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Posted

Nailed it, so far most of the guests i see belong to the business traveler category when going from Union to Pearson, however going from Pearson to Union there are more leisure travelers but only a handful per train. It was mainly aimed at business travelers from the get go.

Neither did I. It could mean the ridership's coming from those who would otherwise take a taxi to downtown.

I don't see any decrease in loads on the 192.

The numbers i see are very consistent, and there has been a gradual rise in ridership since day 1. I've been doing the afternoons for the past 2 weeks, and generally it's about after 2pm it starts to really pickup with EU flights taking off in the late afternoon/evening. Also depends on the day of the week, some carriers do not operate every day and generally the days that most/all the carriers operate are the busiest ones. E.g Friday and Sundays, those are the busiest ones.

As for mornings, i'll get back to you on that.

I rode the UP Express yesterday from Pearson at around 12:30pm, and my car was about 3/4 full.

There was also one person waiting at both Weston and Bloor Stations for a Pearson bound train.

Thanks for the replies. It is great to hear the numbers gradually increasing from day 1. The UPX seems to be experiencing the same kind of clientele mix as in London where a lot of leisure travellers take the London Underground and business travellers take the Heathrow Express.

Posted

Something about the traction motors means they much larger inductance, perhaps?

Also: did it make any difference when EMD got bought my Caterpillar, and started having different prime movers?

Doubtful, as the size, weights and ratings of the respective traction motors are for all intents and purposes identical. There may be other impedance issues further upstream, but certainly nothing that I've been made aware of, or can see in the various wiring diagrams.

EMD was still using the same prime mover until this year. But as the emissions regulations got more and more stringent, their units needed to take longer and longer to load up. Meanwhile, the latest GE prime mover design was so far ahead of the emissions curve (until this year) that their locos loaded up much faster - by all reports, considerably faster than the comparable EMD products.

Dan

  • 3 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

It is a pretty biased article against the service. I have noticed when taking the UPX myself that the ridership varies quite significantly depending on time of day. Lunch time on a Monday for example is pretty sparse. But around 5pm, the train was almost full.

Posted

That's an interesting observation. Of course, what people want is to make fares cheaper, so more can use it to commute. Which wouldn't make it much fuller mid-day - but clearly a problem at 5 pm if some trains almost full at current pricing.

Posted

That's an interesting observation. Of course, what people want is to make fares cheaper, so more can use it to commute. Which wouldn't make it much fuller mid-day - but clearly a problem at 5 pm if some trains almost full at current pricing.

It really depends on when the flights are scheduled. Usually they are in the evenings on a business day hence why it's full at 5pm and not 10 am. The UPX has it's own rush hour too.

  • 3 weeks later...
Posted

It really depends on when the flights are scheduled. Usually they are in the evenings on a business day hence why it's full at 5pm and not 10 am. The UPX has it's own rush hour too.

Indeed it does have its own rush hour as shown by this pic taken at ~5pm by myself. IMG_2907.JPG

Posted

Think about it. In the middle of Rush hour if you took a taxi or a limo from the Airport to Union that would take you at least an hour in either direction. And would cost you $50/60. Even if it's door to door that's still an hour or more.

For $20.00 you can get downtown in 25 min? I think that's reasonable.

It would be better if it included TTC Fare, so that you could ride the subway to your hotel or home. That would make sense.

Posted

Think about it. $27.50 and 25 minutes gets you to Union. In most cases you would still have to get a cab to you hotel. $10-$15 and another 20 minutes? Unless you staying at the convention center.

Most business people with expense accounts would probably pay the small difference for door to door.

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Posted

In rush-hour to get to/from the airport? Why would you pay more for longer trip? It's not like congestion on the roads is going to get better in 20 years time ...

Posted

Think about it. $27.50 and 25 minutes gets you to Union. In most cases you would still have to get a cab to you hotel. $10-$15 and another 20 minutes? Unless you staying at the convention center.

Most business people with expense accounts would probably pay the small difference for door to door.

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During rush hour you're more likely to see train users as was mentioned. I doubt there are business travellers who for the sake of the train aren't willing to walk the last leg to their hotel. They usually aren't carrying much and places like the Intercontinental, Fairmont, Strathcona, Le St-Germain, Ritz, Novotel or even the Westin are a reasonable walk from Union. Some are also on the PATH. So there's the trade-off between time and convenience.

I've seen the odd family with vacation luggage in the Skywalk as well. It would be more of a novelty for them given the price compared to taking a cab. Keep in mind most airport-downtown cab fares are fixed if booked rather than hailed. In this case it would be time vs. cost as the determining factor.

Posted

Think about it. $27.50 and 25 minutes gets you to Union. In most cases you would still have to get a cab to you hotel. $10-$15 and another 20 minutes? Unless you staying at the convention center.

Most business people with expense accounts would probably pay the small difference for door to door.

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If you're paying $27.50, than you're a fool.

I've now used it for two flights, and in both cases I'm glad that I did. And that's despite the fact that I don't live or work downtown.

Dan

Posted

Unless your from Ontario with a Presto Card that is the rate? Maybe the question should be what is the average rate being paid by the people using it?

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The Presto price is $19 from end-to-end. And considering that anyone can buy a Presto Card, and do so at the Airport now, there's no excuse.

Dan

Posted

Unless your from Ontario with a Presto Card that is the rate? Maybe the question should be what is the average rate being paid by the people using it?

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The Presto price is $19 from end-to-end. And considering that anyone can buy a Presto Card, and do so at the Airport now, there's no excuse.

Dan

When the TTC finally fully embraces the PRESTO card it will make more sense to pick one up at the airport and then decide how you want to make your way into the City. It would probably become more useful for tourists than business travellers unless they are in town often enough to keep and use one.

Posted

Did you see new Rates? A 3 hour and 6 hour rate $27.50 round trip. They are already trying to introduce new rate categories.

There has been a 6-hour Long Layover Return from Pearson and a 3-hour "Meeter and Greeter" Return fare for $27.50 since the line first opened.

What have they added that's new?

Posted

Did you see new Rates? A 3 hour and 6 hour rate $27.50 round trip. They are already trying to introduce new rate categories.

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Yes, I have seen the meet and greet fare (3 hour ex Union stn) + the long layover fare (ex Terminal 1). However, they are not new and have been around since the very beginning. I already left a criticism with UPX that that not all fares are put on a board at the station and travellers do not know of all the options available to them.

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

no surprise as Union Pearson used to run 3 car trains. Nowadays, they only run 2 car train.

They've almost never run 3 car trains, and the times when they've have been by fluke.. They've almost never had enough equipment ready to go to pull it off.

Dan

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