Miscellaneous TTC Discussion & Questions

[Articulated]

1 hour ago, TTC 8058 said:

^^ Ok thanks!  

 

Anymore?

That may be closer?

Most public transit agencies have to auction off their scrap buses. The highest bidder gets to take home the bus(es) to their scrapyard. Hint: it's not always the same scrap company that wins every time.

[2044]

 

Toronto Transit Commission 6734 by Adrian Badaraco, on Flickr

Spot the anachronisms.

 

[TTC 8058]

2 hours ago, Articulated said:

Most public transit agencies have to auction off their scrap buses. The highest bidder gets to take home the bus(es) to their scrapyard. Hint: it's not always the same scrap company that wins every time.

Oh I see how it is.  I never knew that. Thanks for the info!!

Would I be able to get in touch with them and ask which Scrap Company they recently sold to?

[16 McCowan]

1 hour ago, ADB said:

 

Toronto Transit Commission 6734 by Adrian Badaraco, on Flickr

Spot the anachronisms.

 

Excellent rendering! I can see the TTC logo on the front right side is stretched off a little. Nevertheless, the rest of your photoshopping skills is gloriously perfect. 

[Shaun]

Did they actually have white rims?

[T3G]

Why don't you tell us? Photos aren't exactly hard to come by.

[newflyerinvero]

Two things. One related to TTC buses whilst the other is based on CNIB cardholders OUTSIDE of Toronto using the TTC.

 

I'll get to the CNIB concerns first. Being from Oakville and originally from Burlington, I had never felt the need to get a TTC CNIB card knowing that I am not a Toronto resident. I have my own card with my specific information. No need to get a Toronto type card with a Toronto address that isn't mine just for one system.

What is the policy at the TTC in terms of what types of cards can and can't be accepted? It can be frustrating at times to know that while I do have my cane and the card available upon boarding TTC buses, I can't be guaranteed that all operators would honor the fare excemption. As much as I'd want to support all transit agencies with fares, but my financial situation dictates otherwise, having these metro passes or special cards seem like just another expense.
Any issues with other outside of Toronto residents using their CNIB cards? What's the official policy??

Now, to the TTC buses.
Given that there would seem to be a high probability of the NG hybrids retiring early, what would be the feasibility of having these buses repowered to diesel units and being resold to other agencies/ Most of these buses are only 7 to 8 years old.

[leylandvictory2]

I know we accept the green CNIB cards.  You must have the photo ID with you. 

[Bus_Medic]

Not feasible.

 

you missed that discussion by about 4 years.

[Ed T.]

On 2016-07-30 at 3:03 PM, ADB said:

 

 

Toronto Transit Commission 6734 by Adrian Badaraco, on Flickr

Spot the anachronisms.

 

If that's a picture as delivered, then "anachronisms" would be wrong. If someone has fixed it up since it retired, then okay. Kind of odd that there would be such an early photo of the last 1991 Orion V in service.

Here's a "spot the differences" shot from the retirement thread. Licence plate is the same:

 

[York Transit]

I remember in the 90s every TTC vehicle had one of these signs that read:
"The operation of this vehicle is financially assisted by the Government of Ontario"

Some vehicles had this phrased Sharpied over to say the following and they stayed up for years.
"The operation of this vehicle financially assisted the Government of Ontario" 

Was it the TTC's policy to sharpie out these signs in protest or was it disgruntled employees who unofficially did it?

They were eventually scraped off the bus/streetcar/subway interiors years later.

[TheAverageJoe]

On 7/28/2016 at 0:04 PM, eja2k said:

There are three different groups that deal with collection of funds and the stocking of booths and machines. Some are just a crew of Commission employees... others have private security services providing armed escorts.

Inkas provides armoured car service to the TTC

[tomsbuspage]

10 hours ago, York Transit said:

I remember in the 90s every TTC vehicle had one of these signs that read:

"The operation of this vehicle is financially assisted by the Government of Ontario"

Some vehicles had this phrased Sharpied over to say the following and they stayed up for years.

"The operation of this vehicle financially assisted the Government of Ontario"

I remember these stickers as well, as they were on OC Transpo's buses as well.   I must admit that this is one of the more creative methods of updating the sign, completely altering the message with a minimum of effort.   Most of the ones I saw later on had the word "NOT" scribbled in between the words "financially" and "assisted".

I found a photo online of OC Transpo 7128, with a photo of the sticker as originally written.  They were removed in the late 1990s after Premier Mike Harris slashed funding to transit systems across Ontario.

[newflyerinvero]

On 7/27/2016 at 7:03 PM, lip said:

You can also receive tax credits for using the Presto card as well

I think in order to qualify for those tax credits..actually, the transit usage report will verify whether or not the usage using PRESTO will determine howmuch you can get back in the tax return. I believe it has to do with riding on one or more system 30 times or more in a calendar month.

While I can understand that the TTC would need Toronto residents to have thee TTC CNIB cards for the fare exemption, was it the call of the CNIB office on Bayview to have this special card for TTC users or was it under the direction of the TTC for this? I just don't find it necessary for me to have to have another card for a separate agency especially if this other card wouldn't have my actual address on it.

[raptorjays]

I think  TTC announces service changes after Labour Day when school starts (Including elementary, middle, high school.. and universities and colleges) 

Steve Munro always post details of those changes about a month before they are effective.

However, I haven't seen any details about that yet.

So if there are no service change announcements, does it mean they are keeping summer schedule into September?

[smallspy]

7 hours ago, raptorjays said:

I think  TTC announces service changes after Labour Day when school starts (Including elementary, middle, high school.. and universities and colleges) 

Steve Munro always post details of those changes about a month before they are effective.

However, I haven't seen any details about that yet.

So if there are no service change announcements, does it mean they are keeping summer schedule into September?

The changes have been released to the divisions. For whatever reason, Mr. Munro hasn't had the opportunity to put them up on his website yet.

 

Dan

[raptorjays]

Just spotted unknown construction at the north west side of the main hall and passenger pickup area at Islington Station. However I do not see any details about a construction neither on the side nor the TTC website. Is it something related to bus bay relocation?

[Kelvin3157]

7 minutes ago, raptorjays said:

Just spotted unknown construction at the north west side of the main hall and passenger pickup area at Islington Station. However I do not see any details about a construction neither on the side nor the TTC website. Is it something related to bus bay relocation?

Is it near the fare turnstiles? If it is i think it's for PRESTO

[H4 5600]

25 minutes ago, raptorjays said:

Just spotted unknown construction at the north west side of the main hall and passenger pickup area at Islington Station. However I do not see any details about a construction neither on the side nor the TTC website. Is it something related to bus bay relocation?

I don't think that was there this morning, but I could be wrong

[raptorjays]

20 minutes ago, Kelvin3157 said:

Is it near the fare turnstiles? If it is i think it's for PRESTO

No, it is located in the opposite side of that.

4 minutes ago, H4 5600 said:

I don't think that was there this morning, but I could be wrong

I first saw that on Saturday.. It was there from last week.. and Saturday was the first time I used the TTC after I came back from vacation

[andyman]

4 hours ago, raptorjays said:

No, it is located in the opposite side of that.

I first saw that on Saturday.. It was there from last week.. and Saturday was the first time I used the TTC after I came back from vacation

They have been shoring up or adding extra support to the whole east side of the station as the whole place is slowly sinking.

[Kelvin3157]

53 minutes ago, andyman said:

They have been shoring up or adding extra support to the whole east side of the station as the whole place is slowly sinking.

Wow... (Just an idea) But they should actually shut down Islington and redo it. The bus bays look very dangerous and ghetto and doesn't look to modern looking like a regular look TTC station. One day something in the station is gonna fall down and injure or kill someone (That's why 2 of the bays were closed for repairs). The station actually leaks water at the platform level and during winter time it freezes to icicles and could fall on someone's head when it melts http://torontoist.com/2009/03/islington_stations_icy_dilemma/. (I know that this is an old article but there still a lot of leaks at the station). Furthermore as said by andyman that the station is slowly sinking. Not good. The TTC could suspend service from Royal York - Kipling and replace it with shuttle buses for repairs and track work. During that time, Miway could suspend service from the Subway Stations temporarily and end it at a loop that could connect to a TTC bus that can go to Royal York or Kipling Stns. Also, the TTC buses that terminate at Islington can divert to the mentioned stations. They should also tear down the bays and rebuild it like a-typical station is. It can be a accessible station unlike those only 2 staircases per bus bay. The bus turns into the bays are tight so if they rebuild it, it can save drivers from risk of hitting the already fragile bay. It could be done in a year I guess but costs will have to be calculated. I mean it is just an idea so don't flame me for this... Yes I also understand that Isington's bus terminal is small spaced.

 

I also typed this all out on a phone

[Xtrazsteve]

14 hours ago, smallspy said:

The changes have been released to the divisions. For whatever reason, Mr. Munro hasn't had the opportunity to put them up on his website yet.

 

Dan

When there's a lot of changes, it takes him lots of time to type it up nicely in a spreadsheet. The internal memo consist of many pages which includes irrelevant unchanged info and internal info like new short turn codes which he doesn't type up.

[raptorjays]

1 hour ago, Kelvin3157 said:

Wow... (Just an idea) But they should actually shut down Islington and redo it. The bus bays look very dangerous and ghetto and doesn't look to modern looking like a regular look TTC station. One day something in the station is gonna fall down and injure or kill someone (That's why 2 of the bays were closed for repairs). The station actually leaks water at the platform level and during winter time it freezes to icicles and could fall on someone's head when it melts http://torontoist.com/2009/03/islington_stations_icy_dilemma/. (I know that this is an old article but there still a lot of leaks at the station). Furthermore as said by andyman that the station is slowly sinking. Not good. The TTC could suspend service from Royal York - Kipling and replace it with shuttle buses for repairs and track work. During that time, Miway could suspend service from the Subway Stations temporarily and end it at a loop that could connect to a TTC bus that can go to Royal York or Kipling Stns. Also, the TTC buses that terminate at Islington can divert to the mentioned stations. They should also tear down the bays and rebuild it like a-typical station is. It can be a accessible station unlike those only 2 staircases per bus bay. The bus turns into the bays are tight so if they rebuild it, it can save drivers from risk of hitting the already fragile bay. It could be done in a year I guess but costs will have to be calculated. I mean it is just an idea so don't flame me for this... Yes I also understand that Isington's bus terminal is small spaced.

 

I also typed this all out on a phone

That's true.. I've been using Islington Station for last several years, and I haven't seen any stations looking as bad as Islington.. 

Two bus bays were actually closed permanently from like 5-6 years ago.. and I do not hear any clear plan about fixing or renovating the station until now (including bus bays, interior, etc.)

I heard the plan has been delayed because there was a plan to build a new bus terminals at Kipling and it is being delayed forever... 

I'm hoping the TTC can find the way to fix and renovate the station faster

[Xtrazsteve]

Islington really need that big redo like VP got.