The Great Canadian Transit Thread

[Doady]

I don't think Hamilton deserves any LRT money. I would be angry of the province spent money for LRT in Hamilton. Hamilton already spent hundreds of millions of their money and provincial money for their new expressways and continued to divert funding from HSR to roads. Why is transit ridership in Hamilton declining? Think about that. The ridership per capita of Hamilton is now lower than Mississauga's if you can believe it. That is seriously just pathetic.

Hamilton these days seems more committed to roads and sprawl. Until Hamilton commits to transit in Hamilton, I don't see why the rest of Ontario has any obligation to commit to transit in Hamilton.

[TorontoDrew]

I think Hamilton's problem is most of the money lives up the mountain. They don't care about investing in their urban core as much as they should.

[caltrane74]

Originally Posted by TorontoDrew

I think Hamilton's problem is most of the money lives up the mountain. They don't care about investing in their urban core as much as they should.

True Point... - Lots of beautiful homes in Ancaster!!

Hell, Micheal Lee Chin, use to live down the street from my auntie on Lover's Lane...in the summer his driveway was a showcase of Exotic Cars!!!

[matt602]

Even more ironically, our only Liberal MPP in Hamilton represents Ancaster.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Originally Posted by matt602

Even more ironically, our only Liberal MPP in Hamilton represents Ancaster.

^Bingo!

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[caltrane74]

That is a serious train station!!

I wonder if Metrolinx (and the Province?) are gonna really push for electrification to Hamilton along with 15 minute service. I don't know if that's possible or if there is even the market for that type of transit service in Hamilton. Mississauga and Oakville yes, Hamilton and Burlington...not so much??

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by caltrane74

That is a serious train station!!

I wonder if Metrolinx (and the Province?) are gonna really push for electrification to Hamilton along with 15 minute service. I don't know if that's possible or if there is even the market for that type of transit service in Hamilton. Mississauga and Oakville yes, Hamilton and Burlington...not so much??

If the service extends out to Stoney Creek (and maybe Grimsby) I could see half and hour frequencies being useful. 15 minutes might be a little high though. The express bus does every 20-30 minutes depending on the time of day and (from my limited experience) seems pretty busy.

[caltrane74]

Yes the bus (60 seats) is busy every 20 mins or so, but a train with space for 1500?? On the half hour?

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by caltrane74

Yes the bus (60 seats) is busy every 20 mins or so, but a train with space for 1500?? On the half hour?

The bus is full without any stops between. If there's demand for every 15 minutes to Oakville or Burlington then you're not planning to fill the train in Hamilton.

[SteelTown]

To build that huge station and millions, think $40 million, it seems like a total waste of money if Hamilton doesn't get 15 minute service.

I wonder in term of size how this GO station would rank against the rest. It's literally a block long.

[miketoronto]

Hamilton is getting hourly off peak and 15 minute peak GO Train service with the RER plan.
Trains all run express from Oakville to Toronto.

The bus is full, because in most cases, except during peak peak traffic, the bus beats the train. So that is why the bus fills up. It is a good 30-40 minutes faster than the train.

[Doady]

Originally Posted by Beedok

The bus is full without any stops between. If there's demand for every 15 minutes to Oakville or Burlington then you're not planning to fill the train in Hamilton.

And also some people in Hamilton might want to travel to Oakville and Burlington and vice versa, which is not possible with the bus.

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by Doady

I don't think Hamilton deserves any LRT money. I would be angry of the province spent money for LRT in Hamilton. Hamilton already spent hundreds of millions of their money and provincial money for their new expressways and continued to divert funding from HSR to roads. Why is transit ridership in Hamilton declining? Think about that. The ridership per capita of Hamilton is now lower than Mississauga's if you can believe it. That is seriously just pathetic.

Hamilton these days seems more committed to roads and sprawl. Until Hamilton commits to transit in Hamilton, I don't see why the rest of Ontario has any obligation to commit to transit in Hamilton.

I agree.

Hamilton seems to go out of it's way to reduce transit usage. It's transit ridership numbers are now below London's and on a per-capita basis much, much lower as Hamilton transit serves 500,000 and London about 370,000 and Hamilton gets riders from Burlington and Grimsby to boot.

London should be getting any money before Hamilton does.

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

I agree.

Hamilton seems to go out of it's way to reduce transit usage. It's transit ridership numbers are now below London's and on a per-capita basis much, much lower as Hamilton transit serves 500,000 and London about 370,000 and Hamilton gets riders from Burlington and Grimsby to boot.

London should be getting any money before Hamilton does.

Hamilton also loses a lot of ridership due to Burlington. There's no convenient buses from Hamilton's residential areas to the employment regions in Burlington which is where a lot of Hamiltonian's work. Unlike Ottawa and Gatineau where the main employment centres are right across the river, Burlington's are well into the city and Burlington doesn't seem to like Hamilton routes crossing into it (or something like that) if the need for multiple transfers to get to Waterdown is any indication. Not saying Hamilton doesn't need to improve, but it's not totally comparable to London.

After Oshawa (which is basically a Toronto suburb), Toronto (which has a massive CMA) and Barrie (which is also pretty close to a Toronto suburb) Hamilton has the next longest commute. With the Toronto CMA most folks are sticking to one transit agency's coverage zone (or well served by commuter transit). Barrie and Oshawa are both well served with trying to get to Toronto. Hamilton workers meanwhile are mostly trying to get to Burlington, which through it's own city planning does not have the most transit friendly employment zones.

Not blaming everything on Burlington, but amalgamation would probably seriously help transit in the area. There are definite issues with poor investment and everything else, but it also seems like the city can get money from the province to build highways and sprawl much more easily than it can get money to build transit, so it's no surprise they follow the easy money.

[J.OT13]

Underground LRT stations will now be integrated with buildings
http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/underground-lrt-stations-will-now-be-integrated-with-buildings-1.2370787

A total of roughly 18 buildings will have indoor access to the downtown O-train stations (direct or through existing links, skywalks or underground walkways).

[The_Architect]

Sigh...

New TTC streetcars plagued by a host of problems

The TTC was forced to reject several new streetcars due to serious manufacturing defects, according to the Toronto Star. Dodgy laminate and incorrectly sized under-frames meant there were significant delays getting the first in the fleet of 204 vehicles on Toronto's streets.

The problems were so bad, the Star writes, that CEO Andy Byford was concerned the vehicles would quickly break down if pushed into service. Rivets used to hold the walls to the frame in lieu of correctly fitting parts were a particular concern. Faulty wiring and loose screws were also noticed by the TTC after delivery, but those issues were rectified without pulling streetcars off the road.

...There were supposed to be 50 new, low-floor streetcars on the road by now, but due to the issues that have been traced to a Mexican factory and a two-month strike at the Thunder Bay plant, only five are up and running.

http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/05/new_ttc_streetcars_plagued_by_a_host_of_problems/

[The_Architect]

But also in Toronto/Ontario transportation news this is what the new GO train cab cars will look like...

The new Bombardier units, which are due to begin arriving in Toronto in the next few weeks, will be wi-fi enabled, have better toilets, and energy-efficient LED lighting.

http://www.blogto.com/city/2015/05/this_is_what_the_new_go_cab_cars_look_like/

[Beedok]

So, do most cities have a day pass like Toronto and Montreal do? I've never actually checked Ottawa, but I think Hamilton has one.