Quote:
Originally Posted by Truenorth00
You get that a climate controlled station doesn't mean the platform is as toasty as your living room right? The primary effect of any of these designs comes from protection from the elements. Beyond that, the best they are doing is ensuring that you aren't freezing in the winter or frying in the summer. An enclosed station isn't going to keep you at 15 degrees in the winter. More like 5-10 degrees. We probably use half of this much energy right now in the winter keeping that platform clear of snow and making sure the pipes don't freeze. It really wouldn't have been that much more expensive (maybe something like 5% more on capital costs net and 5-10% more on operating costs annually). But it would have vastly improved the user experience.
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Can't say I know the exact temperature of a climate controlled platform. Never experienced one myself. Doesn't matter if it's set at 5 or 15, I'm still dressed for -15.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Truenorth00
You also used to drive to work with your partner if I'm not mistaken. I would argue users who primarily rely on transit or use it everyday have higher standards. You will naturally have a higher tolerance for a worse transit service because you don't use it much. There's a different mindset when you have to tolerate something a few times a week.
If we want people to actually use transit and even prioritize it over the car, we need to start building transit that is actually comfortable for riders to a reasonable extent possible. This was a fantastic opportunity that Ottawa has sort of squandered. And I think it will become really apparent in 2-3 years when Ottawans ride the REM on their trips to Montreal.
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Yes, we drove on days where we had appointments, had to run errands or visiting our parents in the boonies. I'd argue that if you're used to driving and only take transit a few time a week, your tolerance for disruptions or comfort would be lower because you've experienced the "luxury" of your own private vehicle.
Fact is that the Confederation Line was mostly built for suburban commuters. Residents living on Montreal Road, Centretown, the Glebe, they are stuck with unreliable buses and probably don't care about the Confed's weather protection. I would prefer investing in better transit, even if it's just more bus priority, than a few extra hundred million on climate controlled stations. I think low-floor was the biggest mistake in building the Confed because of the limited layouts and door placements. Had we gone high-floor, installing PSDs in the future might have been easier, but LRVs (at least ours) have odd door placements that prevent that.
If I could go back in time and make changes, by priority based on budget:
- High-floor fully automated light metro with shorter (100 meter) platforms;
- Enclosed or better passive climate control;
- Climate-controlled stations with PSDs.
At the end of the day, what we have now is a huge improvement over the old Transitway. Great frequencies, better weather protection than before, every train is your train (every second post Stage 2) as opposed to breaking your neck trying to figure out which one of the 20 buses coming at you is yours.
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