I'm not going to lie... my commute was quicker today than I thought. Although my bus transfers downtown from the C-Train this morning took no more than 5 minutes... I'd need to maintain that type of timing regularly in order to accurately say my commute is consistently quicker. I've found buses downtown don't arrive at their scheduled stops on time, half the time.
Well I can complain if you really wanted me to... But aside from the chaos from being an initial launch I'd assume that most people are hopefully patient enough to wait and see until the end of January before judging.
Was quite surprised at how quickly it was to go from westhills (route) to 45th St station (12minutes?)
This might actually make the time it takes to get to downtown quicker. We shall see about the other way around.
They said there would be no disruption to my route, that everything would be the same, just the other end of the route would have increased service. I take the 17 from Renfrew.
They cancelled my bus. The only bus time I use, is the only one they cancelled. It's during the morning rush, and is always full. What kind of moron drops only that one frickin bus? 7:45 is still during the bloody rush.
What were people's experiences on the AM commute @ 26th Street intersection? Some co-workers were saying ~ 8am that there were huge backups on EB Bow because of light/crossing/arm timings, which is in contrast to my experience at 7am, when there was no traffic and all of Bow was just flying.
Took it from 69th this evening. The thing flies from that location to kerby station downtown. It was just shy of 12 minutes.
The stations are gorgeous too, bright and well lite! A lot of it is under ground so I miss the openness of the other lines but I suppose that's why It's so darn quick.
Something I've often wondered is the buzzing that is very evident in the first video and during breaking in the second video. I'm sure someone know what this is. I always though it happened while braking bit it also seems like it is happening while the train is accelerating in the first video.
^This is regenerative braking. Some of the energy that is created (which would otherwise be lost) while braking is fed back into the electrical system. In the first video, the operator is riding the brakes down the incline of Bow Trail eastbound.
Last edited by frinkprof; 12-10-2012 at 08:02 PM.
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Gotta say that Day 1 was not good to me. Commute time from Wildwood to downtown probably doubled in both directions today. There was no part of the trip that was terribly inefficient, it's just longer now that I have to take a bus to Westbrook station. In the time it took me to catch the 93 and get to Westbrook I would've been downtown on the 104 or 101 on many days. I'm not sure how the trip can be faster either way than it was today.
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Gotta say that Day 1 was not good to me. Commute time from Wildwood to downtown probably doubled in both directions today. There was no part of the trip that was terribly inefficient, it's just longer now that I have to take a bus to Westbrook station. In the time it took me to catch the 93 and get to Westbrook I would've been downtown on the 104 or 101 on many days. I'm not sure how the trip can be faster either way than it was today.
A lot of people now have longer and/or more complicated commutes, but sadly, you can't please everyone, and they design routes and LRT lines for the greater good. I feel for some people who aren't in downtown and now have to Bus-LRT-Bus to work.
With no traffic, my commute is a few minutes longer and now has a transfer, but there are to ton of people with better commutes now.
Observations on the PM commute yesterday; getting out of downtown was a lot slower than expected, with a lot of sitting and waiting at lights, however, once you got out of downtown it was ridiculously fast getting to 69th. Transfer to the 94 wasn't too brutal
The commute home is going to be a problem if yesterday is any indication. Not only was there only one 69th street train for every 5 Crowfoot trains (creating big lineups on platforms), but people going to Crowfoot were getting on the 69th street station at earlier stops in downtown and disembarking at the 7th street station to catch the Crowfoot trains. This caused massive crowding that needs to be solved.
Also, I have not seen a decrease in my commute time (there is even a slight increase on the way home), but I accept that. The train line will have growing pains for months to come.
The commute home is going to be a problem if yesterday is any indication. Not only was there only one 69th street train for every 5 Crowfoot trains (creating big lineups on platforms)
Thats the frequency of the NW/SW line, would it be better to reduce # of Crowfoot trains? Sure it is mentally displeasing seeing other trains coming so much more often, but alas, thats unavoidable. And lineups on platforms? Why do you keep coming back to this argument, which Ive never seen as an issue. Sure they get busy, but we're not talking Tokyo or Mumbai with people smooshed everywhere. Call me when you actually can't move on the platform and people are clinging to the sides of trains just to get off.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame
but people going to Crowfoot were getting on the 69th street station at earlier stops in downtown and disembarking at the 7th street station to catch the Crowfoot trains. This caused massive crowding that needs to be solved.
Again with the station crowding..... sorry but why would anyone take a train from an early station in downtown (higher chance of getting on or getting a seat), just to go to 7th Station where the NW train would be crammed full? If trains cannot pass each other, there is a zero % chance of getting home quicker by taking a 69th train then swapping to a Crowfoot one, all you do is risk not getting on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame
Also, I have not seen a decrease in my commute time (there is even a slight increase on the way home), but I accept that. The train line will have growing pains for months to come.
I'd expect most people living beyond 37th St SW actually saved a great deal of time yesterday on the PM commute. Unknown to most LRTers, WB Bow Tr was backed up from Sarcee all the way to 37th Street due to the whole Crowchild mess. So it might have been longer than a normal bus day pre-LRT, it actually saved ~15 minutes by avoiding Bow. Obviously, not every day will be like that, but things have a way of averaging out over time.
Thats the frequency of the NW/SW line, would it be better to reduce # of Crowfoot trains? Sure it is mentally displeasing seeing other trains coming so much more often, but alas, thats unavoidable. And lineups on platforms? Why do you keep coming back to this argument, which Ive never seen as an issue. Sure they get busy, but we're not talking Tokyo or Mumbai with people smooshed everywhere. Call me when you actually can't move on the platform and people are clinging to the sides of trains just to get off.
Again with the station crowding..... sorry but why would anyone take a train from an early station in downtown (higher chance of getting on or getting a seat), just to go to 7th Station where the NW train would be crammed full? If trains cannot pass each other, there is a zero % chance of getting home quicker by taking a 69th train then swapping to a Crowfoot one, all you do is risk not getting on.
I'd expect most people living beyond 37th St SW actually saved a great deal of time yesterday on the PM commute. Unknown to most LRTers, WB Bow Tr was backed up from Sarcee all the way to 37th Street due to the whole Crowchild mess. So it might have been longer than a normal bus day pre-LRT, it actually saved ~15 minutes by avoiding Bow. Obviously, not every day will be like that, but things have a way of averaging out over time.
Good sir, all of this could have been solved if they just added a few more trains to the 69th / Saddletowne line, and extended the cars to four. Instead, we now have to wait at least two years for that.
The platforms are going to be packed, and I can guarantee you most users of the West LRT line were not aware of the lack of trains coming downtown on the way home. For one thing, the platform was crowded with people at 545-6, wondering in disbelief why it took almost 15 minutes for a 69th street train to arrive. I was one of them.
How is it that Crowfoot trains are coming every 2 minutes? Further to that, they're not even filling all the seats let alone standing room with that kind of frequency. It's completely unbalanced.
And maybe you can suggest to me why people are getting on the 69th street trains and getting off on 7th avenue. I am at a loss about this as you are, but have Crowfoot line users been doing that when the train was going to City Centre?
Like I said, growing pains. I expect improvements, but I'm just not totally rah-rah happy about the line as you and others appear to be.
As you said, guess I have to live past 37th street to really see the value. That's too far out of the inner city for me though. It really is designed for suburbanites.
