations). The last thing one would want to see is an increase in dwell time due to more people asking bus drivers for directions.
• Rear-door boarding on the forty-foot buses. Practically, I’m not sure if that would be feasible on the older, high-floor buses. This being said, these buses will eventually be scrapped and replaced by low-floor buses for which rear-door boarding is more practical.
Combined with cheap station improvements (moving the Metcalfe and Bank Stations on Albert away from traffic lights, fixing the Lebreton Flats Station, getting rid of the redundant “Good Companion” stop, moving the cross-walk on the Mackenzie Bridge westward and getting rid of the clutter at the Mackenzie Station), off-bus fare payment at all Transitway Stations and real traffic enforcement, the system would be able to meet demand and perform much more reliably over the next five to ten years. With further improvements, additional capacity could be obtained to meet demand beyond that.

I have often felt that a flat fare structure (possibly with a high price at rush hour to make up for lost revenue) would result in a much more even loading. There are often express buses going the same places as say the 95 that have free space on them.

Another way they could deal with the homebound issue is to do what they have done on some (all?) of the rural express buses where there is two prices depending on where your going.

The way they work it is once the bus gets out into the rural area you are only allowed to get off at the front where you must show proof of payment that you have paid (usually by pass) for the higher rural fare. They could do the same thing on other expresses.
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  #2969  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 3:14 PM
Richard Eade Richard Eade is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzie View Post
OC Transpo definitely needs to squeeze more capacity out of the existing system in order to meet rising demand and address the overcrowding on routes such as the 95. A good way to do that would be to fill the empty seats/empty aisles on other bus routes.
In the morning peak, this is already partly done through the “Inbound Rule”. Nonetheless, OC Transpo should do more to publicize this rule (many people are still not aware of it) and consider extending it to all Transitway stations (not just between Dominion and Hurdman)...
Hi, 'Suzie'!

I'm not familiar with the "Inbound Rule". Would you be able to explain it to me?

The changes you suggest sound well thought out. It seems as if you have a lot of knowledge on the subject. I'm glad you are on this forum.
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  #2970  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 3:20 PM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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http://www.octranspo.com/fares/Expre...ss_routes.html


Inbound Rule
In the morning, the Express and Rural Express fares are not required for passengers boarding at or between Dominion and Hurdman Stations.

Additionally, the Rural Express fare (green routes #200s plus 45) drops to an Express fare once a route is inside the Urban Transit Area. Flags with just a green number mean you should pay an Express fare, while a green number with an “R” indicates when to pay a full Rural Express fare.


Homebound Rule
In the afternoon, the Express fare is not required on Express routes for passengers boarding at the point at which the route leaves the Transitway or after it has left the Queensway. (See exception for route 45.)

The Rural Express fare should be paid until the route (green routes #200s plus 45) passes outside the Urban Transit Area boundary, regardless of whether or not there is an “R” on the flag. Once you’re outside the UTA, flags will show a red number and you should pay a Regular fare. (See exception for route 221.)

Route 45 Exception
The Homebound rule starts at Greenboro Station.

Express/Rural Express Combo Route 45 Exception
In the afternoon, customers exiting within the UTA follow the Homebound Rule above. Customers exiting outside the UTA must pay the Rural Express fare.

Customers exiting outside the UTA should exit at the front door and show proof of having paid the Rural Express fare, i.e. a Rural Express pass or a Rural Express transfer. Customers who only paid the Express fare, must top up to the Rural Express fare.


Express/Rural Express Combo Route 221 Exception

Effective on Tuesday, April 1, the fare policy for customers boarding route 221 in the afternoon will change.

Customers who board an afternoon bus in downtown Ottawa and get off the bus while still inside the Urban Transit Area (UTA), can pay an Express fare instead of a Rural Express fare. see map -->

For example, someone who gets off the bus on Old Montreal Road at Trim Road or Gerald Street can use an Express pass or pay just $4 or three bus tickets ($2.85).

Customers who live inside the UTA already pay additional transit taxes, and this change will allow them to take rush hour service at the same fare as other riders inside the UTA.
New PM Boarding Procedures
for Rural Customers

If your destination is in the Rural zone, you’ll need to:

*exit the bus at the front door and show the operator proof of payment of a Rural Express fare.
*If you pay with cash or tickets, you should request a transfer when you board and hold onto it as proof of payment.

The fare policy for morning trips is unchanged — customers inside the UTA can board the bus for an Express fare, while customers boarding outside the UTA pay a Rural Express fare.

The UTA boundary is located along Cardinal Creek, which is just east of Gerald Street.



Service from Gatineau (Hull)
Route 27 Exception

In the afternoon, the express fare is not required by passengers boarding express route 27 in Gatineau (Hull) only and getting off in downtown Ottawa (LeBreton to Hurdman).

For example:

*Customers boarding route # 27 in Hull pay regular fare.
*Customers boarding route # 27 from the first bus stop in Ottawa will pay express fare.


=================================================

More thoughts:

The inbound rule should be extended out as far as the Greenbelt since an peak route at that point would for the most part be a Red (reg fare) rather than a green (express fare).
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  #2971  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 4:09 PM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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Quote:
Ottawa transit ridership on pace for record year
Patrick Dare, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008

OTTAWA - Ottawa's public transit ridership is well on its way to a record-setting year, with 50.3 million riders in the first six months of the year, the city said Tuesday.

OC Transpo said that in the first half of the year, ridership was up 4.4 per cent over last year and that the company saw an additional 4,000 sales of transit passes in June.

Rural pass sales were up by 24.5 per cent, adult passes were up by 6.5 per cent and riders who pay with cash or tickets were up by five per cent.

Alain Mercier, director of transit services, said rising gas prices are a major driver of the upswing in transit demand.

"Ottawa residents are starting to question their usual transportation choices and make a longer-term commitment to transit," said Mr. Mercier.

He said residents are finding good value and convenience, which is helping the trend.

"People in Ottawa are getting it about mass transit and that is very good for the future of OC Transpo, our environment and our city," said Mayor Larry O'Brien, describing the rise in transit as "a real breakthrough."

Mr. O'Brien said the increase in public transit underlines the importance of the city's plan to expand the transit system through a new network of commuter rail and buses that is to be planned in detail this fall.


© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
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  #2972  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 5:13 PM
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Cre47 Cre47 is offline
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Originally Posted by c_speed3108 View Post
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It would be interesting to see the effects of the July fare hike on ridership. Probably ridership will grow but probably not nearly as much.
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  #2973  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 5:18 PM
p_xavier p_xavier is offline
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Originally Posted by Deez View Post
Not sure if you've been to NYC, but many of the stations outside of downtown/midtown look as though they haven't been revamped since they were built:

96th St. Station (sitting on the fence between Harlem and the Upper W. Side)
No, I've never been, but looking at the pic, it looks more of the inside of a LoneStar restaurant.

Also, on a similar subject, I don't know what is your opinion about allowing pets on buses, but in Toronto, some people had their dogs. I couldn't stand it, the smell, the wetness.
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  #2974  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 7:36 PM
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Originally Posted by c_speed3108 View Post
http://www.octranspo.com/fares/Expre...ss_routes.html


Inbound Rule
In the morning, the Express and Rural Express fares are not required for passengers boarding at or between Dominion and Hurdman Stations.
In practice, this doesn't work too well. At Dominion the express buses just blow past the station without even looking like they might stop if you requested it, and ditto for Westboro. Occasionally at Westboro an express bus comes to a stop to let someone off, and so you can get on, but even that tends to prompt some dirty looks from other passengers. These days, with many express buses now at standing room only, it's barely even worth the effort - and I can appreciate that people who have been standing on a swaying bus barrelling down the Queensway at 100 km/h since getting on at Eagleson probably don't want any further delays. My guess is that the park and ride lots are ensuring that most inbound express buses are now full anyway since those riders boarding at the P&Rs are in effect acting as a "topping-up" pool to fill any underfilled buses. I've already written before about how the same P&R users are making the system work more efficiently downtown in the afternoon by taking the first express bus they can (i.e. any 60-series for someone who lives in Kanata) rather than waiting for a specific one - in effect the express bus system is being saved from itself by the actions of passengers not doing what the express bus system was intended to do...

At this point, we might as well chuck the direct-to-downtown express buses and just consolidate them into a small number of high frequency routes that do suburban hub/P&R to downtown runs without stopping (unless they're not full) until Westboro or Hurdman. Since we're getting 47 new artics this fall, now is the time to start the switchover to a modified hub-and-spoke system.
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  #2975  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 8:06 PM
MalcolmTucker MalcolmTucker is offline
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These simply utilitarian stations are great, you may notice the four tracks, which makes marks this station as both an express and local stop (the express tracks here have platforms which is why you have the two island platforms, instead of two side platforms you have on a local only stop.

Experience with how great systems that aren't cadillacs can be really changes how one views transit development. New York uses almost completly legacy signalling system and track control. You don't need fancy things to be awesome. New York did fine without air conditioning on trains for a long time, and it can get incredibly hot in the tunnels.

Ignore add ons, concentrate on usuability.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Deez View Post
Not sure if you've been to NYC, but many of the stations outside of downtown/midtown look as though they haven't been revamped since they were built:

96th St. Station (sitting on the fence between Harlem and the Upper W. Side)
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  #2976  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 8:15 PM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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Quote:
High gas prices leading drivers to keep cars parked

Updated Tue. Jul. 22 2008 1:58 PM ET

CTV.ca News Staff

Canadians worn out by sky-high prices at the pumps are buying less gas and leaving their cars behind, new Statistics Canada figures suggest.

Gasoline prices shot up 8.8 per cent in May from a month earlier. But sales only rose 2.4 per cent, indicating that drivers bought less gas.

Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns, said the statistics offer solid evidence that drivers are fed up with high gas prices.

"Note that despite the (8.8 per cent) jump in gasoline prices in the month, service station receipts rose just 2.4 per cent month over month, suggesting that drivers really did park it in the face of soaring prices," he wrote in a statement to clients.

With gas prices removed from the equation, retail spending barely budged, increasing only 0.1 per cent. A number of sectors showed a decrease in sales, including clothing and accessory outlets and general merchandise stores.

"Among the three sectors where sales did not increase, the most pronounced drop occurred in clothing and accessories stores (-0.7%)," states the StatsCan report. "The decrease in this sector stemmed from weak sales in clothing stores (-1.1%), while sales at shoe, clothing accessories and jewellery stores rose 0.9% following five consecutive monthly declines."

Sales neither increased nor decreased in food and beverage stores.

Sectors that made gains included:

* automotive, 1.1 per cent
* building and outdoor home supplies, 0.7 per cent
* new car dealers, 0.3 per cent

Meanwhile, despite more cautious spending, 1.2 per cent fewer Canadians reported receiving Employment Insurance benefits than a month earlier. Compared with May of last year, the number of Canadians getting regular benefits was down by 3.2 per cent, suggesting the number of people with jobs is steadily increasing.

With files from The Canadian Press
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  #2977  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 8:55 PM
c_speed3108 c_speed3108 is offline
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Originally Posted by Dado View Post
In practice, this doesn't work too well. At Dominion the express buses just blow past the station without even looking like they might stop if you requested it, and ditto for Westboro. Occasionally at Westboro an express bus comes to a stop to let someone off, and so you can get on, but even that tends to prompt some dirty looks from other passengers. These days, with many express buses now at standing room only, it's barely even worth the effort - and I can appreciate that people who have been standing on a swaying bus barrelling down the Queensway at 100 km/h since getting on at Eagleson probably don't want any further delays. My guess is that the park and ride lots are ensuring that most inbound express buses are now full anyway since those riders boarding at the P&Rs are in effect acting as a "topping-up" pool to fill any underfilled buses. I've already written before about how the same P&R users are making the system work more efficiently downtown in the afternoon by taking the first express bus they can (i.e. any 60-series for someone who lives in Kanata) rather than waiting for a specific one - in effect the express bus system is being saved from itself by the actions of passengers not doing what the express bus system was intended to do...

At this point, we might as well chuck the direct-to-downtown express buses and just consolidate them into a small number of high frequency routes that do suburban hub/P&R to downtown runs without stopping (unless they're not full) until Westboro or Hurdman. Since we're getting 47 new artics this fall, now is the time to start the switchover to a modified hub-and-spoke system.

I have often had a couple thoughts on the above. The first is rather shocking and unorthodox:

Scrap all suburban local routes
More near Greenbelt local routes 3 digit routes
Scrap the 95, 96 and 97 mostly

Run express buses in high frequency and all day (frequency varied according to business level)

Run some transitway express buses to Trim, and the Airport etc., perhaps with stops somehow limited

You then end up with service along the transitway that is scaled to business level since different routes will turn off at different point. The key would be to use a numbering and signage that makes it easy to know what the last transitway stop is.

This also gives almost everyone in the city the a transfer free trip downtown and means they are at most one transfer from anywhere to anywhere

===========================================

As for something less dramatic: what about skip-stop service along the transitway for the express buses. It would keep things fast but still allow for some fillers to be picked up along the way.
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  #2978  
Old Posted Jul 22, 2008, 9:48 PM
Suzie Suzie is offline
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Originally Posted by Dado View Post
In practice, this doesn't work too well. At Dominion the express buses just blow past the station without even looking like they might stop if you requested it, and ditto for Westboro. Occasionally at Westboro an express bus comes to a stop to let someone off, and so you can get on, but even that tends to prompt some dirty looks from other passengers. These days, with many express buses now at standing room only, it's barely even worth the effort - and I can appreciate that people who have been standing on a swaying bus barrelling down the Queensway at 100 km/h since getting on at Eagleson probably don't want any further delays. My guess is that the park and ride lots are ensuring that most inbound express buses are now full anyway since those riders boarding at the P&Rs are in effect acting as a "topping-up" pool to fill any underfilled buses. I've already written before about how the same P&R users are making the system work more efficiently downtown in the afternoon by taking the first express bus they can (i.e. any 60-series for someone who lives in Kanata) rather than waiting for a specific one - in effect the express bus system is being saved from itself by the actions of passengers not doing what the express bus system was intended to do...

At this point, we might as well chuck the direct-to-downtown express buses and just consolidate them into a small number of high frequency routes that do suburban hub/P&R to downtown runs without stopping (unless they're not full) until Westboro or Hurdman. Since we're getting 47 new artics this fall, now is the time to start the switchover to a modified hub-and-spoke system.
I can’t speak for Dominion, but my experience at Westboro with the Inbound Rule at Westboro has been very good, even in cases where no one is getting off. If I stick my arm out, the express and rural buses stop more than 80% of the time (a stronger commitment to the Rule by OC Transpo would boost that percentage even higher). Usually, those that don’t are already full (although I’ll acknowledge that there are exceptions). I find that most express have plenty of space available, especially for standees, while the rural ones consistently have many empty seats. Overall, my AM trips to downtown are split pretty evenly – one-third on express/rural buses, one-third on peak-only routes such as the 50 and the 67, and other third on the 87/95/96/97. The first two groups tend to be faster because they skip the “Good Companion” stop after Lebreton.
As for the nasty looks, I have not noticed. Perhaps, they know that if they complain to me I’ll respond “you have a seat, I don’t” and “I pay almost as much as you for a trip that’s one-third of the distance”. I can nonetheless understand the frustration if loading takes too long, which can be the case when some riders pay with tickets/cash or, worse, pepper the driver with questions. Making the lower platform a PoP zone (i.e., making people pay before they go down the stairs) and people more aware of the Inbound Rule would minimize this delay (the use of rear-door boarding would also help).
The real challenge is trying to find a way to implement something like this in the afternoon, especially since I consistently see many express, rural and peak routes with low load factors. Combined with cheap station improvements and greater use of PoP, this would get us a greatly-improved system relatively quickly.
I’m not a big fan of the hub-and-spoke system, as it would significantly increase transfers and cause a substantial loss in ridership. If it has to be implemented (I believe that there are superior options), it should only be done in the afternoon.
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  #2979  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2008, 12:37 AM
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AuxTown AuxTown is offline
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Also, on a similar subject, I don't know what is your opinion about allowing pets on buses, but in Toronto, some people had their dogs. I couldn't stand it, the smell, the wetness.
This is really not the time to consider such an option. We are having capacity issues on almost all routes at peak times and some even on weekends (due to decreased frequency). You can really cut the tension with a knife when people are crammed on a bus and forced to stand for 15-20 minutes; the last thing we need is someone using up a seat for their cat carrier or ridiculous pink dog. They should have to pay an extra fare of some kind for their pet to take up room on an already over-crowded system. I guess it might work if they limit people to only bringing their pets during off-peak hours.

It's nice to see such increases in ridership despite route frequency cuts and over-crowding. Hopefully, they can use this extra income to make the system more efficient as it's gonna be a long time before we roll through downtown on a train.
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  #2980  
Old Posted Jul 23, 2008, 5:57 PM
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A press release from Clive Doucet... looks like the cat is out of the bag now...

http://www.clivedoucet.com/


Press Release July 23, 2008
No Tunnel for 7 to 11 years -
Special Tax Levy needed

Deputy City Manager confirms that no tunnel for a least 7 to 11 years – and special tax levy will be required. The City’s matching funds are no longer on table for any rail project.

At 11 a. m. on Thursday, July 24, in the Richmond Room at Ottawa City Hall, Councillor Clive Doucet will share responses he received from city staff confirming timing and cost implications of Transit Option 4.

Concerned that the current transit plan will do nothing for the next decade but invest heavily in more buses, Doucet put a number of questions to city staff.

What some of the responses mean for Ottawa:

The old plan had no special levy for transit and built rail first. The new plan will require as special levy to implement and will be buses first. The city’s matching funds that were available under the old plan are no longer on the table. They have been re-appropriated to busways and other projects.

“The new plan will invest approximately $900 million for about 65 kilometres of exclusive busways and $600 kilometres [millions is what I think he meant] for buses…”

This means more congestion in the city core, more diesel pollution, and no relief from rising fuel costs.

With the city poised to spend hundreds of millions on more buses and busways, our priorities have become reversed. Clive will point out that “people are right to want light rail first, it’s the smart choice but that’s not what is going to happen. The train Ottawa is expecting is a bus”.

Questions and answers, and backgrounders will be available at the press conference.
For more information contact:

Clive Doucet
613-580-2487
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