Transit geek

In pretty much everywhere in Europe and Asia, the driver has full control of the rear door. There's even an audible alarm when the closing signal is activated, and I've regularly seen passengers call out for the driver to reopen the door, especially on double-deckers. Not in North America, though.

I tried using this dark theme on the sign-on screen, and noticed the checkboxes, such as that for "Remember me", are hardly visible. It may be relaxing to my eyes, but if I can't see the elements, it could easily produce unexpected behaviour. I'm using MS Edge, by the way.

Besides, the TTC also has to decide on whose charging technology to equip. There's a reason why they're trialling e-buses from three makers and putting each maker in a separate garage - simply because of compatibility. If they install infrastructure now, they're pretty much stuck with whoever supplied it, i.e. proprietary.

You know what that head-end design reminds me of? Yeah, that ill-fated Dutch-Belgium train that went to Italy.

Next thing that could be coming would be dual-mode trolleybuses similar to Dayton's... if only New Flyer was willing to join the bandwagon (odd how this company never made a similar vehicle in the past - the extended-range hybrids being the closest they ever got): https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/first-new-imc-trolleybuses-in-dayton-ohio-with-in-motion-charging/

Maybe they are going to use it as a VISION pilot car - complete with digital route maps and the such (photo not necessary).

Hang on, wasn't it the TTC who actually came up with the Relief Line proposal - way before the Ford government came around?

IT's A DEAL! And I cannot do so without quoting straight from the horse's mouth: https://www.alstom.com/press-releases-news/2020/2/acquisition-bombardier-transportation-accelerating-alstoms-strategic

Isn't Bombardier making Innovia trains that use the same conventional motors as the Rotem cars on the Canada Line? I believe the Saudis have ordered such models, so it wouldn't be that much of an adaptation for Vancouver. As for loading gauge, cite Berlin's IK trains, some of which have been adapted for the large profile lines with doorway extensions and modified third rail shoes. But that wouldn't be as extreme as two completely different kinds of propulsion systems.

Maybe in anticipation of the Crosstown reaching the area?

Someone mentioned on another thread that TTC has been able to reconfigure its PRESTO readers to accept YRT and MiWay fares, effective August 26. That is definitely good news for anyone regularly crossing the border and is likely to increase ridership on these routes as paying fares will be much more convenient - no cash required anymore! Info on TTC's website This will be interesting to see how the Presto fare readers would behave after this date - maybe finally the remaining balance would be displayed. Very useful when you don't know whether your fare would get rejected due to a negative balance.

Could we rename the present post to mention deliveries and entering service, just as several other similar posts already exist?

In case you don't know it already, in Hong Kong (where I am working for the next year or two), there is a smart card known as the Octopus card, used in much the same way as my Presto card in Toronto. When I arrived home today, I found out my card had a negative balance, meaning I needed to reload it before I could use it again. Since I needed it tomorrow to travel from home, I needed to load money onto it. Back when the card was first introduced, the only way to load money was to do so in person at a transit station or a retail outlet, the nearest of which was over 2 kilometres from my home. The card has since evolved, and now it is possible to load it directly from a bank account. Since I opened one last month in advance to deposit my working pay (the first month of which came earlier this week), I was able to set it up instantly, though it required several steps. I first had to link my bank account to Octopus ePay, a digital wallet application, via the protocol known as electronic Direct Debit Authorization. It took me some effort to find the Octopus payee option via my bank's online banking interface, but I eventually did it. Next, I had to load my Octopus ePay account from it - once I did, I was instantly able to transfer some that balance to my physical Octopus card by using the NFC feature on my phone - something Metrolinx is still having trouble with it seems... And now, I have a positive balance on my card and can be assured I will be able to get to work tomorrow... if I don't get stuck amidst striking protesters...

If you are not already aware, when the distance between stops exceeds a particular distance (1 km) , the VISION computer will repeat the "Next stop" message about 200-300m away from the stop. This could be a good chance to program the message to say "Arriving at", just as was the case with the old SVASAS system.