downbeat Posted September 9, 2018 Report Share Posted September 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Gsgeek540 said: Why not ask the question “what does transit do when such reports come in” rather that bluntly stating “transit does nothing” or “transit won’t do anything”. I will be the first to challenge unnamed members on that claim all day long and happily discuss further with said members. … Schedulers and planners have traditionally added new blocks of work to support overloads. … If we look at the Route 18 alone, roughly 40 overloads were captured on ATC, OCS or Reported by Operators last September, 35 of those in the first 2 weeks of September before 2 blocks were switched to articulated buses and 1 block was added, Roughly 15 between October and December and Roughly 15 between January and June. You make some very fair points. Thank you for your thoughtful and thought-provoking reply. I must admit it's only been a week since the fall schedule change and I'll be glad to check out what Transit does this coming week(s) to address rider concerns that the service finds to be legitimate. (And as I said earlier, I've spent a number of years not paying too close attention to Calgary Transit. I'm sorry if I've missed any recurring service/usage patterns during that time. I do try to browse back in the forum but there's lots and lots of posts to read …) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake M Posted September 10, 2018 Report Share Posted September 10, 2018 8 hours ago, Gsgeek540 said: Why not ask the question “what does transit do when such reports come in” rather that bluntly stating “transit does nothing” or “transit won’t do anything”. I will be the first to challenge unnamed members on that claim all day long and happily discuss further with said members. What i can say without being a conflict of interest is what people say and claim happens or is happening is either exaggerated or falsafied a high (significantly high) percentage of the time. “There is atleast 1 person on a 2 person seat on this bus” is often “this bus is full and we need more service”. “I have to stand” often means “the bus is full we need 2 more buses”. CUTA will be the first to standup for transit properties in that a full bus is a bus when people are left behind. You are not guaranteed a seat. What people (including people on this board) often fail to realize is that they make their claim but there is significant data, primarly passenger counters, onboard cameras and operator reports, that are pulled and analyized on a regular basis. There is atleast one person on this board who does said job for transit and in discussions with them, there is a significant discrepancy in what is reported and what is actually happening. The City of Calgary has never given into a “customer is always right” motive because that is a burden on tax payers. Instead, the City will provide their data to defend themselves and standup for the decisions have made. When you ask the customer if they are aware, they are very quick to withdraw their concern. Again, atleast one person on this board does that for transit. September and the start of school has always been big for overloads, as it is across all CUTA properties. If we took the whole month of September the last 3 school years, there are well over 600 overloads (average of 30 a day). Schedulers and planners have traditionally added new blocks of work to support overloads. Might i remind members that last year, 46 blocks of work were added between the start and end of september. Going into the december signup, there were even more added. Between October and December that average dropped to about 8-10 a day, consistent to other CUTA properties with similar ridership, and between 3-5 a day after January, one of the best within CUTA properties. If we look at the Route 18 alone, roughly 40 overloads were captured on ATC, OCS or Reported by Operators last September, 35 of those in the first 2 weeks of September before 2 blocks were switched to articulated buses and 1 block was added, Roughly 15 between October and December and Roughly 15 between January and June. There are also other issues that come into play in my opinion. One major one being routing. I can understand transit not wanting to use big buses on the 94, because going into Strathcona it's a short distance, as well as Westbrook-Westhills not being too far either. However, this begins to demonstrate that the 94 ends up being like the old northwest loop routes; convenient, but not efficient. I am also aware transit is doing so many projects and a giant route overhaul elsewhere too. But when people start realizing that all they're gonna get is an arboc no matter how much they cry out, they'll deter those riders from taking the bus. I personally think it would be in transit's best interest to go the same way with other long routes and cut up routes like the 93 and 94 and 18, and for the same reasons too: shuttles where there can be shuttles, and articulateds where they can fill a bus no doubt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downbeat Posted September 11, 2018 Report Share Posted September 11, 2018 On 9/9/2018 at 2:01 PM, Gsgeek540 said: What i can say without being a conflict of interest is what people say and claim happens or is happening is either exaggerated or falsafied a high (significantly high) percentage of the time. While I understand riders sometimes overstate bus crowding, I imagine things are a little more concrete when drivers decide their bus is too full and don't stop. These are from the 18 and the 20 this morning. The attached screenshot below the Twitter embeds says at some point two drivers in the row didn't stop to pick up passengers. I hope Calgary Transit is able to sort this out soon. IMHO this city can't afford too many people giving up on transit and switching to low-occupancy motor vehicles. (At least it's not winter. I remember being left behind by full buses while heading to school. Only a minor annoyance in September … but not so great in January!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aroy40 Posted September 11, 2018 Report Share Posted September 11, 2018 It isn't just me then because even with the start of school and fall changes it seems more crowded than usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechSpotlight Posted September 12, 2018 Report Share Posted September 12, 2018 1 hour ago, aroy40 said: It isn't just me then because even with the start of school and fall changes it seems more crowded than usual. I agree. I take Rte 98 to school and back daily. Even after September and in through the winter and spring, the bus is very overcrowded, and manages to completely fill a D40LF with both standing and sitting passengers. In some cases, some students getting off at the later stops are not able to get on the bus and as a result they'd need to walk (would most likely make them late) or take a later bus (which will definitely make them late). The first two buses before school starts and after school ends are always full to the brim, doesn't matter the season. I think CT needs to do some work adjusting some routes that are overcrowded and maybe place buses at times that are a) more frequent or b) adjusting times so it would fit nicely with certain school's schedules. Right now I am fine, due to the fact I get on at an earlier stop but I'm saying this for the individuals who can't get on a bus because there is physically no room onboard and sometimes even have to miss at least 1-2 stops as a result and only board half of the passengers on the 2nd-3rd stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aroy40 Posted September 12, 2018 Report Share Posted September 12, 2018 I can't lie and say I always made the earlier community bus I take (3:42 route 46 at 5579) but I'm fairly certain it never came into service at that stop (usually would be a 32 switching over) nor was it so full we left people at 5579 and skipped the next stop as well. Not sure if kids are getting off earlier or something changed with the school buses but I'm curious for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsgeek540 Posted September 12, 2018 Report Share Posted September 12, 2018 22 hours ago, TechSpotlight said: I think CT needs to do some work adjusting some routes that are overcrowded and maybe place buses at times that are a) more frequent or b) adjusting times so it would fit nicely with certain school's schedules. As i indicated in my post on the previous page, this is exactly what Calgary Transit does and is doing, as are various transit properties under the CUTA banner, which is standard within the first couple weeks of their fall service. Monitor trends for the first couple weeks and make adjustments shortly after. Next week, there are several additions to several routes going into effect on Monday to help alleviate under estimated passenger loads. As i indicated in my previous post, there is at least one person on this forum who's job is analyzing such data for transit. In my discussions with them, many of the routes that are seeing overloads, such as the Route 18, 23 and 301 are seeing overloads even with the additions that were made last September, which carried into the Spring and Winter. 3 Routes that are seeing overloads that are/were hard to predict are the 406, with the new school in Seton, and the 167/168 with the new school in Legacy. Several school routes were added to bus virtually all eligible students to legacy so ridership was not expected to increase significantly....but these routes are still getting hammered. The Route 406 is hard to predict. They added some extra buses for school in school out time but it comes down to how many will actually take the bus, as the 302 is a source to bus in several communities of eligible students. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downbeat Posted September 13, 2018 Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 5 hours ago, Gsgeek540 said: Next week, there are several additions to several routes going into effect on Monday to help alleviate under estimated passenger loads. This is awesome news. I hope Transit’s social media and call centre teams are able to pass this new info along to passengers, who have been sharing their negative experiences so far this month, as I’m sure they’d love this news as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsgeek540 Posted September 13, 2018 Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 29 minutes ago, downbeat said: This is awesome news. I hope Transit’s social media and call centre teams are able to pass this new info along to passengers, who have been sharing their negative experiences so far this month, as I’m sure they’d love this news as well. Any Service changes where the scheduled is altered, are advertised on the website and published on social media channels prior to the start date. So basically if an extra trip is added to a route on a different schedule, it would be advertised. Most of these sporadic changes are traditionally very small in nature. Adding a bus to make an 8 minute headway a 4 minute headway for a trip, change in vehicle size, having 2 buses run on the same time for a portion of a trip, etc. The bigger, more obvious changes will come in subsequent signups. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downbeat Posted September 13, 2018 Report Share Posted September 13, 2018 46 minutes ago, Gsgeek540 said: Most of these sporadic changes are traditionally very small in nature. Adding a bus to make an 8 minute headway a 4 minute headway for a trip, change in vehicle size, having 2 buses run on the same time for a portion of a trip, etc. The bigger, more obvious changes will come in subsequent signups. Yes, these changes are clearly small in the grand scheme of things, but for people who depend on Transit, the smallest adjustment can sometimes seem like a huge improvement. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake M Posted September 17, 2018 Report Share Posted September 17, 2018 Are only specific lanes at Spring Gardens used from Friday night to Sunday night? I've noticed that the same buses out on a Friday night get put out on Saturday and Sunday and only those buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsgeek540 Posted September 17, 2018 Report Share Posted September 17, 2018 20 hours ago, Blake M said: Are only specific lanes at Spring Gardens used from Friday night to Sunday night? I've noticed that the same buses out on a Friday night get put out on Saturday and Sunday and only those buses. That is correct. I dont have a map of spring and havent been signed up there since...oo 2013ish...maybe one of our 2 SG operators on the board can help out.. but there are 6 or 7 lanes in the back that they will use first and then tap into a couple of the other lanes closest to the main building. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vicinity Posted September 18, 2018 Report Share Posted September 18, 2018 I believe lane 19 to 36 are only used Monday to friday 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsgeek540 Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/city-council-olympic-costs-bus-barn-1.483085 This article is taken out of context. Discussions have been happening well before the talk of the Olympics, even well before talks of the Green Line Discussions on the future of Victoria Park Garage occur on a semi annual basis as a result of an expiring lease agreement in the next few years as well as the plans for the green line. As of the beginning of 2018, the plan remains to be out of Victoria Park garage by late 2022 or early 2023, with plans to have a replacement facility somewhere centralized, such as the west village. Transit taking over the Greyhound building when their lease runs out in a couple years, where they are expected to operate much like red arrow in calgary, and redo that facility has been talked about lots over the last few years but nothing concrete at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick B Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 21 minutes ago, Gsgeek540 said: where they are expected to operate much like red arrow in calgary Could you elaborate more on this? Does this mean that buses would simply be stored at the Greyhound facility while maintained elsewhere, as the facility doubles as a bus terminal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsgeek540 Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 1 hour ago, Nick B said: Could you elaborate more on this? Does this mean that buses would simply be stored at the Greyhound facility while maintained elsewhere, as the facility doubles as a bus terminal? Transit would take over the land and redo the site to make it a full out transit garage, maintenance and all, comparible to other transit garages in the city. Greyhound would move out and is expected would operate much like Red Arrow does in downtown Calgary. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downbeat Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 5 hours ago, Gsgeek540 said: Transit would take over the land and redo the site to make it a full out transit garage, maintenance and all, comparible to other transit garages in the city. Greyhound would move out and is expected would operate much like Red Arrow does in downtown Calgary. Now that we know Greyhound is toast in Calgary much sooner than previously-established timeline, would that speed things along any? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTrainDude Posted September 22, 2018 Report Share Posted September 22, 2018 The grand plans for the West Village are similar for east village at some stage - I can’t believe that CT moving into the Greyhound building would be a very long-term solution, or one that would be too popular. I’m not saying it’s not possible, it just seems to go against the longer term plans for the area And when you mention an expiring lease agreement, are you talking about the Greyhound? VP is on City-owned land, so I can’t imagine it would be on a lease. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCT-3122-D800-10240 Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 On 9/20/2018 at 11:13 AM, Gsgeek540 said: Transit would take over the land and redo the site to make it a full out transit garage, maintenance and all, comparible to other transit garages in the city. Greyhound would move out and is expected would operate much like Red Arrow does in downtown Calgary. Greyhound is gone as of the end of next month! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake M Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 Does anyone know if there are going to be any more articulated buses being purchased in the near future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTrainDude Posted September 25, 2018 Report Share Posted September 25, 2018 1 hour ago, Blake M said: Does anyone know if there are going to be any more articulated buses being purchased in the near future? There’s nothing currently in the works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake M Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 Well.....this morning didn't work..... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRT Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 Nope No contact.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechSpotlight Posted October 2, 2018 Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 9 minutes ago, LRT said: Nope No contact.. A bit too close for comfort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevlo86 Posted October 2, 2018 Author Report Share Posted October 2, 2018 Article with a number of pictures with some stuck buses this AM. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/snowtober-calgary-transit-buses-stuck-1.4847434 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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