Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[OffsideSpecialist]

Originally Posted by RW99

Summer means Connect, I'm almost excited about transit!

Hope your "Connect" card thing goes better than it did here

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Tr...229/story.html

[RW99]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

Hope your "Connect" card thing goes better than it did here

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Tr...229/story.html

Ouch. I wonder where Calgary is getting their tech from.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by RW99

Ouch. I wonder where Calgary is getting their tech from.

I believe that Calgary company Telvent won the contract for the smart card hardware/software.

In other news, I got a tour of the Victoria Park Transit Centre (garage and LRT/bus control centre) tonight. Interesting facilities. It looks like the new facilities that will be in the Westbrook Station building with more space and upgraded technology is badly needed.

It also looks like the "201" and "202" names for the LRT lines are finally giving way to colour identification. It has yet to be finalized, but I was told that it will likely be red and blue. Not sure which line will be which colour yet though.

[TurnedTheCorner]

The whole Park and Ride fee and reservations and everything has been a complete gong show. Each chance has been poorly implemented. Raise fares across the board rather than re-instituting the parking fees IMO.

[temple5]

If they want to make up the funding deficit, they should install the turnstiles and hire more officers to check for tickets.

I know at least a couple of people who openly brag about not paying for tickets durring rush hour because its so packed in the train they would never check and they only ride at peak times so they never pay.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by temple5

If they want to make up the funding deficit, they should install the turnstiles and hire more officers to check for tickets.

I know at least a couple of people who openly brag about not paying for tickets durring rush hour because its so packed in the train they would never check and they only ride at peak times so they never pay.

Again, the extra money collected from installing turnstiles would never pay for the cost of installing the turnstiles themselves.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

It also looks like the "201" and "202" names for the LRT lines are finally giving way to colour identification. It has yet to be finalized, but I was told that it will likely be red and blue. Not sure which line will be which colour yet though.

Red and Blue is boring. Let's go Orange and Lime Green!

Or, the Flames line, and the Stampeders line, each colour coordinated to the colour of the team.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by temple5

If they want to make up the funding deficit, they should install the turnstiles and hire more officers to check for tickets.

I know at least a couple of people who openly brag about not paying for tickets durring rush hour because its so packed in the train they would never check and they only ride at peak times so they never pay.

Interestingly, I was checked ~1 week ago at Crowfoot during peak evening rush hour. There was probably a dozen transit officers, and they checked everyone as they were leaving the platform. They had 2 guys that were just writing the tickets as fast as they could. If they did that once per month everyone would have to pay.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Interestingly, I was checked ~1 week ago at Crowfoot during peak evening rush hour. There was probably a dozen transit officers, and they checked everyone as they were leaving the platform. They had 2 guys that were just writing the tickets as fast as they could. If they did that once per month everyone would have to pay.

I get off at Canyon Meadows between 5-5:30 most days, I get checked probably 2-3 times a month... occasionally twice in the same week. So I wouldn't personally risk it myself during peak hours.

[Kerplunk]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

I believe that Calgary company Telvent won the contract for the smart card hardware/software.

They got the contract, but I think a lot of the work (at least software-wise) is being done out of their US offices.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

I get off at Canyon Meadows between 5-5:30 most days, I get checked probably 2-3 times a month... occasionally twice in the same week. So I wouldn't personally risk it myself during peak hours.

For sure, I wasn't suggesting anyone could/should get away without paying, I always pay, so it wasn't an issue. More that you can assure payment with a relatively small increase in enforcement, or by going to a turnstile system. Either works, and you'd have to balance which has lower long term costs.

[Jimmy Stang]

A lot of transit systems around the world don't have turnstiles. I was actually checked in Berlin last year by a couple of undercover transit officers. The train got rolling (so nobody could bolt), they whipped out some sort of identification, and everyone pulled out their tickets for checking. It seemed almost routine, although I'm not sure how frequently it would happen to the average person.

As for the Park and Ride fee, if it ever does return, I really hope that they have better implementation. The Park Plus system can be used so much more effectively. Let people pay a buck or two if they're going to be gone for less than 4 hours, if they enter after 10, etc. and then charge all-day parkers a little more. And provide the option to pay a monthly or weekly rate. Plus, entering after 4pm should be free (instead of 6pm) because the demand for spots decreases after that time.

I'm not necessarily against paying for parking at the lots, but the implementation of the original fee and the reservation system have been pretty rigid for casual, non-daily users of the system.

[temple5]

I personally would like the see the parking fee coupled with the transit fee.

Example Monthly pass X gets you free parking at X parking lot and includes your ticket. They would give you the same monthly transit pass but keep your license plate on file for parking purposes.

And I dont see why they dont start the fee off low. If there is increased demand you can then revisit it. The new west line with the parking lot at Westbrook I see alot of people wanting to park there to save money on downtown and as such demand should dictate the cost of parking at certain lots.

X lot 1$/day
Y lot 2$/day
Z lot 5$/day etc.

[Jimmy Stang]

^ That all sounds good, as long as the option exists for someone who doesn't need/want parking to get a pass without the parking included. But the option to buy a pass with both the buss/train fares as well as parking included in one easy payment would be great. The idea of all users subsidizing parking won't go over well. Mind you, neither will users who park subsidizing their own parking, as we have seen.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

I'm not necessarily against paying for parking at the lots, but the implementation of the original fee and the reservation system have been pretty rigid for casual, non-daily users of the system.

Yeah, the current system is literally the worst of both worlds for me. I usually take the bus or get dropped off at the CTrain station. Occassionally I need to drive for some reason. (~1/month). Before there was paid parking, I needed to arrive early. Once it was $3/day, I paid the $3 and could arrive any time.

Now that it's partially a monthly fee, my options are arrive ungodly early, or pay a whole month's fee for 1 day of parking.

I think it should be $3. Let those who park pay for the parking. How is that unfair?

[Jimmy Stang]

Although some would not like the idea, if Calgary Transit really wants to operate it like a business, they should adjust the price based on demand at the lots. At $2, lot X is completely full by 7:00, then bump it up to $2.25. (Just throwing numbers out there). On the other hand, if a lot sees less demand, that one can be a bit cheaper. With so many different lot capacities, locations, monthly vs. daily vs. occasional users, and other factors, a blanket fee might not be the best answer.

The downside, obviously, is that it makes the process a little more complicated, particularly in the short term.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Originally Posted by temple5

If they want to make up the funding deficit, they should install the turnstiles and hire more officers to check for tickets.

I know at least a couple of people who openly brag about not paying for tickets durring rush hour because its so packed in the train they would never check and they only ride at peak times so they never pay.

This is 100% the truth. During rush hour there are probably 1 out of 3 trains that aren't packed, and when they're packed the transit cops couldn't actually move through the car to check the tickets. Going south only at maybe Southland or Anderson could they actually start to check. I agree if they want to maximize revenue it has to be turnstiles or having the transit cops at any platform entrance checking fares before people get to the platform.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Although some would not like the idea, if Calgary Transit really wants to operate it like a business, they should adjust the price based on demand at the lots. At $2, lot X is completely full by 7:00, then bump it up to $2.25. (Just throwing numbers out there). On the other hand, if a lot sees less demand, that one can be a bit cheaper. With so many different lot capacities, locations, monthly vs. daily vs. occasional users, and other factors, a blanket fee might not be the best answer.

The downside, obviously, is that it makes the process a little more complicated, particularly in the short term.

I would be in favour of that, since it would be nice if they maximized revenue, and then used that revenue to maintain/improve service. It would probably take a few iterations. For example, the most convenient lot to me is Crowfoot. But if it was made more expensive then I'd probably go to Dalhousie or Brentwood, and they'd have to compensate for people making decisions like that.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Offering something for free for nearly 30 years and then deciding you can charge for it won't ever go over well, regardless of what the product or service is.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

Offering something for free for nearly 30 years and then deciding you can charge for it won't ever go over well, regardless of what the product or service is.

Nobody likes price increases, or taxes, or going to the dentist, but sometimes they're necessary.