Calgary Public Transit II

[MalcolmTucker]

I would guess depends on the size of the loop. Strathcona's route only goes one way round.

[armorand93]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Winnipeg has these too, or at least used to. Windsor Park had one for sure, I took it all the time when I was a teenager (OK, this was 20 years ago).

The 2 routes mean that everyone is serviced equally. If you live at exactly the end of the loop, you don't care - but for everyone else, at least you have a 50% chance of getting somewhere quicker. Otherwise you might always be stuck 2 stops before the end of a route or something.

The only one I know is the Downtown Spirit (ex-Flyer)

[DizzyEdge]

I don't take the train anymore, so I'm wondering if someone can fill me on in these:
- how bad is the wait at rush hour, ie how many full trains might pass by before you're able to get on on average (I realize this is station dependant, assume middle of the free fare zone)?
- what is the planned headway when the 4 car trains are up and running?


Thanks

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

- how bad is the wait at rush hour, ie how many full trains might pass by before you're able to get on on average (I realize this is station dependant, assume middle of the free fare zone)?

Heading NW, I haven't had to wait for a train in quite some time now, short of major service disruptions. I almost want to say a year or two. I leave downtown anywhere from 3:30 to 5:30, and I'm generally doing it from one of the stations in the middle of 7th Ave. Anywhere from 4:00-5:00 it's crowded and I'm not likely to find a seat, but I certainly get on.

Heading NE, same deal. I haven't taken the train south from downtown during rush hour in years, I suspect that's where you'll hear stories about bad waits.

[kw5150]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I don't take the train anymore, so I'm wondering if someone can fill me on in these:
- how bad is the wait at rush hour, ie how many full trains might pass by before you're able to get on on average (I realize this is station dependant, assume middle of the free fare zone)?
- what is the planned headway when the 4 car trains are up and running?


Thanks

usually you can get on the first.

[DizzyEdge]

Ok cool, glad that seems to no longer be an issue. Was that resolved with shorter headways? Sounds like the 4 car trains will make things pretty damned good.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Ok cool, glad that seems to no longer be an issue. Was that resolved with shorter headways? Sounds like the 4 car trains will make things pretty damned good.

I assume so. It seems like there are a lot more trains these days. And yeah - the 4 car trains will make things awesome. While they're not totally needed in the sense of "holy — service —!!", there's plenty of room for improvement.

And any slight disruption in service still results in packed trains, so some more spare capacity will be awesome.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by freeweed

I assume so. It seems like there are a lot more trains these days. And yeah - the 4 car trains will make things awesome. While they're not totally needed in the sense of "holy — service —!!", there's plenty of room for improvement.

And any slight disruption in service still results in packed trains, so some more spare capacity will be awesome.

Considering some of the newspaper comment section comments I've seen this year where people rant about not being able to get on the train for a few trains, I'm wondering how many other people just assume the service is as it was a few years ago. It would be cool to publish some sort of metric, but not sure how that could be acquired.

[artvandelay]

Going southbound during the evening rush is more of an issue, I'd say that in the past month I've had to wait for the next train 3 times. Especially at around 5:45pm when CT always runs two (and occasionally 3!) Mcknight trains in a row.

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by artvandelay

Going southbound during the evening rush is more of an issue, I'd say that in the past month I've had to wait for the next train 3 times. Especially at around 5:45pm when CT always runs two (and occasionally 3!) Mcknight trains in a row.

Multiple NE trains in a row is a result of trains going out of service, and heading up to Oliver Bowen Maintenance Facility.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

Considering some of the newspaper comment section comments

You can pretty much just stop there.

[YYCguys]

I had the opportunity today to take the #300 Airport/Downtown BRT. I was chatting with one of the CT fellows while waiting for the bus to arrive at the airport. He was saying that the service has seen steady usage and could very well be made permanent.

Having said that, there were only 2 people, including myself, on the entire trip. I like that the front bench seats fold up (intended for wheelchairs and strollers, but works well for folks like me with suitcases).

It costs a steep $8 (apparantly the same cost as a day pass) but I was able to transfer onto the CTrain. Incidentally, the TTC (Toronto) Airport/Kipling express bus costs the same as any of their other routes ($3) but doesn't have fold up seats for suitcases or luggage racks so it gets awfully crowded.

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

I had the opportunity today to take the #300 Airport/Downtown BRT. I was chatting with one of the CT fellows while waiting for the bus to arrive at the airport. He was saying that the service has seen steady usage and could very well be made permanent.

Having said that, there were only 2 people, including myself, on the entire trip. I like that the front bench seats fold up (intended for wheelchairs and strollers, but works well for folks like me with suitcases).

It costs a steep $8 (apparantly the same cost as a day pass) but I was able to transfer onto the CTrain. Incidentally, the TTC (Toronto) Airport/Kipling express bus costs the same as any of their other routes ($3) but doesn't have fold up seats for suitcases or luggage racks so it gets awfully crowded.

well and it's only $2.75 in the other direction.

The comment about the daypass. I THINK, but am not 100% sure, that since 'pass holders' are exempt from the special fee, you might be able to purchase a daypass for your trip from YYC, which could be useful for tourists who might want to travel around on transit.

[5seconds]

"For the first time, the census included questions about transportation. One working respondent in each household was asked how they get to work. Almost 70 per cent said they drive to work alone and 17 per cent said they take public transit."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2011/07/27/calgary-census-data.html

[fusili]

Originally Posted by 5seconds

"For the first time, the census included questions about transportation. One working respondent in each household was asked how they get to work. Almost 70 per cent said they drive to work alone and 17 per cent said they take public transit."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/story/2011/07/27/calgary-census-data.html

I can't wait until the community breakdown. My guess for Beltline: 70% walk (I said walk, even though I take the train from 8th to City Hall, not sure how to answer in that case). I think you will see higher bicycle ridership from communities such as Parkdale, Capitol Hill, Kingsland etc. As I did my master's thesis on travel behavior, I am so geekily stoked for this, it isn't funny.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by fusili

I can't wait until the community breakdown. My guess for Beltline: 70% walk (I said walk, even though I take the train from 8th to City Hall, not sure how to answer in that case). I think you will see higher bicycle ridership from communities such as Parkdale, Capitol Hill, Kingsland etc. As I did my master's thesis on travel behavior, I am so geekily stoked for this, it isn't funny.

Everyone walks some distance to and from transit, so this shouldn't be a hard decision.

Seriously though, I'd hope they would have said something like "most distance" or "primary mode" or something. Otherwise how do you count someone who drives to a PnR lot? That's technically driving, walking AND transit.

[bigcanuck]

Originally Posted by fusili

I can't wait until the community breakdown. My guess for Beltline: 70% walk (I said walk, even though I take the train from 8th to City Hall, not sure how to answer in that case). I think you will see higher bicycle ridership from communities such as Parkdale, Capitol Hill, Kingsland etc. As I did my master's thesis on travel behavior, I am so geekily stoked for this, it isn't funny.

About 41% in Beltline walk. Page 123 of the following:
http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/cityclerks/2011_census_result_book.pdf

[DizzyEdge]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Everyone walks some distance to and from transit, so this shouldn't be a hard decision.

Seriously though, I'd hope they would have said something like "most distance" or "primary mode" or something. Otherwise how do you count someone who drives to a PnR lot? That's technically driving, walking AND transit.

Yeah, a better question might be:
"What is your most common form of transportation to work"
- drive
- walk
- bike
- drive to transit
- walk to transit
- bike to transit

[fusili]

Originally Posted by bigcanuck

About 41% in Beltline walk. Page 123 of the following:
http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/cityclerks/2011_census_result_book.pdf

Sweet! Thanks for that. I never knew the full results were released as of yet.

[bigcanuck]

Released moments ago...