This is a good bill (ATU Local 113 don’t always want what is best for riders) though the devil will be in the details of implementation and cooperation between municipalities and the province. But common fare policy and prices, coordinated services, and fare integration is all good and necessary!

The Swedish are blasting an underground 25+ (many of the bays are back-out sawtooth, which Canadian buses hate) bay bus terminal out of solid rock. This underground bus terminal is costing just $1billion CAD (converted from SEK), to show how much of a cost and infrastructure problem we have here.

The current mayor of Toronto and the TTC chair deserve real credit for being the first pols in a long time to care enough to try to stop the streetcar network from rotting.

This is silly. Would this require every subway station outside downtown (define) to have car parking!? We have car parking at only a few stations and it is generally very underutilized. High ceilings is going to lock in very expensive deep cavernous mined or cut-n-cover stations. Counterproductive

Stop the fearmongering! Bill 98 is a generally good bill that will require the TTC to function within an integrated regional transit network, with coordinated fares, concessions, and schedules. Fare increases are unlikely because it is unpalatable (both HSR and Burlington have lower PRESTO rates).

That’s a good campaign approach for @ontarioliberal.bsky.social

Watch them Galaxy brain this. Acela goes through all the big stations in the US, TGV is at big stations in France. KTX is at the big stations in South Korea But sure, skip Union Station completely

I don't expect everyone to care as much about information design as I do but...the TTC passenger information display could make better use of space.

These are great. They are used effectively around the world. Nothing says pedestrian crossing like a gentle lift of the front.

@viarailcanada.bsky.social This is not an acceptable situation for paying customers on a 5-hour journey. If there's no window, don't put seats there. How about putting a luggage rack so you can relax the baggage limits?

My ideas for Scarborough transit - that's hopefully better than the Eglinton East LRT. open.substack.com/pub/nextmetr...

I live near Eglinton&DVP where loud vehicles race every night. Cops won't do anything because a) don't want crashes from high-speed pursuit and b) many have fake licence plates so can't just take note of plates and follow up later. Seems many of our laws are on paper only.

I’m not convinced about the Eglinton East/Scarborough East Rapid Transit/LRT. I honestly think a larger network of curb and median BRT on Eglinton Esst, Ellesmere, Morningside, Sheppard East, and Markham would do more and am not convinced LRT will offer a meaningful improvement over buses in TO.

Metrolinx said it fired the German partners who were supposed to take over GO trains because they couldn't meet deadlines. Internally, however, the group found they were waiting on several key tasks being "blocked" by Metrolinx. #onpoli www.thetrillium.ca/news/municip...

For generations across all Canadian jurisdictions, independent bodies have done the essential work of reviewing and updating electoral maps to ensure ridings deliver fair representation and are deliberately set up to be independent to prevent political interference /3

Post TTC Board update. Most discussions focused on TSP and stop spacing an stop issues, with sadly no mention of switches (😭). The next report back is Q1 2027 (longer than I would have wanted). Update on operating rules from Fort Monaco (TTC COO) for the Operating Rules Committee on April 21.

Big news for Toronto's streetcars ! 🚋💨 Tomorrow, the TTC Board is reviewing a major report on streetcar and LRT reliability. It's really incredible to see that the TTC's official recommendations align so closely with FastTrackTO's 10-point plan. 🧵👇

Speed cameras work. Removing them without building physical safety improvements results in more dangerous streets.

You mean flashy signs and other road improvements aren't working?!

Finland's president on why he believes Canada could — eventually — be part of the EU. Alexander Stubb is in Ottawa to talk trade, Arctic defence with Carney www.cbc.ca/news/politic... Find out more at nationalnewswatch.com

this is called a FLIR ITS TrafiCam - outside of the reality Toronto already has these - they absolutely can track pedestrians presence at and through intersections - along with all other road uses (cyclists, transit, auto). That data can be used to dynamically adjust our ATC/ SCOOT signal systems

The 1km of bus lane implemented as part of RapidTO Queens Quay East has significantly decreased runtime variability and travel times and increased ridership on route 114. We must roll out RapidTO city wide, no matter the political implication.

The news that Parks Canada hasn’t had a proposal re: electrification of union station since 2021 is insane…what is Metrolinx even doing?

The Church Street Pedestrianization project I’ve been working on the past year is finally public! I would love if u could sign the petition, do the survey, & speak to council (dm me if u are) (1/3) Info & Survey: torontocentreprojects.ca/en/projects/... Petition: win.newmode.net/campaigns/ex...

Hatch already conducted an investigation regarding the earlier hydraulic fluid spills in 2024. As of last month, 7 out of 16 recommendations are still in progress. The TTC needs to explain to the public what is outstanding on those recommendations and why despite them this happened twice last week.

In my recent visit to Finch cars were running so slowly that green time extension would be a waste because of the elapsed time between a detection point and the crossing. Fix the speed issue first then design the signals to support that model. The current approach has it backwards.

The focus here seems to be more on travel time than operating cost savings. The TTC needs to lose the distinctions of being “the proud operator of the world’s slowest streetcar network” and “proud operator of a $3 billion LRT that is over 10 minutes slower than the bus it replaced”.

We also need to disentangle slow ops due to schedule padding from the effects of operating rules.

TTC’s April 16 Board Meeting includes an update on speeding up streetcars and LRTs. Some of this is quite positive but I don’t love the timelines. Report includes updates on: 1. Switch controls 2. TSP 3. Speed limits review 4. Transit priority 5. Stop balancing secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

The union wants to replace OneFare’s free transfers with a $1.50 co-fare transfer discount. Since when does the public want increased fares!? The province’s proposed expansion to OneFare with common fare rates and discount, if done well, could reduce fares and give municipalities provincial funding.

Well that’s too bad. As the first TTC-controlled project in a while, Waterfront East could be a flagship for lower cost design & construction. I just don’t get why the TTC could build 2.5 km of track on Queensway in 2017 for ~$9m but now budgets $2+ billion to do <4 km. cdn.ttc.ca/-/media/Proj...

Notable chart included in a new TTC Board report about improving streetcar speeds, comparing stop distance and average speeds on Toronto routes versus surface rail routes in other cities. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

"There’s no bigger bang for the buck than upgrading GO train routes from limited-schedule commuter rail to fast-and-frequent rapid transit." buff.ly/q1PdTiF

It's important to recognize the Waterfront East LRT is estimated to cost nearly 2x more than any Metrolinx LRT project. At 800million/km it's more comparable in price to Metrolinx subway projects. This could very well be the most expensive LRT project in the world. www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

That's what systemic circulation planning looks like. You cannot fully understand the changes in a given location without considering the broader picture. Simplifying intersection management, which improves TSP effectiveness, relies on planning city-scale circulation patterns holistically.

We’re going to be advocating for 1) info about Go Slow zones on the subway and streetcar systems 2) a project to eliminate Go Slows at intersections and switches 3) upgrades to dual blade switches 4) upgrades of control software to include positive feedback of switch position

Toronto does seem to be hung up on short stop spacing, both for local service and rapid transit, and people very defensive about it.

Fantastic to see the City's Congestion Management Plan call for Enhanced TSP on more corridors! That's point #1 of the FastTrackTO 10-Point Plan in motion! ✅ It's an exciting start...but we're not done. Let's keep up the momentum #TTCriders! #TTC #TransitSky #Urbanism #Toronto #TOpoli

🚨A STREETCAR with a PRESERVED surface right of way is costing MORE per kilometre than the MOST COMPLEX railway projects in the WORLD. 🚨 We’re getting so little value for money in the English-speaking world that soon even the simplest of projects will be too expensive!

Fares, concessions, and transfers should be harmonized across all transit agencies in the GTHA. This is an important move twoards full fare and service integration. The devil will be in the details of if this means fare increases in cities like Toronto and Hamilton with lower fares.

Even then, this increase for the first few offences is overly punishing and counterproductive. Research from Monash University commissioned by PTV recommends the approach Metrolinx takes with low initial penalties. This instead punishes intentional evaders significantly more than recidivist evaders.

The province is proposing to change Metrolinx’s excellent graduated fare evasion fine system, increasing it to $200 for first and $500 for subsequent offences. This makes the penalty overly harsh. Currently fines start at $35, before increasing. @ttcriders.bsky.social @moretransitso.bsky.social

Brisbane-based channel TransitChat has a good video up about how Queensland’s 50¢ fares is not good public transport policy. The over $1.5billion cost over five years could be better used on targeted discounts (concession fares and fare capping) and service improvements for buses and trains.

Doubtful how well this has aged. Metrolinx can’t seem to be trusted.

Nice that finally we are opening the debate about whether it's normal to have a big red button on the governments' desk saying "ignore the fundamental rights of my citizens". (Spoiler: it is not. Not for a democratic country)

Bradford's motion to commit to begin installing platform edge doors with a pilot project starting no later than Q4 2027 CARRIES 19-4.

Imagine if our costs to deliver transit projects weren't 5X peer jurisdictions? If we could apply Calif excellence in highway building to rail? Let's make sure Calif builds real state capacity, esp at Caltrans, so we can build the infrastructure we need 3/3

Cameras were a literal deterrent with the data to back it up and bonus….made $$$ for the City. But our provincial overlord got rid of them.

This is the wrong way to think about this. The SmartTrack stations are fundamentally a good idea for the city’s public transport network. The question is why $1.5BN wasn’t enough to deliver five stations where all but one only had two platform tracks and why we have no communication from Metrolinx.