York Region Transit \ Viva

[Viva5113]

2 hours ago, Hexagonal 10 said:

One fix I thought of was putting 30 footers from the smaller residential routes like 18, 40, 41, 42, 45 during the day time and swap em out if needed. But of course there would be a cost to this, the 18 runs nearly empty on Saturdays and weekday middays and the 40 does too on Saturdays.

I think miller doesn't need more eldoroldos for now. Also for 18, bus is too too crowd when BOSS is start and finishes. Also Two south divisions using them mostly using them in rush hours exceptions of community routes and 9 (and more?)

 

The better possiblities are : As they will replace eldoroldos first, so use them on these routes that assigned as 30ft routes in North division.

This is also assumptions, it does not gurentee this is happening.

[Hexagonal 10]

39 minutes ago, Viva5113 said:

I think miller doesn't need more eldoroldos for now. Also for 18, bus is too too crowd when BOSS is start and finishes. Also Two south divisions using them mostly using them in rush hours exceptions of community routes and 9 (and more?)

 

The better possiblities are : As they will replace eldoroldos first, so use them on these routes that assigned as 30ft routes in North division.

This is also assumptions, it does not gurentee this is happening.

The 18 is pretty much only crowded when BOSS or PETHS starts/ends. Otherwise, 30 footers will work all other times.

What about a movement of 30 footers from divisions?

55 minutes ago, Chris W said:

That's an impossible task due to the fact that Transit operations are handled by three separate contractors. The 320, as an example, is run by North Division (TOK). What you propose only affects Southeast (Miller) division vehicles. 

Edited December 23, 2016 by Hexagonal 10
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[dj.surf.lfs]

Market-Post Vivastation (at Birchmount & Enterprise) will open in 2017: 

https://www.yrt.ca/en/schedules-and-maps/resources/YRT-SystemMap_web_Jan2017.pdf

[York Transit]

What do you guys think of my proposal to combine Routes 300 and 320?

Finch Station to Newmarket Park & Ride via Leslie (walkable to both East & West Beaver Creek)

The service east of Leslie for Route 300 is overkill and isn't needed. They also have Cedarland Stn now.

[Enzo Aquarius]

On 12/25/2016 at 0:33 AM, York Transit said:

What do you guys think of my proposal to combine Routes 300 and 320?

Finch Station to Newmarket Park & Ride via Leslie (walkable to both East & West Beaver Creek)

The service east of Leslie for Route 300 is overkill and isn't needed. They also have Cedarland Stn now.

Why the little diversion at Highway 7? There's plenty of business on both sides of Leslie, I'd just leave it straight down Leslie to 407.

[vivablue5215]

On 12/24/2016 at 8:09 PM, dj.surf.lfs said:

Market-Post Vivastation (at Birchmount & Enterprise) will open in 2017: 

https://www.yrt.ca/en/schedules-and-maps/resources/YRT-SystemMap_web_Jan2017.pdf

 

Westbound shelter has been installed as of last week. No eastbound shelter yet.

For the record, they're regular shelters with (presumably) a machine outside.

[H4 5600]

The "early express" routes on the holidays are completley useless, i have rode 4 of them over the two days that they were running. The 300 seems to be completley dead, the one i got on the 23rd only had a few people on it, and half of them were fans. Today i got a 300 to myself for the full route. 303 and 304 also had extremley lower riders than normal, they should have had regular service or at least advertise that the buses were going early. 

 

[vivablue5215]

14 hours ago, H4 5600 said:

The "early express" routes on the holidays are completley useless, i have rode 4 of them over the two days that they were running. The 300 seems to be completley dead, the one i got on the 23rd only had a few people on it, and half of them were fans. Today i got a 300 to myself for the full route. 303 and 304 also had extremley lower riders than normal, they should have had regular service or at least advertise that the buses were going early. 

 

Remember that this year was a special situation, with early express routes running on the 23rd and 30th. Many offices I know didn't do the 12pm dismissal that's traditional with the 24th and 31st, cause well it's not the 24th or 31st.

For example, my 18:10 GO 61 bus from Union Station last night was completely packed (we left a good 75-100 people behind, if not more). It's normally run by a train.

[J. Bullock]

On 12/25/2016 at 0:33 AM, York Transit said:

What do you guys think of my proposal to combine Routes 300 and 320?

Finch Station to Newmarket Park & Ride via Leslie (walkable to both East & West Beaver Creek)

The service east of Leslie for Route 300 is overkill and isn't needed. They also have Cedarland Stn now.

But why would you want to combine the two in the first place? It seems very long and drawn out to service Finch, Beaver Creek, Aurora and Newmarket in the same route. I don't see the combination garnering more ridership than it already has, not to mention, I believe that "walkable to E&W Beaver Creek would discourage riders that enjoy the convenience. The only people benefiting from this would be the current riders of 300 & 320. No new riders to Aurora or Newmarket from Finch would be enticed due to the convenience of the Blue "A" and 98E. 

[MCI102A3]

At least the combo would mean maybe having Orion Vs in Newmarket, but we can't go with something like this just for the sake of that.

I'm not sure how faster this would be compared to VIVA Blue between Finch and Newmarket, but last December me and some friends decided to drive up Yonge Street from Toronto to Barrie by car, and even north of Finch it was slow. I also noticed that the VIVA and YRT buses on Yonge were as jammed up in traffic as we were, so even though I've never taken the 98/99, I could imagine that they weren't going faster than we were. However, once the rapidway's online, the Blue won't have to worry about traffic anymore as they'll be separated and controlled by priority signals. 

I wonder whether the 300/320 combo's use of Highway 407 and the 404's HOV lanes as well as the lesser amount of stops inbetween would make any difference in speed and punctuality though compared to Blue up Yonge Street?

[Egg-Roll]

Got a chance to get on 1601 (98 northbound) on Saturday, 1602 was at Newmarket term which according to transsee was slated for the 50 route. It seems like the buses are running now as I also saw 1606 on the 77 route Sunday.

It felt like i was walking into a geki-sema compared to the ttc ones (was on 8569 Sunday). Tho I do like the folding seats which they kept compared to the normal drop-down. (Never been on the 2015 afaik)

 

11 hours ago, J. Bullock said:

But why would you want to combine the two in the first place? It seems very long and drawn out to service Finch, Beaver Creek, Aurora and Newmarket in the same route. I don't see the combination garnering more ridership than it already has, not to mention, I believe that "walkable to E&W Beaver Creek would discourage riders that enjoy the convenience. The only people benefiting from this would be the current riders of 300 & 320. No new riders to Aurora or Newmarket from Finch would be enticed due to the convenience of the Blue "A" and 98E. 

 

I'm going to agree with J. Bullock, but in one thing, the draw for those at finch would be less traffic free WiFi likely getting home 30 minutes sooner depending where they live and bus scheduling. That said, they would have to start charging the express fee if they did, at which time people will start asking is it worth the fee?(Wi-Fi is no longer free, now is it) For me it's not, mostly due to the fact when the drivers decide to not care about scheduling and show up ten minutes late in -15 weather...

A better setup would actually be merging the 90b route with the 320, more direct, adds a route w/o transferring (seen) and for the additional bus timing (every 15 minutes service) they could keep the b name. Something like 320-Newmarket and 320b which would follow the old 90b route.

@MCI102A3 traffic starts picking up (or should) north of Elgin usually at Bernard, and should only be congested at Wellington north/South 2km tops.

407 costs extra money and not always faster, and 404 hov lane ends at Major Mac, making it really useless for the 320 w/ current or suggested setup.

 

On 27/12/2016 at 10:00 PM, vivablue5215 said:

 

Westbound shelter has been installed as of last week. No eastbound shelter yet.

For the record, they're regular shelters with (presumably) a machine outside.

That's because afaik anything south of 7 excluding the 2 stops done aren't slated for viva next (yet). They might be once all downtown Markham construction is completed in a few years time tho.

I personally want to check out the theater there so I'm happy they finally added it.

 

On 22/12/2016 at 0:27 AM, Chris W said:

It really doesn't help the 320's case that they have, of all things, an EZ Rider operating on it. Perhaps it's only a temporary fix until they can get a 40 footer out there. An ElDorado EZ Rider II BRT is the worst thing to put on a route that operates on a major 400 series highway. You know, unless they want to continually replace the drivetrains in them.

No joke, even the drivers complained about the bus wobbling at high speeds, which is why I avoid the route on bad weather days, that and I've seen cars wipe out on the 404 being too presumptuous of their large vehicles. Also I brought up the over revving etc back in Sept

[vivablue5215]

Both directions at Market-Post now have shelters installed, located just east of the theatre complex. Westbound had machines installed before I went back to Winnipeg.

[Hexagonal 10]

2 hours ago, vivablue5215 said:

Both directions at Market-Post now have shelters installed, located just east of the theatre complex. Westbound had machines installed before I went back to Winnipeg.

To add to that, the signs for VIVA including the stop ID are still wrapped. The bus shelter is a standard modern shelter used on other routes and the LEDs work when it's dark out currently. I think it's a bad spot considering how difficult it will be to transfer to the 17A

[H4 5600]

Does anyone know if drivers are supposed to give transfers when you tap with presto, for transferring to route 129? As i tapped on the 16 today and asked the driver for a transfer so i could switch to the 129, but he said that i could just tap again on the 129 and it would be accepted as a transfer, and wouldnt give me one, even after i explained to hime that it wouldnt work, as the contracted routes presto machines dont accept yrt transfers.

Fortunately i found a transfer on the seats so i didnt have to tap again on the 129, but if i didnt i would have had to pay an extra fare.

[Hexagonal 10]

On 1/13/2017 at 8:13 PM, H4 5600 said:

Does anyone know if drivers are supposed to give transfers when you tap with presto, for transferring to route 129? As i tapped on the 16 today and asked the driver for a transfer so i could switch to the 129, but he said that i could just tap again on the 129 and it would be accepted as a transfer, and wouldnt give me one, even after i explained to hime that it wouldnt work, as the contracted routes presto machines dont accept yrt transfers.

Fortunately i found a transfer on the seats so i didnt have to tap again on the 129, but if i didnt i would have had to pay an extra fare.

I believe the TTC machines are set for TTC farss only but when I asked a staff member at Finch Terminal, they told me it's because you'd have two fares for the price of one and you could have a friend ride for free.

[leylandvictory2]

1 hour ago, H4 5600 said:

Does anyone know if drivers are supposed to give transfers when you tap with presto, for transferring to route 129? As i tapped on the 16 today and asked the driver for a transfer so i could switch to the 129, but he said that i could just tap again on the 129 and it would be accepted as a transfer, and wouldnt give me one, even after i explained to hime that it wouldnt work, as the contracted routes presto machines dont accept yrt transfers.

Fortunately i found a transfer on the seats so i didnt have to tap again on the 129, but if i didnt i would have had to pay an extra fare.

drivers are technically suppose to hand out transfers if requested.  The presto machine will work fine if you transfer from 16 to 129.  The presto machines on TTC can't not handle YRT fares and also the downtown express routes  So technically you are suppose to use other method of payment when you are getting on/off at York Region area.  

[H4 5600]

28 minutes ago, leylandvictory2 said:

drivers are technically suppose to hand out transfers if requested.  The presto machine will work fine if you transfer from 16 to 129.  The presto machines on TTC can't not handle YRT fares and also the downtown express routes  So technically you are suppose to use other method of payment when you are getting on/off at York Region area.  

I know the machine does work, but if i already have a transfer loaded on my presto card it seems like a waste to tap it and lose more money. It also seems like a waste if i have a transfer on my card already to pay another fare as "alternate payment method".

 

If they want people to switch to that card, they should just eliminate the 129A and put a yrt route there to avoid problems like this, as more people switch to presto, more fare disputes will occur.

[leylandvictory2]

Metrolinx is working on the problem.  

[swimmer_spe]

Shouldn't you be able to go between transit agencies with a Presto pass?

[Egg-Roll]

9 hours ago, leylandvictory2 said:

Metrolinx is working on the problem.  

You sure about that? I've been able to do this simple logic via php for at least 10 years, many friends who work with c can do it too in short time... Just collect the GPS/stop id and if yrt charge x amount, southbound is reverse logic. It would prob take me 30-45 min to program it (being very slow) and another 2 hours to either edit or populate the database of stops...

 

But wait, isn't it as easy as copy and paste? Considering they do have GO...

 

Presto is a great idea, just in the wrong hands. Hence I won't own one until yrt/ttc blackmails me into one (stops selling physical passes), at which time, I'll just buy a Tesla M3.

 

@H4 5600 next time tell the driver to call control to see if they can, if they refuse or don't call the yrt customer service line and talk to them about it. 

[leylandvictory2]

that's what the internal memo said. 

2 minutes ago, Egg-Roll said:

You sure about that? . 

 

[Viva5113]

16 hours ago, leylandvictory2 said:

drivers are technically suppose to hand out transfers if requested.  The presto machine will work fine if you transfer from 16 to 129.  The presto machines on TTC can't not handle YRT fares and also the downtown express routes  So technically you are suppose to use other method of payment when you are getting on/off at York Region area.  

Yrt isn't provide special transfer for presto users. ONLY Brampton 501 provides that special transfer to connect with TTC routes

[York Transit]

Regarding the transferring to TTC with Presto, YRT's official stance is buy tickets and do not use Presto according to Talk2YRT.

Another glitch I discovered with YRT unfortunately is travelling between zones. I tapped in Zone 2 without telling the driver I was going to Zone 1. I assumed the bus I was transferring to in Zone 1 would recognize I already tapped and would upgrade me for $1 automatically.

Nope, you will full out be charged $3.50 in Zone 2 and another $3.50 in Zone 1. This is dumb dumb dumb! It's something that YRT has been aware of since Presto was introduced but they choose to do nothing about it.

[swimmer_spe]

They should talk to Translink (transit in Vancouver). They have multiple fare zones and their card works seamless.

[BedardZ0754]

3 hours ago, York Transit said:

Regarding the transferring to TTC with Presto, YRT's official stance is buy tickets and do not use Presto according to Talk2YRT.

Another glitch I discovered with YRT unfortunately is travelling between zones. I tapped in Zone 2 without telling the driver I was going to Zone 1. I assumed the bus I was transferring to in Zone 1 would recognize I already tapped and would upgrade me for $1 automatically.

Nope, you will full out be charged $3.50 in Zone 2 and another $3.50 in Zone 1. This is dumb dumb dumb! It's something that YRT has been aware of since Presto was introduced but they choose to do nothing about it.

Yeah I've found that problem too but I don't think they're going to fix it considering they're getting rid of the fare zones in July.