The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[miketoronto]

Originally Posted by Dmajackson

Halifax has one route that is ten minutes or better well into the evenings, and it also has its first transit corridor with a guaranteed bus bus every 10 minutes from Portland Hills to the Bridge.

Yes that is part of their high frequency corridor plan. Weekend service is every 20 minutes, which is not bad and a start.

Buses can run more often than every 15 minutes. But most cities do designate 15 minutes as the upper limit for high frequency service. Calgary making the upper limit every 10 minutes us a great step and really sets the bar higher.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Aylmer

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the underground stations going to be built 150m from day one and the surface stations have 120m platforms, but be designed to be easily upgradable to 150m when the ridership demands it?

This is news to me. Which ones?

The plan for July 2011 when they announced the new Queen Street alignment, they were looking at 150m underground and 120m surface but when the winning bid was announced, it was revealed to be 120/90. I can't find any official documents stating this, but you can see it on this site on the paragraph before the rendering of Rideau Station and the logos of the consortium partners.

http://www.tunneltalk.com/Canada-Dec12-O...ation-Line-light-rail-transit-system.php

As for grade separation, although the City was considering at grade portions, it seems that they are now going all out for total grade separation as seen with the western extension (Richmond Underground), the favourite option for Iris station (underpass) and the underground Connaught Avenue portion (Lincoln Fields to Pinecrest).

[rbt]

Originally Posted by Beedok

15 minutes is a frequency Thunder Bay has on it's main route. Lots of routes in Ottawa are on like a 7-8 minute frequency, I think Toronto has a few on a 5 minute one.

Finch West, one of the most frequent routes, in Toronto runs with 2 to 3 minute headways during morning/afternoon peak, but in the evening it gradually slows from 7 minute to 10 minute frequencies (8pm to midnight); then 30 minutes overnight between 2am and 5am. If you took the best 15 hours of service it would probably be 8 minute frequencies.

http://www.ttc.ca/Schedule/schedule.jsp?Route=36W&Stop=FINCH_STATION


Toronto doesn't really do favours for riders aside from overnight service. In general, it runs enough buses to comfortably carry the passengers (few standing/mostly seated off-peak) and no more than that.

[vid]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

Good to know whining about transit isn't a Vancouver-only phenomenon lol

Dude, people in your city line up for bus stops.

Look at this:


This is Vancouverites waiting for a bus. (Actually it's Surrians but whatever.) This was, like, 20 minutes before the bus even got there!

Do you know what we do in Thunder Bay when we wait for the bus? We clump. We clump.

At the city hall stop on the Broadway B-Line, they formed properly spaced line-ups for each of the three doors on the bus. It was so civilized that I failed to comprehend it and got in trouble for not "queuing".

Thunder Bayers will run into the bus while it is still moving at the stop, and then run over wheelchair bound people to get into the bus like rabid mice zeroing in on the first piece of cheese in months.

I know this isn't specifically referring to complaints, but please, if you're lining up orderly for the damn things, how many complaints can you have?? I have overheard people here threatening to kill others because they missed a bus.

Seriously though, after a week of depending on Translink, the only complaint I have is that the stop finder website isn't GPS-based. (Ours is, but it no longer functions correctly.)

Although after writing this I do remember that my aunt (which is disabled) has complained a lot about transit, but that's really more a Surrey thing. Service in Surrey is definitely a step down from what it is in Vancouver.

[miketoronto]

This report has a map of the primary transit corridors for Calgary.
http://conf.tac-atc.ca/english/annualconference/tac2013/session10/jordan.pdf

[someone123]

Originally Posted by miketoronto

Yes that is part of their high frequency corridor plan. Weekend service is every 20 minutes, which is not bad and a start.

The frequencies in Halifax are misleading because the city has a baroque system of milk-run type bus routes. If you're going somewhere in the urban core or in an inner suburb, there are usually a few different bus routes you can take. It is still not a very good system though and it's gotten this way because they keep incrementally adding routes every year.

The downtown map is almost comical. I guess visitors are expected to just not bother (PS - some buses go "backwards" so you have to get on the side of the street pointing away from the city to go there):


http://www.halifax.ca/metrotransit/Schedules/documents/RouteMap.pdf

In addition to upgrading the bus routes the city really needs some kind of transit corridor somewhere to build around. This could be BRT in dedicated lanes, streetcar, or LRT. Commuter rail might be implemented but it won't serve the same purpose -- it'll just be another niche thing for one part of the city, like the MetroLink BRT-lite in Dartmouth, MetroX shuttles (the airport one is good), or the ferries.

[GernB]

Originally Posted by vid

I know this isn't specifically referring to complaints, but please, if you're lining up orderly for the damn things, how many complaints can you have?? I have overheard people here threatening to kill others because they missed a bus.

This made me smile. Though I've complained a lot about the service here, transit users in Lethbridge are generally very polite as well, I've made a few friends since I started taking the bus regularly. The drivers also except for very few are friendly, helpful and seem to enjoy their jobs.

I've never used transit much anywhere else other than Calgary when I lived there so can't comment on it.

[GernB]

Just remembered the transit promo from a few years ago. "I've got a limo that's forty feet long. I've got a driver who won't steer me wrong. Commuting is easier than it ever was. I'm taking it easy, I take the bus".

[ssiguy]

You always have a few bad apples but generally I must say that most bus drivers in Translink are quite polite and helpful.

I know in White Rock, the bus that runs every 15 minutes all day {much more frequent during rush hours} are the standard highway buses with only one door at the front of the bus and EVERYONE always thanks the bus driver and they always acknowledge it.

I always thought London had a decent system and it has the 3rd highest per capita ridership in Ontario after Toronto and Ottawa. It always seemed quite frequent but it's biggest downfall is that there is no service after midnight.

[GernB]

The buses I've ridden here have two sets of doors but I always see people get up even from the back of the bus and walk to the front set to exit. No point to be made here I just find it curious. No service after midnight here either, even on weekends and reduced service saturday night and sunday morning and no service after 6PM sunday night. No service on most holidays either.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by vid

Dude, people in your city line up for bus stops.

Look at this:


This is Vancouverites waiting for a bus. (Actually it's Surrians but whatever.) This was, like, 20 minutes before the bus even got there!

Do you know what we do in Thunder Bay when we wait for the bus? We clump. We clump.

At the city hall stop on the Broadway B-Line, they formed properly spaced line-ups for each of the three doors on the bus. It was so civilized that I failed to comprehend it and got in trouble for not "queuing".

Thunder Bayers will run into the bus while it is still moving at the stop, and then run over wheelchair bound people to get into the bus like rabid mice zeroing in on the first piece of cheese in months.

I know this isn't specifically referring to complaints, but please, if you're lining up orderly for the damn things, how many complaints can you have?? I have overheard people here threatening to kill others because they missed a bus.

Seriously though, after a week of depending on Translink, the only complaint I have is that the stop finder website isn't GPS-based. (Ours is, but it no longer functions correctly.)

Although after writing this I do remember that my aunt (which is disabled) has complained a lot about transit, but that's really more a Surrey thing. Service in Surrey is definitely a step down from what it is in Vancouver.

hahah that's almost fascinating! I've never taken transit outside of Vancouver, so I assumed people lined up everywhere. Hell, I'm in a line for transit at least twice a day! Seems the logical way to do it, I guess I took it for granted lol

[Nouvellecosse]

Originally Posted by GernB

The buses I've ridden here have two sets of doors but I always see people get up even from the back of the bus and walk to the front set to exit. No point to be made here I just find it curious. No service after midnight here either, even on weekends and reduced service saturday night and sunday morning and no service after 6PM sunday night. No service on most holidays either.

Oh I find that excruciatingly annoying.

[GernB]

Originally Posted by Nouvellecosse

Oh I find that excruciatingly annoying.

Just a curiousity really but I can see where it could slow buses down a bit. An extra 20-30 seconds for this times the number of stops could add up I guess.

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by GernB

The buses I've ridden here have two sets of doors but I always see people get up even from the back of the bus and walk to the front set to exit. No point to be made here I just find it curious.

That's common practice in Gatineau - if it doesn't cause trouble, people go to the front to say thanks and bye to the driver.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by vid

Do you know what we do in Thunder Bay when we wait for the bus? We clump. We clump.

It's not clumping, it's huddling for warmth.

[Chadillaccc]

So is Gatineau's transit usage also declining because of these government layoffs or is it increasing with population increase?

[GernB]

Curious. Why doesn't Ottawa-Gatineau have an integrated transit system? Is it just petty interprovincial rivalry or something more fundamental? Seems it would make sense to have/be under one authority or at least cooperate.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

So is Gatineau's transit usage also declining because of these government layoffs or is it increasing with population increase?

Transit usage is going down because the Rapibus is an epic fail. It takes people 30-60+ minutes extra to get to work.

Originally Posted by GernB

Curious. Why doesn't Ottawa-Gatineau have an integrated transit system? Is it just petty interprovincial rivalry or something more fundamental? Seems it would make sense to have/be under one authority or at least cooperate.

Gatineau thinks it's "independent" and refuses to acknowledge that it is nothing more than Ottawa's suburb and Ottawa doesn't give a damn about Gatineau.

Throw in the carnival of idiots at the NCC who do nothing more than study studies about studies they studied before and all you get is the inadequate status quo.

Luckily, we now have a Mayor in Gatineau who's campaign was partly based on a closer relationship with Ottawa to build a more integrated transit system. On the Ontario side, we have a City government taking the necessary steps to build a proper rapid transit system and coming up with bold new ideas to fix downtown congestion (as opposed to the NCC who study the same thing 3-4 times over 30 years hoping for different results).

That said, I still don't think Ottawa is willing to work with Gatineau.

[P. Alouishous]

Originally Posted by vid

Dude, people in your city line up for bus stops.

Look at this:


This is Vancouverites waiting for a bus. (Actually it's Surrians but whatever.) This was, like, 20 minutes before the bus even got there!

Do you know what we do in Thunder Bay when we wait for the bus? We clump. We clump.

At the city hall stop on the Broadway B-Line, they formed properly spaced line-ups for each of the three doors on the bus. It was so civilized that I failed to comprehend it and got in trouble for not "queuing".

Thunder Bayers will run into the bus while it is still moving at the stop, and then run over wheelchair bound people to get into the bus like rabid mice zeroing in on the first piece of cheese in months.

I know this isn't specifically referring to complaints, but please, if you're lining up orderly for the damn things, how many complaints can you have?? I have overheard people here threatening to kill others because they missed a bus.

Seriously though, after a week of depending on Translink, the only complaint I have is that the stop finder website isn't GPS-based. (Ours is, but it no longer functions correctly.)

Although after writing this I do remember that my aunt (which is disabled) has complained a lot about transit, but that's really more a Surrey thing. Service in Surrey is definitely a step down from what it is in Vancouver.

HAHAHAHAH! Another funny/annoying thing about Vancouver transit is that virtually every rider thanks the bus driver when they get off.

[Nouvellecosse]

There's probably about 20% of riders that thank the driver here in Hfx as well and I hate it and think it's stupid. I feel like telling them, "They aren't a friend who offered you a lift. You paid for it with your fare and tax dollars, and the driver wouldn't bloody well be there if you didn't. If anything they should be thanking you for the damn job."

It just occurred to me that based on the number of simple, basically harmless things I find annoying, I must be a rather cantankerous person.