MyTTC does what theirTTC can’t

Transit users in Toronto have been lamenting for years over the lack of a coherent trip planner on the TTCs God awful website.  A recent beta release of the TTCs new and improved website only hinted at a trip planner in the works, and even that reference appears to have been removed (oh, and FYI, TTC website guys, the new site looks better than the old site – which is akin to saying dirt tastes great compared to feces.)

So, what is a poor, confused transit rider to do?  Why, go to MyTTC and get your route mapped for you there.  MyTTC was developed by a couple of transitphiles who were, like most transit riders, tired of waiting around for the TTC to get their act together.  So, after hours spent organizing the mess of transit data into something coherent, the developers produced a little gem of a trip planner.

As the developers note, this is a work in progress and they stress that they need users to help them make it better.  When I mapped a route yesterday from my house to one of my favorite bars I noticed that it had you walking a little further and taking a bus you didn’t really need to take when leaving my place.  So, like a good user I sent some feedback and lo and behold, Kieran, one of the developers, had gotten back to me last night and said that they were still adjusting the weight given to walking and that it might be a bit high.  Now that’s service.

So, for those of you in the GTA, use MyTTC, provide feedback, support great homegrown work!

Much delayed Toronto subway extension a go

It appears that the federal government has finally gotten their house in order and is getting much needed funding to the Province of Ontario after 2 years of stalling by the Harper government. The feds are chipping in their $697-million share of the $2-billion dollar Spadina subway extension, according to the Toronto Star.

Any subway extension is good news in my book (even the poorly conceived and pointless Sheppard line, but barely), but this stretch is especially important to Toronto. Take a look at the proposed extension below (for the full view, check out my subway map here):

Image courtesy of Spadina Subway Extension Project

Goodbye, Gardiner?

On Friday the Toronto Star led with a report that Mayor David Miller has finally gotten behind a plan to start tearing down the god awful Gardiner expressway along the Toronto waterfront. While the proposed plan doesn’t remove the entire expressway, it is a promising start.

The proposed plan (which is light on details) suggests tearing down the 2.5 kms of the Gardiner, from the Don Valley Parkway to Jarvis street. The stretch is highlighted below (click for larger image).

Toronto Transit Maps

I’ve had some time recently to putter around with my various Toronto-related Google maps.  I enjoy Gmaps for a number of reasons, but chiefly because making my own maps allows me to remember cool places to visit that I read about or stumble across.

With my recent move to Toronto, I very quickly learned that the Toronto Transit Commission’s website maps are woefully inadequate.  As a newbie trying to find your way around, your options are either a fast loading map of the subway that gives you little context, or a behemoth PDF of the whole transit system which takes forever to load and re-load each time you move around on it.

But what if I want to know which stop is closest to the bar or restaurant I’m going to?  Outta luck.

Is Toronto Transit Union throwing clogs in the machine?

I have had the great fortune in my first few weeks in Toronto to have the specter of a TTC strike raised already. How lucky can I get? Now, the Transit Union and the TTC are in talks. Pay special attention to the statement by Union President Bob Kinnear:

Kinnear added that the union is not contemplating a work slowdown, but would totally shut down the transit system if it concludes that labour action is necessary.

Great, wonderful, dandy. I’m all for positive negotiations to deal with issues. But I have my suspicions as to whether the Union is really sticking to this “no work slowdown” claim, however. In fact, I think they are throwing the proverbial clog in the transit machine.

Both my Friday morning and Monday morning commutes have experienced significant slowdowns for the following reasons:

a) “Problems with the signaling mechanisms”

b) “Passenger assistance button has been pressed’

c) “Emergency at a platform”

Now I’m not a conspiracy theorist. I typically don’t look for sinister motives behind actions. But it does seem odd that these various “issues” keep occurring at peak times while negotiations between the union and the TTC are ongoing. It smacks of saber rattling, to me.

In any case, I’m a newbie on the TTC, maybe these sorts of delays happen all the time. If there are any seasoned TTC riders, let me know.

But it makes you wonder. This also is a nice segue into some thoughts I’ve had on unions in general, but I’ll save that for another day when I’m sure the ghost of Walter Reuther isn’t floating around.