299 bloor call control

This Metropass connects you worldwide

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:30:39 -0500

spotted in window of Six Penny Variety at Bloor and Euclid

Generally, I ignore the dozens of poorly designed phone card advertisements that are plastered on the window of every corner store, but this was one that caught my eye. This MetroPass (TTC uses Metropass) probably won’t get you on the TTC, but lets you phone world wide without connection fees! Amazing! And you’ve got to love the trademark-infringing use of the TTC logo, albeit with ‘TTC’ erased, and a big bold ‘MP’ in its place. And how about the image of the new shiny TTC subway trains? They’re on the cutting edge.

Given that the TTC has gone to extreme lengths in the past to protect their name and intellectual properties - for example, the kerfuffle a few years back around the anagram subway map - I am curious what action is going to be taken against the phone card maker. Unlike the anagram map, this infringement actually could confuse customers. A visitor or a new resident could mistakenly buy this ‘MetroPass’ believing it is a Metropass for the TTC, or worse yet, a store owner could potentially sell these as transit pass/phone card combos for a substantial markup. So here’s hoping the sometimes overzealous TTC legal department will make a move.

Public transit over free cars, always.

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:49:07 -0500

In Peter Shawn Taylor’s opinion piece (“Public transit or a free car? The choice should be obvious”, The Record, March 4, 2010), an interesting and controversial assertion was made that it may be a better use of public money earmarked for a rapid transit line in Waterloo Region to purchase Priuses for the poor. This opinion is founded on common misconceptions and misunderstanding of the role of public transit in our communities and our cities.

First, Waterloo Region’s rapid transit initiative was conceived not only to provide faster and more reliable public transit to the residents of a rapidly growing region, but to help shape the region so this growth does not continue to expand outward in sprawling subdivisions. The Central Transit Corridor was identified by the Region in its growth plan as a logical place to concentrate future job and population growth. There are few, if any, other examples in North America where so many distinct nodes of existing and potential growth are located in such a linear fashion. The proposed rapid transit line will connect a lot more than “a shopping mall in Waterloo to a transit station in Cambridge”. It will connect three world-class post secondary institutions, the University of Waterloo, Wilfred Laurier University, and Conestoga College. It will connect to the University of Waterloo’s Research and Technology Park, the incubator of ideas that will shape the future global economy. It will support the revitalization of Uptown Waterloo and Downtown Kitchener, two areas that were ignored so long but are now the heart of a great urban renaissance. And finally, it will provide a reliable and fast transit connection to Cambridge, which despite being a part of Waterloo Region, is disconnected and split from it by Highway 401 and the constant traffic jams on Highway 8.

Second, in his argument that free cars are better than public transit, Mr. Taylor completely ignores the fact that the private car, regardless of whether or not it is a hybrid, is the most costly and inefficient means of transportation to both the individual and society. The continuous cost of licensing, insurance, fuel, depreciation, parking, and maintenance negates any benefit of a ‘free’ car to any individual, let alone those with low incomes. Furthermore, he also ignores the cost of automobile dependence on taxpayers and society. The Region subsidizes drivers every year by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on road expansion and rehabilitation. The free cars under Mr. Taylor’s program will lead to thousands more cars, only increasing this burden. Public transit may cause customers to be late for work, but it is no different than a driver stuck in the very same traffic as the bus. Environmentally, cars are a massive drain on our resources in their production and use and are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. Finally, we cannot forget the price of collisions, accidents, and fatalities resulting from automobile use on individuals, families, and society.

Third, Mr. Taylor asserts that public transit is nothing more than a social service. I must agree with that assertion, although not in the same intent as Mr. Taylor. While it is true that public transit provides an essential means of mobility for low income families, seniors, students, and the disabled, high-quality public transit provides mobility choice for all people, regardless of demographics or income. This is the truest social service that transit can serve in our communities – providing freedom of choice. Nobody is served by a City or a Region dominated by the car and its dependency on it.

Since the municipal transit services were amalgamated to create Grand River Transit, service improvements, particularly the implementation of the iXpress, have elevated transit in Waterloo Region beyond a social service to a true mobility choice. One only has to see the diversity of people on a full bus – students, mothers with strollers, seniors, and yes, even suited businesspeople, to see that some of these people have made a conscious decision not to own or drive a car. If Waterloo Region is to succeed in attracting the best and brightest in jobs and people, we must continue this path to create a vibrant, diverse, and unique urban community linked by reliable and permanent rapid transit. Otherwise, we could give everyone a free car, but they might end up driving it somewhere else.

If this city is serious about pedestrian safety, how about not...

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 09:51:04 -0500

If this city is serious about pedestrian safety, how about not forcing a mid-block crossing on Richmond Street?

A new TTC System Map

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 17:55:43 -0500

A new TTC System Map

An Unscientific Poll on Token Hoarding

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:18:39 -0500

An Unscientific Poll on Token Hoarding

"It cost $50,000 to print the 10-million tickets the TTC hopes will last through the rest of the year..."

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:50:00 -0500

““It cost $50,000 to print the 10-million tickets the TTC hopes will last through the rest of the year - far less than it would have cost to mint more tokens”
“Ticket hoardings were costing the TTC an estimated $45,000 a day as frugal riders bought 20 per cent more tokens than they needed””

- Globe: Toronto transit halts sales of tokens to stop hoarding

I’ve been playing with this $45,000 per day loss figure that showed up in today’s article. Obviously, these are future losses, as the TTC is not losing anything until the fare hike takes effect on January 3rd. So some interesting (maybe?) number crunching here:

Given that the TTC would be losing 25 cents per token, then that means the TTC is estimating that approximately 180,000 tokens sold are being hoarded daily ($45,000 / 0.25).

If this 180,000 is 20% above what is typically sold, this means about 900,000 are sold daily “normally”, with total sales of 1,080,000 sold daily.

There are 40 days left until January 2, the day before the fare hike.

The TTC has a total supply of 40 million tokens.

Something does not add up. The TTC continues to use the main line of “dangerously low” token supplies - an argument that makes no sense based on the numbers above. If only 180,000 are hoarded a day, it would take 222 days to deplete the supply of 40,000,000 tokens. Even if 180,000 tokens have been hoarded daily since November 6th, when the first token restrictions went into effect, that means 10.3-million hoarded tokens by January 2nd, leaving the TTC with a supply of 29.7-million (minus a couple million that may be lost somewhere).

And all of this completely ignores the fact that people use their tokens. With 1.5-million riders daily, approximately 600,000 are Metropass rides, leaving 900,000 rides on cash and token. That’s more than enough to replenish the daily estimate of 180,000 tokens being hoarded.

The TTC must stop using dwindling token supplies as the reason for this fare foolery. Whether or not these changes are justifiable by the numbers, be up front and honest about why customers are being continuously confused and inconvenienced by all these changes.

EDIT: Come to think of it, if the TTC sold 7.2 million hoarded tokens between now and January 2, that’s $16.2-million in revenue they’re gaining without having to provide the service. That has got to be worth something, no?

Quick Fix x 5 = TTC Fare Headaches

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:38:00 -0500

With news of the upcoming fare increase in January, it should not have come as a surprise to anyone that people would begin hoarding TTC tokens to insulate themselves from the increase. It’s not a new concept: token hoarding occurred with every previous fare hike (2007, 2006). The difference this time, however, is that the TTC does not have their usual back up of paper tickets, as they were discontinued last year due to counterfeiting. The result? A token shortage, with the initial restriction to 10 tokens on Nov. 6, followed by a restriction to 5 tokens just three days later on Nov. 9, and today, the unprecedented halt to bulk token sales altogether. And the “solution” (as described by Chair Adam Giambrone)? Reintroduce paper tickets, at least temporarily, until the new year.

In the context of the budgetary pressures facing the TTC this coming year, it is appropriate to limit any potential loss of revenue through token hoarding as much as possible. However, it would be nice if the Commission was up front and honest about it. The first news release on November 6 that limited token sales to 10 made no mention of revenue loss, only to “ensure enough tokens in the system” for customer use. One week later, a news release finally mentioned the issue of hoarding, but it wasn’t until today’s release that the potential loss (estimated at $5-million in 2010 — see issue with this below) of revenue was discussed. Without a doubt, the Commission was ill prepared to deal with a fare hike in a post-ticket environment, and the actions over the past few weeks clearly demonstrate this.

INTERESTING FACT CHECK:
From today’s press release:
“Without taking these steps today, the TTC could lose more than $5 million in 2010 revenues due to token hoarding.”

The TTC ordered 20 million tokens in 2008 to replace adult tickets, on top of the original order of 20 million tokens in 2006. Hoarding would have lost the TTC 25 cents per token. To make the TTC’s estimate to lose “more than” $5-million plausible, this means that every other token the TTC has would have to be hoarded. Of course, it is extremely unlikely every single token would be even in circulation, considering the number that are lost (I lost 4 in Montreal!) and the TTC likely has a large supply in reserve.
(Thanks to @anthonyschein for correcting my earlier tweet mistake!)

So now with another quick fix, it looks like we’ll have these paper tickets again. And that brings me to the main point of this post that marks my return to the blogging world.

How many quick fixes can the TTC’s fare system handle?

In a tweet earlier today, I summarized the list of changes made to TTC fare media in the past three years that have impacted the customer experience. These include:

The introduction of new bi-metal tokens in 2006 in response to the discovery of counterfeit of the old tokens;
The termination of adult tickets in fall 2008 in response to the high rates of counterfeit tickets and the purchase of more tokens;
The introduction of security holograms and a special “activation sticker” to the Metropass in response to reports of fraudulent passes this past summer;
The announcement a couple weeks ago of plans to install Metropass readers and token validators on all buses and streetcars; and finally,
Today’s announcement of temporary paper tickets.

All of these are essentially quick fixes to the fare system, all in the name of preventing fare fraud. And all these quick fixes have come with a cost:

The initial supply of 20 million bimetal tokens cost $1.7-million to produce
An additional supply of 20 million bimetal tokens to replace tickets cost $2.0-million (source)
Security holograms on all weekly passes and Metropasses costing an additional $250,000 annually
Metropass and token validators on all buses and streetcars in 2010 will cost approximately $1.5-million.

This is a total of a minimum of $7-million for quick fixes on a fare system that is now officially obsolete, as the TTC finally adopted the Presto smartcard system that is being rolled out across the GTA last week. Adam Giambrone tweeted earlier today about a five-year timeframe for TTC Presto implementation. Given that, the total cost of these changes could be over $10-million (given additional annual cost of the new fancy holographic Metropasses). Given an nine year period between 2006 and 2015 (five year Presto target), the TTC has spent over $1.1M per year on capital alone to fight fraud. I’m curious how this cost-benefit is working out.

The worst part is, these quick fixes basically gave the TTC an excuse over the past three years to resist the adoption of Presto, a fare system that has been under development for six years. I know it is not this simple, but if the TTC had signed onto, and budgeted this $10M to actively work to implement Presto back in 2006, we would be only a year from a smartcard system that contains all sorts of security features to prevent the fraud these quick fixes have strived (and clearly failed) to do.

And now, we’re back to paper tickets, at least for the next couple months.

In response to Baird cursing Toronto...

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:12:00 -0400

My comment posted on Macleans.ca blog, in response to why Tories claim Toronto’s streetcar contract is ‘not stimulus’:

Baird claims that because Toronto’s streetcar contract is over a 10 year period, it does not offer “immediate stimulus”, which is a load of crock (see, I can control my language!). The second the contract is signed, the whole chain of supply to build them will be initialized, from the engineers, parts manufacturers, and quite possibly, the construction of a new assembly facility in the GTA. The Toronto streetcar contract also has a “Canadian Content” clause as well, where at least 25% of the value of the contract must be spent in Canada.

The reason why this isn’t acceptable to the Tories is because unlike small scale road and bridge or sewer projects, this is long term, large scale thinking that they will likely not get any photo opportunities from. The first streetcar is not expected to roll off the assembly line for two years, and they’re very well aware that they need a big publicity stunt before that. Once again, the Tory mantra is not to ‘dream big’, but to resort to expediency and short-term political advantage.

While the economy was falling down, down, down, Harper was...

Wed, 13 May 2009 14:19:01 -0400

While the economy was falling down, down, down, Harper was flying round, round round.

The Politics of the Flag Reach Canada

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:58:00 -0500

source: Macleans.ca

So Harper brought out the “Coalition isn’t patriotic because they didn’t have a flag at their news conference” card today in Question Period. By the way, this was an outright lie, there were in fact two flags at the news conference, as per the convention in displaying the Canadian flag with all the provincial and territorial flags. I pointed this out through a comment on the Macleans.ca blog, and was subsequently called a Muslim and a Terrorist (both of which I am not).

From the “Rules for Flying the Flag” Website:

“With flags of the Canadian provinces and territories

When provincial and territorial flags are flown with the National Flag of Canada, the order is based on the date of entry into Confederation of the provinces followed by the territories. In a grouping of flags that includes the National Flag of Canada and all of the flags of the provinces and territories, the order of precedence is:
1. National Flag of Canada
2. Ontario (1867)
3. Quebec (1867)
4. Nova Scotia (1867)
5. New Brunswick (1867)
6. Manitoba (1870)
7. British Columbia (1871)
8. Prince Edward Island (1873)
9. Saskatchewan (1905)
10. Alberta (1905)
11. Newfoundland (1949)
12. Northwest Territories (1870)
13. Yukon (1898)
14. Nunavut (1999)

When there are more than three flagpoles/masts, the National Flag of Canada should be flown on the left of the observer facing the flags, followed by the flags of the provinces and territories. An additional National Flag of Canada may be displayed at the end of the line if desired. ”

So basically, the coalition leaders followed the rules. Because of this layout, the Canadian flags are on the outside, which means it’s really difficult to show blatant patriotism when you want to recognize that we are a federation of provinces and territories. Stephen Harper discovered how to get past this a long time ago by putting as many flags behind him as possible, as shown below:

source: PM Harper’s Flickr Site

I find it hilarious that the Tories have tried to villify the Coalition for this, when there are these examples of their poor flag-etiquette, like here, when all the provincial/territorial flags are displayed, but not at all in the order as required above:

source: PM Harper’s Flickr Site

Why are we even talking about something so trivial like this when there are much bigger things to worry about? The politics of this are really interesting, but when it comes down to accusations of treason and disloyalty to a country we all love, I have to draw a line. Grow up Mr. Harper.

Culture in Danger (Culture en PÃ©ril, with subtitles) (via...

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:34:18 -0400

Culture in Danger (Culture en PÃ©ril, with subtitles) (via Tupperfan)

Has the LCBO Plastic Bag returned?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:36:00 -0400

The LCBO announced in May that it would no longer be handing out plastic bags at its stores, to the delight of most environmental-minded citizens, and the scorn of other plastic-loving ones. It was intended that the LCBO would not order any more bags after their supply runs out.

From their news release:

LCBO has stopped ordering plastic bags and expects supplies of the remaining stock to run out by summer. As a result, availability of plastic bags in the next few months will vary from store to store.

Note it said “by summer”. Not “in the summer” or “the end of summer” or “by fall”, but “by summer”, which would mean before June 23, 2008.

The Toronto Star went even further:

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario will announce today that it won’t hand out plastic shopping bags once it exhausts existing supplies, the Star has learned. Some stores have already run out.

So I found it strange that it is now the end of September and the three main stores I go to (Manulife Centre, Hudsons Bay Centre, and Yonge/Wellesley) are still handing out plastic bags. Even busy stores, like Yonge/Dundas, still have a supply. The strangest thing is that some stores seem to have restocked plastic bags, as in, they had run out and now they have them again.

There’s two possible explanations:

1) The program is incredibly successful and everyone is bringing their own bag or asking for paper bags (because you have to ask, since most clerks are still reaching first for the plastic). This means the supply of plastic bags is dwindling more slowly than they first thought.

2) They caved in on the policy and have quietly brought plastic bags back.

I certainly hope #1 is the case. But two things are causing me to be suspicious. First, is the return of bags at the stores that had previously run out. And second, is the quality of the more recent plastic bags - they are thinner than the old ones. Why would the bag change if there was no new contract signed?

Does your local LCBO still have plastic bags?

Stephen Harper, B. Econ, M.Econ, maybe you're "wrong" too

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:11:00 -0400

I’m sorry, I have to get my anger and distaste of Stephen Harper’s “ivory tower” comment off my chest. Doesn’t Harper have two university (“ivory tower”) degrees - a bachelors and a masters - in Economics from the University of Calgary? And according to his Wikipedia entry, he lectures often there to this day. So it angers me when he says this:

“Yes, we believe they’re wrong,” Harper said. “We’re listening to ordinary people, not people who work in ivory towers, but people who actually work on the street and deal with crime on a day-to-day basis.”

This statement means two things. First, either he believes his alma mater is no ivory tower or his education in economics is “wrong”. In my opinion, the University of Calgary is a fine post-secondary education… but based on his comments, should we now assume everything he says about economics is also “wrong”? Secondly, he must believe the 40% of Canadians with post-secondary education are “wrong”… if that’s the case, I’m interested to see what his post-secondary education plan is going to be? Destroy it? I wouldn’t be surprised.

UPDATE: Maybe Stephen Harper is attacking ivory towers because his own alma mater is disagreeing with him

Metronauts » Election 2008: How have the Tories fared?

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:37:00 -0400

Metronauts » Election 2008: How have the Tories fared?

Lookatdat! Dundas Station screen now lets you know when the next...

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:50:03 -0400

Lookatdat! Dundas Station screen now lets you know when the next train comes

What Station Am I?

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:51:07 -0400

crossposted to Metronauts.ca

Above are aerial photos of six GO train stations on the Lakeshore Line. Can you identify which station is which? Even for someone like me, who is fairly familiar with the system, I had a difficult time putting a name to each one. There are no obvious distinguishing features to make identification easy — instead, there is a typical GO Station recipe: platform, station building, parking lot, and arterial roadway access. For a transit system to be truly visible and integrated into our urban fabric, these stations should not be placeless, featureless landscapes. The above photos show just how far we still have to go. The identity of each of these stations and more discussion, after the jump.

How many did you get right?

There are three reasons why I chose to place the spotlight on the Lakeshore GO Line. First, the line has been in operation for over forty years. Second, there is already high-quality and frequent (by commuter rail standards) service to each of these stations. And last, the line is poised for significant investment and improvement as part of MoveOntario and the Metrolinx Regional Transportation Plan.

There are very few urban transit lines in the world where four decades of continuous service has failed to spur significant development adjacent to a station. With a few exceptions, GO Transit’s suburban stations are expanses of parking lots and low density development with little walkability and identity. Instead of turning these stations into urban places, the model followed was clearly to make it as efficient as possible for commuters to drive from their homes to hop on a train.

I believe the main barrier that has prevented GO Stations from becoming urban hubs is the prominence of Park and Ride in the system’s ridership strategy. Granted, park and ride clearly represents a significant proportion of riders; however, building large parking lots on the land that is also the most attractive for development is completely counterproductive to building an all-day transit culture. Unlike in urban settings, the desirability of development drops off sharply around GO Stations, mainly due to the perception of distance in suburban environments. The parking lots therefore automatically push development beyond the limit of desirability, simply due to their size. Very few people are going to purchase a home adjacent to a GO Station when it takes ten minutes to walk across a windswept parking lot. Meanwhile, park and riders get a comfortable ten minute drive to park closer to the station than those who live by it. Is there any surprise then, why few developers have jumped at building around the stations? Is it even fair to those who are choosing a more sustainable way of living, by punishing them with that long, uncomfortable walk?

A major topic in the Green and White Papers is the concept of a Mobility Hub. I believe if GO Transit and Metrolinx are truly passionate about that concept, there needs to be shift in how we design and build around existing and new GO Stations. It is possible for park and ride to coexist with Transit Oriented Development, for example, selling the park and ride lots for development that incorporates a multi-storey parking garage to maintain park and ride capacity. But most importantly, a balance has to be made in facilitating more intermodal activity beyond the existing car-to-train.

There is huge potential for our suburban GO Stations to become landmarks and places. And if we take the right approach, perhaps soon the aerial photos above will show a place with identity, and not just another parking lot.

Are you surprised with the lack of development around our GO Stations? What do you think we should see as we move forward? What kind of measures can we take to encourage the idea of Mobility Hubs?

Toronto to launch Rent-a-Bike

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:51:00 -0400

It’s taking me a moment to believe this, but accroding to an article in The Star today, Toronto will be launching next summer a bike rental system similar to the highly popular Vélib’ program in Paris and the soon-to-be-launched Public Bike System in Montreal. Considering the glacial pace that cycling intiatives move at in this city, I’m surprised, and excited that this is actually happening… now if only we have the bike lanes to go with it.

TheStar.com: Toronto will consider bottled water ban

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:30:00 -0400

TheStar.com: Toronto will consider bottled water ban:

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Toronto mayor David Miller says the city is joining the ranks of Canadian municipalities considering a ban on the sale of bottled water.

Miller says city council will examine how the city can curb bottled water waste as part of a larger effort to reduce the amount of garbage that ends up in landfills.

A report outlining the city’s options will come before council in November.

Miller says Toronto’s tap water is more pure than the leading brand of bottled water.

His comments come after the city of London, Ont., banned the sale of water bottles in their municipal buildings on Monday.

Other Canadian cities, such as Kitchener, Ottawa, and Vancouver, have all expressed interest in a similar ban.

I swear, if this is going to be the subway map on the new...

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:41:16 -0400

I swear, if this is going to be the subway map on the new trains, I will blow a gasket

GBC East Bayfront: Propelling Ontario to "Have-More" Status

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:43:00 -0400

Officially announced today was one of the East Bayfront’s worst kept secrets: a campus of George Brown College on the waterfront between Lower Sherbourne and Lower Jarvis Streets, south of Queens Quay East. It was no secret that Waterfront Toronto was wooing an education campus, and the health sciences program seems to be a perfect fit for the desired “creative-class” professionals to create a balance to the 10,000 or so residential units that will be buit in East Bayfront. More interesting are the details: not only will there be classrooms, but a student residence and a recreation centre as well, adding to a diverse mix that will be vital to the area’s success. The province will be kicking in $61.5-million, and the City/TTC will speed up construction of the East Bayfront LRT, which will run down Queens Quay East into the Portlands. The campus is anticipated to open in 2011.

More interesting though were the quotables from Dalton McGuinty, who echoed my thoughts on the so-called souring of Ontario’s economy. From Posted Toronto:

Dalton McGuinty said that at a time of an economic slow down, the George Brown investment builds on the “single greatest strength” in Ontario: a skilled and educated labour force.

“We’ve faced slow downs before and we’re surely face them again,” the premier said at the site of the future campus, which is set to break ground in January.

“While we can’t control the high dollar, the price of oil or the sluggish U.S. economy, we are hardly helpless.”

I stated awhile back that while Ontario’s manufacturing is going down the drain, we have a strength that makes the GGH well positioned for continued growth, and that is our very well educated, creative-class workforce. And say what you may about the growth in the Prairies, but the 21st Century economy - the Creative economy - is, at the moment, more attracted to places like Toronto and Montreal and Vancouver. Although Calgary, and Edmonton in particular, has made great strides in diversifying their economies, the core and current impetus of their growth is still the 20th Century industries of oil and gas. So as much as Harper, the west, and Flaherty want to give Ontario flack these days for becoming “have not”, we actually “have more” of what will propel us in the decades to come, once this transitional phase is over. And investments like the ones made today, will add further depth to our workforce and prepare us for the new knowledge based economy.