Dufferin Bus Improvement!

Well, the TTC never got back to me about my earlier complaint but it looks like they were listening to me!

I finally tried taking the Dufferin bus from Bloor yesterday (I've since given up and am doing the 20-minute walk home from Eg West Station instead) and noticed that they have a collector standing at the side door letting people in from there. It's a nice step. Even nicer would be if they didn't assume TTC riders were criminals and gave them the benefit of the doubt, but I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Thanks TTC.

Snow Removal Anger!

In my long-standing tradition of not updating my blog, then getting angry about something, then writing an angry letter to a politician, then posting it here, here is a letter I wrote to Howard Moscoe regarding the snow removal. Remember, this is Torontorants. I'm a crank, okay?

Mr Moscoe,

I am a resident of your ward.

I'd like to express briefly express my regrets about the recent snow removal plan.

a) This should have started much sooner. Read: a day after the first snowfall.
b) The planning of this seems poor. Why was Dufferin St. between Eglinton and St. Clair being worked on during rush hour this morning, but none of the side streets? You'd think it would be wise to tie up a lane in a major artery during non-rush hour times.
c) I know resources are limited, but my humble st, Allenvale Ave, still hasn't received snow removal, nor have any of the streets in my vicinity. The snow removal schedule available on the City of Toronto website is cryptic and confusing to say the least. I'm a pretty smart person, I work with complicated data a lot, and I couldn't figure it out. So I can't tell if my street is behind schedule. But it's a huge inconvenience for everyone on our street.
d) I noticed, on my walk to Eglinton West subway station in the morning, that some of the streets in more well-off areas in Mr. Mihevc's ward have been cleared. Is it just a coincidence that from what I've noticed so far, streets with higher-income residents have been cleared over streets with lower-income residents? I'm not saying this is necessarily favouritism at work, but I would like some assurance that the removal plan and execution was based on a plan that was best for everyone involved, and the order of removal didn't favour one particular street or area over another.

I know this snow is not convenient for us, and it's part of life in Canada that we have to deal with. But I believe it could have been handled much better and wanted to give my feedback as such.

thank you,
Tom Robertson

TTC Rant

I put together a fairly vitriolic, but I think fairly concise rant that I sent to the TTC this morning after a stupid and unnecessary delay yesterday. I thought I'd post it here as I think it sums up a lot of people's feelings:

As I became tired and frustrated of trying to fight my way past the hordes of people waiting on a narrow sidewalk at Dufferin Station for the Northbound bus, I decided I'd try the Ossington North, to Oakwood and Vaughn, instead.

The bus that I got on yesterday was a "63A" meaning that it short-turned at St. Clair. Fine. I realize that some buses short-turning during rush hour is a necessity, so that buses don't get stuck at Eglinton, and a stream of buses can still pour down to to service the busy Ossington southbound route. Totally understood.

But the scheduled bus times for St. Clair and Oakwood for the 63 during the time I was waiting indicated that one would come every 11 minutes. I (as well as an increasing horde of very angry passengers) ended up waiting about half an hour. During this time, 4 63A buses ended up passing us. One 63 bus eventually came, but it was jam-packed and no one could fit on. I finally ended up walking home to Oakwood and Vaughan - in the rain. And I still beat the bus.

Why were there so many 63A buses that passed by? The point of the short-turns is to service the most people. But, seeing that there were so many people waiting at St. Clair, couldn't one of the buses changed to a 63 to take all of these people further north? Even just one of them. The last 63A driver had the nerve to change their route sign to 'chartered' before it passed us by. Right.

It's the little things like this, little good idea route changes, that cost no money, that would help to make the TTC a better system.

While I'm at it - one more rant about the Dufferin bus.

As I mentioned, there is a horde of people fighting to get on the bus at Dufferin Station on the east side. Why can't the bus driver let people on both doors to speed things up? Why not make it a POP system like on Queen East? Are you really going to lose that many fairs? I can guarantee you that 95% of the people boarding that bus are transferring from the subway. But no, there's a chance people might not pay. But you know what? Take the damn chance to increase service for those who do pay. Stop thinking about the small loss of fares in the short-term, and think about the increased loyalty of riders that you'll receive from riders in the long-term by not inconveniencing them by assuming that they're trying to steal.

I know this is a long rant, but please take the time to consider my suggestions (and to respond.) This is from someone who really loves public transport - and a second-generation TTC rider who was taught that public transport is a good thing and the TTC is (or used to be) one of the city's great institutions.

thanks,
tom Robertson

The Futility of Bus Schedules

From a complaint I sent to the TTC. Really ranty; not very well edited, but gets the point across I guess:

---------------------------

Hi,

This incident isn't directly tied to the the above routes, but mainly all bus routes in general.

While traveling on the Dufferin Bus, the driver stopped at a stop for about five minutes, idling. I can only assume this is done because the bus was running ahead of the schedule.

I really don't understand the logic of keeping to the bus schedule, especially when the bus comes fairly frequently. I don't think too many people actually follow the bus schedules and plan their wait for a specific time. Mostly, people just go, and wait for the bus whenever they're ready to leave. It seems like following the schedule is fairly useless anyway; the bus never seems to follow it.

So why try? Why don't the buses just keep moving as much as they can? I can understand if the driver needs a break, but why slow down everyone else's trip because the bus is trying to keep schedule? If the buses just went, it would seem like there would be less need for a schedule. People would just go and wait, and more than likely, buses would come within a reasonable amount of time.

thanks,
Tom Robertson

Street Furniture Scandal Round-Up

My second favourite Toronto blog*, the Torontoist, has a great summary on the street furniture scandal right now, as well as a good prognosis for the future. Basically, they're saying, "We understand that advertising needs to support street furniture, but why do the ad agencies have to design it?"

If anyone's at all concerned by the uglification of Toronto, and thinks that public advertising should be held accountable, I'd encourage everyone to read up on it and complain to their local councillor or the mayor.

Don't know your councillor? Check out this ward map from Toronto City Hall. Find your ward, and it will tell you your councillor with contact information.

Further reading:
http://publicspace.ca/sidewalksale.htm
http://ilegalsigns.ca
http://www.thestar.com/columnists/article/200903

* My first isn't this one, but Spacing Wire.

New House! Yeah! After four days of having bought it 'conditionally', me and MacGyver (Erin) finally closed on the house today. Yeah! We basically took a bunch of crazy pictures, and drove around going 'woo'! And "Fuck you, other houses!"

Anyway, my apologies to MPP Michael Bryant for being a nutcase. We take possession June 1, and move in on the 15th.

Homless Signs in TO

Apparently some art student made official looking signs advising people of homeless nearby, like "Please have change ready for homeless" and put them up on street posts.

Pretty interesting. Makes people think differently about a population that a lot of us are just desensitized to.