The Great Canadian Transit Thread - Page 811

jamincan · #**16201** Posted **Aug 17, 2021, 3:59 PM**

I think Bowmanville is already planned, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Peterborough and Belleville/Trenton eventually.

JHikka · #**16202** Posted **Aug 17, 2021, 4:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamincan

I think Bowmanville is already planned, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Peterborough and Belleville/Trenton eventually.

Bowmanville is indeed already planned for Lakeshore East. I don't know how much use there would be for Belleville/Trenton currently. It's a big jump from Bowmanville to Belleville with relatively little in between.

swimmer_spe · #**16203** Posted **Aug 17, 2021, 9:56 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JHikka

Bowmanville is indeed already planned for Lakeshore East. I don't know how much use there would be for Belleville/Trenton currently. It's a big jump from Bowmanville to Belleville with relatively little in between.

I know of the Bowmanville extension. I am wondering whether Belleville and Kingston are too far to be commuters. People do use Via to do it.

jamincan · #**16204** Posted **Aug 17, 2021, 10:42 PM**

Belleville would be the furthest point if added now, but it wouldn't really be any further than London, with Port Hope, Cobourg, and Trenton being major intermediate points.

Improved VIA service from Kingston would make more sense, but eventually Metrolinx is going to get tired of waiting while the federal government sits on its hands studying what to do with VIA and just start its own service. They've largely displaced VIA out of Kitchener now, and I wouldn't be surprised if VIA abandons that corridor completely if/when Metrolinx extends it to London.

My big wish would be for Metrolinx to start acquiring DMUs and using them to extend service out from the planned RER network to allow higher frequencies on the edges of the network, and also allow extensions beyond. Woodstock-Aldershot, Collingwood-Barrie, London-Bramalea, Niagara-Aldershot, Kitchener-Hamilton, and so on.

Reecemartin · #**16205** Posted **Aug 28, 2021, 1:28 PM**

Had a great time riding on Line 5 Eglinton's surface section yesterday! Enjoy this video.

https://youtu.be/wFbDlB91wo8

jamincan · #**16206** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 2:06 AM**

I heard about a man seeing how far he could travel on local transit in 24 hours in the UK, and it has made me wonder what the record would be in Canada. My criteria is that it should be generally local/regional transit that operates on a schedule, and that you don't need to buy a ticket for or book in advance, and that operates throughout the day. Rather than using distance as the crow flies, I'll use the shortest route between the end-points found by Google Maps.

My current best for Southern Ontario:

Niagara Region Transit:
Rt 22
6:55am - Leisureplex, Fort Erie
7:20am - Canadian Drive Hub, Niagara Falls
Rt 65
7:29am - Canadian Drive Hub, Niagara Falls
7:43am - Morrison/Dorchester Hub, Niagara Falls
Rt 40
8:00am - Morrison/Dorchester Hub, Niagara Falls
8:19am - Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-Lake(ish)

GO Transit
Rt 12
8:22am - Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-Lake(ish)
9:46am - Burlington GO, Burlington
Lakeshore West
10:01am - Burlington GO, Burlington
11:00am - Union Station, Toronto
Lakeshore East
11:05am - Union Station, Toronto
12:05pm - Oshawa GO, Oshawa
Rt 88
12:13pm - Oshawa GO, Oshawa
13:58pm - Trent University, Peterborough

Total distance: 298 km

It might be possible to get *slightly* farther with Peterborough Transit, but Trent University is basically the most remote point it serves anyway.

There is actually a string of local transit services across SW Ontario that link Sarnia to the GTA through London, Stratford, and Kitchener, but PC Connect (Perth County) linking London to KW requires prior booking to reserve a seat. If GO eventually extends service to London this falls as it seems it may, that would extend it to about 330km, but the schedule would likely be a lot more tight than this one.

swimmer_spe · #**16207** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 2:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamincan

I heard about a man seeing how far he could travel on local transit in 24 hours in the UK, and it has made me wonder what the record would be in Canada. My criteria is that it should be generally local/regional transit that operates on a schedule, and that you don't need to buy a ticket for or book in advance, and that operates throughout the day. Rather than using distance as the crow flies, I'll use the shortest route between the end-points found by Google Maps.

My current best for Southern Ontario:

Niagara Region Transit:
Rt 22
6:55am - Leisureplex, Fort Erie
7:20am - Canadian Drive Hub, Niagara Falls
Rt 65
7:29am - Canadian Drive Hub, Niagara Falls
7:43am - Morrison/Dorchester Hub, Niagara Falls
Rt 40
8:00am - Morrison/Dorchester Hub, Niagara Falls
8:19am - Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-Lake(ish)

GO Transit
Rt 12
8:22am - Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-Lake(ish)
9:46am - Burlington GO, Burlington
Lakeshore West
10:01am - Burlington GO, Burlington
11:00am - Union Station, Toronto
Lakeshore East
11:05am - Union Station, Toronto
12:05pm - Oshawa GO, Oshawa
Rt 88
12:13pm - Oshawa GO, Oshawa
13:58pm - Trent University, Peterborough

Total distance: 298 km

It might be possible to get *slightly* farther with Peterborough Transit, but Trent University is basically the most remote point it serves anyway.

There is actually a string of local transit services across SW Ontario that link Sarnia to the GTA through London, Stratford, and Kitchener, but PC Connect (Perth County) linking London to KW requires prior booking to reserve a seat. If GO eventually extends service to London this falls as it seems it may, that would extend it to about 330km, but the schedule would likely be a lot more tight than this one.

What if only local transit, not regional transit was used?

jamincan · #**16208** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 12:05 PM**

I think you'd still be looking at a similar routing, likely Grimsby to Oshawa at around 160km. Why wouldn't you include regional transit services, though?

Innsertnamehere · #**16209** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 1:09 PM**

Grimsby doesn't have local transit service, so it would likely be Stoney Creek to Bowmanville.

Another option would be to start somewhere like Port Rowan to Brantford, hop on GO there, then ride to Peterborough. By my count that's about 310km.

The Port Rowan-Brantford bus only runs one day a week though so I'm not sure if that counts. If you cut it back to Simcoe it would be 5 days a week, but then it's only about 275km.

Beedok · #**16210** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 1:20 PM**

I think Mount Hope or the Ancaster Business Park would the furthest part of Hamilton from Bowmanville (that gets HSR service)?

Also, I think Munster to Buckingham is the furthest you can go around Ottawa? About 81km. Not too bad for just two transit agencies.

jamincan · #**16211** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 2:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beedok

I think Mount Hope or the Ancaster Business Park would the furthest part of Hamilton from Bowmanville (that gets HSR service)?

Also, I think Munster to Buckingham is the furthest you can go around Ottawa? About 81km. Not too bad for just two transit agencies.

What about the commuter services? I think a lot are suspended at the moment, but assuming they return to service, I think the furthest you could go is Alexandria to Arnprior at about 167 km.

nname · #**16212** Posted **Aug 31, 2021, 8:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamincan

I heard about a man seeing how far he could travel on local transit in 24 hours in the UK, and it has made me wonder what the record would be in Canada. My criteria is that it should be generally local/regional transit that operates on a schedule, and that you don't need to buy a ticket for or book in advance, and that operates throughout the day. Rather than using distance as the crow flies, I'll use the shortest route between the end-points found by Google Maps.

Seems like the longest in BC is from Hope to Lions Bay, a distance of about 180km. Maybe one day we'll see it extend to Pemberton so it will be over 300km...

The system on Vancouver Island have 2 gaps, a 8km one from Ladysmith to Nanaimo Airport (I guess people from Ladysmith don't use their closest airport?), and another 10km from Deep Bay to Fanny Bay. Otherwise it run from Sooke to Campbell River (also about 300km). I wonder if Ferry count as "Transit" though.. it certainly met all criteria, maybe except the ticket part (though you need to buy ticket beforehand for subway too?)

There are longer routes in interior that served by regional transit, but they only run once a day or maybe a few time a week, so it doesn't count...

If we are really stretching, you can take a bus from Hope to somewhere in Oregon if you are willing to walk the 2.5km across the border and spend some nights in a bus station...

hipster duck · #**16213** Posted **Sep 1, 2021, 1:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nname

If we are really stretching, you can take a bus from Hope to somewhere in Oregon if you are willing to walk the 2.5km across the border and spend some nights in a bus station...

Public transit is generally worse in the US, but being able to travel from one region to the next on a local bus is generally better. I was driving through the wilderness of Olympic Peninsula on US-101 and was surprised to see a city bus traveling in the other direction toward Port Angeles, about 70 km away.

A friend of mine did a bike tour for his honeymoon where he parked his car in Humboldt, CA and rode down to San Francisco. On the way back, they used various public transit buses, putting their bicycles on the front racks, and were able to make the entire journey back on local public transit over 2 days. Now, I wouldn't spend the end of my honeymoon riding in the back of American city buses for 500km, but if that's your jam, you can do it.

Beedok · #**16214** Posted **Sep 1, 2021, 1:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nname

Seems like the longest in BC is from Hope to Lions Bay, a distance of about 180km. Maybe one day we'll see it extend to Pemberton so it will be over 300km...

Can you count BC Ferries? From my limited experience they didn't seem too different an experience from GO Transit from a ticket purchasing angle?

swimmer_spe · #**16215** Posted **Sep 1, 2021, 6:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by nname

If we are really stretching, you can take a bus from Hope to somewhere in Oregon if you are willing to walk the 2.5km across the border and spend some nights in a bus station...

I wonder, without walking more than a few metres to a stop, what is the furthest international. I know Windsor has a city bus that goes to Detroit.

Coldrsx · #**16216** Posted **Sep 2, 2021, 2:11 PM**

Federal Conservatives pledge funding support for two Edmonton LRT expansion projects in election platform

Author of the article

ustin Cook

If elected, O’Toole said his party would move forward with the already-approved 4.5-kilometre Capital Line South extension and “immediately prioritize” the Metro Line LRT expansion from Blatchford to Castle Downs. The Metro Line extension has previously been highlighted as council’s next priority when dollars are available.

https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-n...1302&mc_cid=8c38cbc5c6&mc_eid=b81cde227f

Reecemartin · #**16217** Posted **Sep 3, 2021, 1:08 PM**

Happy birthday, TTC! This is what I think the transit agency's greatest achievement is.

https://youtu.be/y3Rpbahpruc

TorontoDrew · #**16218** Posted **Sep 3, 2021, 4:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reecemartin

Happy birthday, TTC! This is what I think the transit agency's greatest achievement is.

https://youtu.be/y3Rpbahpruc

As somebody who lives in the Old City boundaries this guy seems out of touch with the reality of Streetcars vs Buses. I bet he drives. And as a cyclist in the city, street car routes are way safer to navigate vs sharing the road with buses. oi can tell from just looking at him sharing the roads with traffic is never an issue. The majority of people who bitch about streetcars are those who never use them but drive through the city. Street cars aren't slow it's the all of the people driving alone in their vehicles that cause traffic slow downs. the King Street Car is the fasrtest way across the downtown core now, as fast as cycling, and faster then any car or bus.

Beedok · #**16219** Posted **Sep 4, 2021, 11:37 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

As somebody who lives in the Old City boundaries this guy seems out of touch with the reality of Streetcars vs Buses. I bet he drives. And as a cyclist in the city, street car routes are way safer to navigate vs sharing the road with buses. oi can tell from just looking at him sharing the roads with traffic is never an issue. The majority of people who bitch about streetcars are those who never use them but drive through the city. Street cars aren't slow it's the all of the people driving alone in their vehicles that cause traffic slow downs. the King Street Car is the fasrtest way across the downtown core now, as fast as cycling, and faster then any car or bus.

Street car tracks are notoriously dangerous for cyclists?

TorontoDrew · #**16220** Posted **Sep 4, 2021, 2:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beedok

Street car tracks are notoriously dangerous for cyclists?

For new riders yes, spend a few weeks getting used to them and they just become a simple obstacle that you barely even notice. Now take bus a bus route where the buses randomly pull over forcing cyclists to pass them, never knowing for sure if the bus will pull back out or see them. Your also forced out into a live traffic lane to do this.

I'd love to see a survey of Toronto cyclists that live or travel through the core each day to see if they prefer sharing the roads with busses or streetcars. I'd be very surprised to see bus routes preferred.

I do recall a study a few years back that showed streetcars were involved in almost half of all pedestrian and cyclists deaths each year, a disproportionately high number, but one of the main factors end up being they run in areas with a very high number cyclists and pedestrians, unlike the buroughs that are mainly bus routes but void of almost any cyclists sharing the road. Still the number of people killed by TTC vehicles each year is only a tiny fraction of the number killed by motorists.

As long as one stays undestracted and alert, I still stand by sharing a road with a street car to be a much more predictable and safe choice to cross the cities core then a bus route.

On a side note, before the pandemic when I was cycling each day form my house in Riverside on Dundas across town to Spadina and Richmond I would Use King as my route. No bike lanes but also almost no cars and just streetcars. It was safe then using the Richmond, Dundas, or Adelaide bike lanes as during rush hour people use the bike lanes as pick up and drop off lanes and I never once saw any sort of enforcement. I only ever saw near collisions.