Miscellaneous TTC Discussion & Questions

[Xtrazsteve]

1 hour ago, TTC Guy said:

We all can hope but we know that they will eventually, these will probably turn into a house for someone because they meet the ground and are sealed well, does anyone know if they are heated?

I hope they heating would only be temporary upon pressing a button to activate. No point of heating an empty shelter or for people to sleep in.

[MK78]

39 minutes ago, Ed T. said:

So it's better if the homeless stay on the sidewalk where we can step over them?

No, but these aren't for the homeless or junkies.

Hopefully most of these are away from such areas that they would be abused.

[Doppelkupplung]

Saw Nova 8610 going south on 410 at Derry earlier this morning - could this be coming back from Cummins up in Brampton?

[raptorjays]

I am wondering why there’s no next train screen on the westbound platform at Islington Station. 
i know it is a station before the terminus station.. but the other terminus stations all have that screen at the both side of the platform

[Xtrazsteve]

8 hours ago, raptorjays said:

I am wondering why there’s no next train screen on the westbound platform at Islington Station. 
i know it is a station before the terminus station.. but the other terminus stations all have that screen at the both side of the platform

I would think cost in conjunction of low usage. They did take a long time to install Lawrence, York Mills and Sheppard cause of cost. Then there's the SRT...

[Shaun]

Just now, Xtrazsteve said:

I would think cost in conjunction of low usage. They did take a long time to install Lawrence, York Mills and Sheppard cause of cost. Then there's the SRT...

Union doesn't have them either. 

[Andythagiant]

14 minutes ago, Shaun said:

Union doesn't have them either. 

Union’s are tv screens mounted on pillars or mounted within the wall of the platform.

[Xtrazsteve]

With the TTC fare increase coming. The difference between cash and a presto ticket is going to be 5 cents.

It might be wise for occasional riders to just buy presto tickets as:

you'll always know how much you're paying
know when your 2 hour transfer expires as you'll be denied a tap
no reloading issues
shouldn't work if readers glitch to Miway/YRT fare
unless you ride over 120 times, tickets are cheaper than a card
 

[PCC Guy]

I noticed today after not riding the TTC for about a month that they've gotten really aggressive with the anti fare evasion campaign. 

Are there any plans to change the current status quo, where fare inspectors have no power to detain riders, and the money collected from fines doesn't even go to the TTC? If not, this whole racket seems like a tremendous waste of money. What is the TTC gaining by paying millions every year to fare inspectors who issue fines that the city collects? Is this actually a deterrent to anyone? Those who already pay aren't going to change, and those who don't... well I highly doubt a bunch of vaguely threatening words on a poster and inspectors who can't do much more than politely ask for your information are going to do much to change their behaviour.

[Someguy3071]

1 hour ago, PCC Guy said:

I noticed today after not riding the TTC for about a month that they've gotten really aggressive with the anti fare evasion campaign. 

Are there any plans to change the current status quo, where fare inspectors have no power to detain riders, and the money collected from fines doesn't even go to the TTC? If not, this whole racket seems like a tremendous waste of money. What is the TTC gaining by paying millions every year to fare inspectors who issue fines that the city collects? Is this actually a deterrent to anyone? Those who already pay aren't going to change, and those who don't... well I highly doubt a bunch of vaguely threatening words on a poster and inspectors who can't do much more than politely ask for your information are going to do much to change their behaviour.

Applying your reasoning to Toronto Police, should they stop issuing tickets as well?

[PCC Guy]

3 hours ago, Someguy3071 said:

Applying your reasoning to Toronto Police, should they stop issuing tickets as well?

I don't see this as an equivalent argument, because A] the police have powers fare inspectors don't, and B] the action of issuing a ticket comes at no additional cost to the Police force. Tax money pays for the officers, and they perform their duties as required, which might include issuing tickets. The TTC has this whole other thing called running a cash strapped transit system to worry about.

Is the TTC getting extra money to employ fare inspectors, or does that money come out of their pre-existing budget? Because this article heavily implies that it's the latter.

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/01/23/ttc-plans-to-hire-dozens-of-fare-inspectors-to-deter-people-from-skipping-out-on-paying.html

They seem to hope that enough people will be scared into paying their fare and offsetting the cost of the inspectors, but how's that going to happen when the fare inspectors can't do anything beyond hope that the person they're approaching will tattle on themselves? Is the TTC really that naive? Again, given how cash strapped the system is, is this really the best use of limited funds?

“The more inspectors we have, the more likely it is you’ll get caught and the more likely you are to pay a proper fare,” said agency spokesperson Stuart Green.

The estimated cost of the additional inspectors and enforcement officers, plus three new administrative and supervisory staff, is $4.5 million, according to the TTC.

 

Green said that cost is expected to be offset by additional fare revenue that increased enforcement activity would generate, adding ticket fines don’t directly benefit the transit agency because the money goes to the city, not the TTC.

[John Oke]

 

[Chris B]

Are there any updates on what TTC streetcars or GM 2252 will be used for Easter Day Parade this year? 

[splendidwizardplayer]

Does anyone know what this thing is at the back of 7977?

[MK78]

I would assume it's the hvac temp and the gauges for the refrigerant.

[Bus_Medic]

Correct. Real time temp, low and high side pressures. Fault codes can also be retrieved from there.

[MK78]

Was that kind of plexi panel always there? I seem to recall in the east end, on the 74xx-78xx Orion's there was no such panel, but one could see the temperature display thru the louvers.

[Bus_Medic]

Nope. It’s a one off.

[63 Ossington]

For something that is given with each Presto fare payment, reliable information about the two-hour transfer within the company is severely lacking... still. The ambiguously worded answers don't help either.

https://twitter.com/MetroManTO/status/1233911063667605504?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1233914619250511874&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Ffbokrk%3Fresponsive%3Dtrue%26is_nightmode%3Dfalse

[Xtrazsteve]

55 minutes ago, 63 Ossington said:

For something that is given with each Presto fare payment, reliable information about the two-hour transfer within the company is severely lacking... still. The ambiguously worded answers don't help either.

https://twitter.com/MetroManTO/status/1233911063667605504?ref_src=twsrc^tfw|twcamp^tweetembed|twterm^1233914619250511874&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redditmedia.com%2Fmediaembed%2Ffbokrk%3Fresponsive%3Dtrue%26is_nightmode%3Dfalse

There is zero ways for a regular rider to know when it expires (unlike YRT) because they refuse to implement time remaining on the presto screens. You can't even choose to pay for a new fare if the transfer is still valid. As long as the card is tapped at boarding as required, I'm pretty sure the court would side with the rider even if they write them a ticket. 

[Orion V]

2 minutes ago, Xtrazsteve said:

There is zero ways for a regular rider to know when it expires (unlike YRT) because they refuse to implement time remaining on the presto screens. You can't even choose to pay for a new fare if the transfer is still valid. As long as the card is tapped at boarding as required, I'm pretty sure the court would side with the rider even if they write them a ticket. 

So basically when "you think" you are near the 2h mark, get off any streetcars.

All other TTC vehicles (except bustitution streetcar routes) are safe as transit enforcers don't check them. Drivers check all boarding passengers or you board from a fare paid station and all rapid transit lines are fare paid zones. That's the new unofficial rule.

[Someguy3071]

What is so hard to understand? If you tap within the 2 hour period it won't charge you another fare. If your 2 hours are up while you're on a bus or streetcar it doesn't mean anything other then you'll be charged another fare if you transfer. If you're not transferring you won't be kicked off or anything, so just finish your trip.  

That Perdo guy in that tweet is just clueless. Fare inspector told him that he had 4 minutes left in his presto transfer just so he's aware in case he needs to transfer to another vehicle and Pedro gets all bent out of shape about it. Even after his tweet was answered he still didn't get it

3 minutes ago, Orion V said:

So basically when "you think" you are near the 2h mark, get off any streetcars.

 

Stop making up stuff. You will not be ticketed for using a transfer within the 2 hour window even if you transfer expires after you board. 

[Ed T.]

9 hours ago, Xtrazsteve said:

There is zero ways for a regular rider to know when it expires (unlike YRT) because they refuse to implement time remaining on the presto screens. You can't even choose to pay for a new fare if the transfer is still valid. As long as the card is tapped at boarding as required, I'm pretty sure the court would side with the rider even if they write them a ticket. 

Huh? If you don't have a watch, surely you have a phone or some other way of telling the time? Check what time it is when you first tap on. You have an hour and fifty nine minutes left. (ETA: Vision vehicles are always telling you the time.)

Granted that it would be nice to see both the time remaining, and your card's balance, when you tap on. I wind up checking my transfer history at reloading stations (because my cards are unregistered).

9 hours ago, Someguy3071 said:

What is so hard to understand? If you tap within the 2 hour period it won't charge you another fare. If your 2 hours are up while you're on a bus or streetcar it doesn't mean anything other then you'll be charged another fare if you transfer. If you're not transferring you won't be kicked off or anything, so just finish your trip.  

Stop making up stuff. You will not be ticketed for using a transfer within the 2 hour window even if you transfer expires after you board. 

Exactly. I have managed, often enough, to tap on a minute or two before the two hours expire, and I've also lost the gamble and tapped on a minute after the time expired (darn slow streetcars!). Of course if I tap on with only seconds to spare, I want to ensure that the remainder of my trip won't require transferring. That means taking the subway and its fare-paid area transfers. Even the possibility of a short turn is also to be avoided.

[Orion V]

11 hours ago, Someguy3071 said:

What is so hard to understand? If you tap within the 2 hour period it won't charge you another fare. If your 2 hours are up while you're on a bus or streetcar it doesn't mean anything other then you'll be charged another fare if you transfer. If you're not transferring you won't be kicked off or anything, so just finish your trip.  

That Perdo guy in that tweet is just clueless. Fare inspector told him that he had 4 minutes left in his presto transfer just so he's aware in case he needs to transfer to another vehicle and Pedro gets all bent out of shape about it. Even after his tweet was answered he still didn't get it

Stop making up stuff. You will not be ticketed for using a transfer within the 2 hour window even if you transfer expires after you board. 

As of last night of my post, that was my impression and hence my original reply to be on the safe side after reading the original quote.
(From this reply of TTC)
https://twitter.com/MetroManTO/status/1233911063667605504/photo/2

This just posted by TTC 5h ago which clears this up. Here's the new reply today.
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2020/03/01/ttc-fares-go-up-sunday/

 

[smallspy]

11 hours ago, Xtrazsteve said:

There is zero ways for a regular rider to know when it expires (unlike YRT) because they refuse to implement time remaining on the presto screens.

That's only partially correct.

 

If you are using an Android device with the Presto app installed, it will give you that information when you read the card.

Dan