Transit geek

TTC deployed its brand new LFS hybrids at an unfortunate moment when the city was suffering a tremendous snowfall. Broken-down vehicles like this one were all too common...

Surprised it wasn't a DD, though clearance in the MTCC lobby may have been a problem.

I have been using the Grammarly mobile keyboard on my phone for a year or so and hate how it still doesn't support swipe inputs. So much that now I am faster tapping keys rather than swiping.

Wait till they give the next-gen MAX trains a similar paint scheme. 17 years seems too soon for such a significant rebrand.

The TTC TR set on run 107 had a malfunctioning run number sign that (luckily) displayed:

The TTC's LED route maps would soon become antiquated. If you want to see what might be next, look no further than New York City's next-gen subway cars... The part where they show you surface route connections and the map of the station platform is way cool and would really save riders time trying to find the location of the exit.

...You find yourself, whenever you are on the subway, looking out the left side window for the run number box on passing trains and trying to predict at which point you would see each number in sequence. Over time, you would be able to pinpoint which runs could be causing delays, such as due to an emergency alarm activation on board. Let me show you what this is about. Today, I was on board TTC subway run 169 and was holding in the northbound tunnel south of Dundas while an emergency alarm was handled at College. Based on my calculations, the train affected was most likely run 166.

TTC 3411 was on 21 Brimley. No mistaking for that big teal wrap.

I can second this by noting that one of the NG HEVs on route 939 this morning rush had scrolling text on its LED sign. Oddly enough, that bus was in the 1700-series which is due for retirement. I could theorize that might have been an extra or a test vehicle, but my eyes definitely weren't deceiving that time.

I thought this comment may be more appropriate for another thread so I moved it there. Will an ADMIN please DELETE this post. Thank you!

One of the vehicles on Finch East this morning did, but I didn't catch the number.

After a ride on TTC's latest NovaBus hybrids, I would like to add on to this thread by remarking here that the latest-generation HybriDrive technology employs a shift selector resembling the Allison push-button type, with a two-digit 16-segment red LED display. It has the R, N, and D buttons in the usual places, but no arrow or mode buttons beside them. I understand the arrow buttons are redundant since there is no gear shifting (hence the drive indication is DD instead of the current gear), but if there are no extra buttons, I suppose prognostics and diagnostics remain under a non-user-accessible domain - something that is clearly possible with Allison with a full publicly-accessible YouTube video to show for it.

No wonder trains were going so slowly near Davisville on line 1. I have some footage to confirm that TRs have (as they call them in Singapore) "flatwheels" but I'm sure nobody on this forum needs audible proof to confirm.

Last Monday, I was on TTC route 68A run 4 (didn't catch the vehicle number) and the operator was smart enough to downshift to 3rd gear max in slippery conditions (and even turn on performance mode). Whether he remembered something from training or figured out how to use the shift selector I don't know, but definitely something most operators don't do regularly. And today, there were three LFS hybrids on route 939 in the evening (earlier this week there was no more than one), including this one, 3417 on route 939B, run 11 from Finch West station:

The place I work organizes a group game every Friday afternoon. Today's was actually a two-part game. The first part was a Kahoot quiz, played by each class individually and whose winner would represent the class in the second. As it turned out, I managed to come out on top out of seven participants in my own class and therefore gained this distinction of moving on. As for the second game, the ten class representatives would be divided into two teams whose aim is to form a variety of geometric shapes using a looped string and their bodies. One person had to lead the team by providing audible directions to the other four members, who were blindfolded and unable to communicate in any other way. I volunteered to lead my own team this way, and in the end, we edged out our opponents and won a prize of junk food and souvenirs - and left the other classes with plenty to talk about afterwards! P.S. the climax was in the fifth and final round, where both teams were tied and we had to build a five-pointed star, which we did by looping the string around our bodies and stretching it. My team won because I came up with the idea first (and the spectators were whooping once I did so!), while my counterparts only copied it, according to the judges. P.P.S. I had considered not participating in the Kahoot game, but now you know what wouldn't have happened if this was the case!