Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[GGG]

Always walk around the affected station unless you are first in line for a shuttle. It's always faster.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Another day, another at least 10 minute delay on the CTrain. Even by the extremely poor standards of Calgary Transit, the past month or so has been bad.

[Sainters7]

Yup, was just about to update my last post by mentioning the delay AGAIN this morning...again because of mechanical problems.

Man, first chance I get, I'm moving away from the red line, it's soooo terrible

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Another day, another at least 10 minute delay on the CTrain. Even by the extremely poor standards of Calgary Transit, the past month or so has been bad.

Calgary transit has had less delays in getting people downtown than the roads have. Being better than the automobile is the measure we should be judging them by.

[Senator Clay Davis]

In peak traffic it takes me 30 minutes to drive downtown. This is at least the fifth time in the last month or so it's taken 40 minutes to get downtown on the train. So even by that standard it's not going so well.

[Huntingwhale]

The day I started driving downtown to my office 3 years ago was the day my morning/afternoon stress completely disappeared from taking transit. I know not everyone can do it, but it's a beautiful thing to be able to just get in my car and drive to work. Then when I leave I see the throngs of people packed on the platforms and trains and I just feel warm and fuzzy inside.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

In peak traffic it takes me 30 minutes to drive downtown. This is at least the fifth time in the last month or so it's taken 40 minutes to get downtown on the train. So even by that standard it's not going so well.

But when traffic is delayed due to wether you don't blame the roads you blame the weather. Calgary transit fights the same weather. A car accident happens and you don't blame roads.

Calgary Transit does a good job at being reliable and on time. Look at the ontime atats they publish and then track your driving "on time" stats. They aren't less reliable than driving.

[Kybosh]

I typically take the train but have been driving downtown the last 6 weeks or so due to a knee injury. From my neighbourhood, driving is unequivocally faster and more convenient however it's also making me bankrupt due to parking costs (today was my first day back on the train). I'm on the red line, and I agree with everyone else, barely a day goes by without some significant delay. It's so unreliable that I don't take the train if there is a particularly important meeting I must arrive on time for.

Also, whoever decided back in the day to build the train line on street level versus underground downtown should be shamed. It completely defeats the purpose of mass rapid transit to stop at traffic lights for cars and vice versa. Super shortsightedness.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

I typically take the train but have been driving downtown the last 6 weeks or so due to a knee injury. From my neighbourhood, driving is unequivocally faster and more convenient however it's also making me bankrupt due to parking costs (today was my first day back on the train). I'm on the red line, and I agree with everyone else, barely a day goes by without some significant delay. It's so unreliable that I don't take the train if there is a particularly important meeting I must arrive on time for.

Also, whoever decided back in the day to build the train line on street level versus underground downtown should be shamed. It completely defeats the purpose of mass rapid transit to stop at traffic lights for cars and vice versa. Super shortsightedness.

When I said better than the automobile I was referring to delays from average commute time as opposed to total commute time.

People complain less about driving delays because they feel like they are in your control as you can take a different route to get around them and usually you know in advance that they will be occurring. Whereas train delays are more random though you really should expect them on every -30 day (Same as traffic).

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by GGG

When I said better than the automobile I was referring to delays from average commute time as opposed to total commute time.

People complain less about driving delays because they feel like they are in your control as you can take a different route to get around them and usually you know in advance that they will be occurring. Whereas train delays are more random though you really should expect them on every -30 day (Same as traffic).

It's not just the difference in time. It's that in my car I'm not jammed up against hundreds of other people fighting for a spot so I can hold onto a pole so I don't fall all over the place. Sometimes it's so busy you don't even get that pole to hold. I probably haven't had a seat on the train in 10+ years. The train is a cesspool of germs, unwashed people and inconsiderate ######s. Everyone is in a foul mood, and it just sucks overall. What a crappy way to spend getting to and from your place of employment.

Even it it means a longer commute to my work, I will gladly take driving into downtown over the LRT. I managed to find super cheap parking 12 minutes walk from my work, so price isn't really an issue.

Having said that, I think overall for size and scope of the city, Calgary Transit does a pretty good job overall.

[jwslam]

Originally Posted by GGG

Calgary transit has had less delays in getting people downtown than the roads have. Being better than the automobile is the measure we should be judging them by.

Sure but you're also not standing amongst a crowd of annoyed and sweaty people

Originally Posted by GGG

But when traffic is delayed due to wether you don't blame the roads you blame the weather. Calgary transit fights the same weather. A car accident happens and you don't blame roads.

I've always blamed the poor drivers. IMO if you're deemed at fault in an accident, you should be responsible for bearing a Carbon Tax cost of $xxxx for all the idling/slowed cars you directly caused.

[Looch City]

Originally Posted by jwslam

Sure but you're also not standing amongst a crowd of annoyed and sweaty people

You just have to learn to ignore those around you. I took up reading on the train and time just flies by.

Atleast on the train you can close your eyes and doze of if you want to.

[temple5]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

...
Also, whoever decided back in the day to build the train line on street level versus underground downtown should be shamed. It completely defeats the purpose of mass rapid transit to stop at traffic lights for cars and vice versa. Super shortsightedness.

That "super shortsightedness" allowed Calgary Transit to expand its network and have one of the best ridership/cost ratios in North America in a "business" where every seat is subsidized.

The CTrain would have been McMahan to Stampede and downtown to the zoo had it been placed underground from the start.

Look to Edmonton's terrible LRT for the contrast. Similar funding and their LRT went from UofA to Commonwealth and thats it.

The possible although highly unlikely benefit of putting it underground from the start is that Calgary might not have grown much past Anderson Road (pipe dream but possible). It may have grown to encompass Chestermere instead of getting closer to Okotoks.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by jwslam

Sure but you're also not standing amongst a crowd of annoyed and sweaty people

I've always blamed the poor drivers. IMO if you're deemed at fault in an accident, you should be responsible for bearing a Carbon Tax cost of $xxxx for all the idling/slowed cars you directly caused.

So you don't blame Calgary Roads for delays due to weather or other crappy drivers but you blame Calgary transit for its delays.

In one case you fault your choice of transportation and the other you don't. That's the disconnect when people say a car is more reliable than the train.

[Kybosh]

Originally Posted by temple5

That "super shortsightedness" allowed Calgary Transit to expand its network and have one of the best ridership/cost ratios in North America in a "business" where every seat is subsidized.

The CTrain would have been McMahan to Stampede and downtown to the zoo had it been placed underground from the start.

Look to Edmonton's terrible LRT for the contrast. Similar funding and their LRT went from UofA to Commonwealth and thats it.

The possible although highly unlikely benefit of putting it underground from the start is that Calgary might not have grown much past Anderson Road (pipe dream but possible). It may have grown to encompass Chestermere instead of getting closer to Okotoks.

That's all fair but I personally think that the investment should have been increased to put that portion underground from the get-go (I have no idea what the breakdown was between local, provincial and federal - I'm not originally from Calgary). Having the train at the same level as vehicle traffic slows things down for everyone and we also see frequent vehicle collisions with the train. Just my opinion in this regard.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Kybosh

That's all fair but I personally think that the investment should have been increased to put that portion underground from the get-go (I have no idea what the breakdown was between local, provincial and federal - I'm not originally from Calgary). Having the train at the same level as vehicle traffic slows things down for everyone and we also see frequent vehicle collisions with the train. Just my opinion in this regard.

In a perfect world, I'd love to see it underground. It is easy to look back and question the choice to put it at grade, but I can imagine at the time that all sorts of political jockeying was going on to keep costs low. Politically speaking, everyone wants to build for the future, but nobody wants to be responsible for the price tag at the time.

Even with the Green Line, there are many who want to build it right the first time, but we had a mayoral candidate campaigning on "pausing" and reevaluating everything because it was expensive. I'm sure that if a viable at-grade option existed for the Green Line through the core, there would be more of a lobby to explore it. Thankfully for future Calgarians, at-grade through the core has never really been considered, primarily because the river, crossing the existing LRT line, etc. would make it not only foolish, but pretty much impossible.

[Robbob]

Honestly I just wished they kept the red line underground under 8th ave as it was originally planned. Hell the tunnel is mostly there. Fast forward into the future and you don't have both lines sharing a line downtown, which would probably make it more efficient as one train breaking down on 7th doesn't cripple the entire transit system.

Taking the red line off 7th also probably helps car traffic flow north/south as there will be less train traffic.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Honestly I just wished they kept the red line underground under 8th ave as it was originally planned. Hell the tunnel is mostly there. Fast forward into the future and you don't have both lines sharing a line downtown, which would probably make it more efficient as one train breaking down on 7th doesn't cripple the entire transit system.

Taking the red line off 7th also probably helps car traffic flow north/south as there will be less train traffic.

A tunnel was wisely built under city hall when it was built in the 80s, but that's it. The rest would be very costly, which is probably why it has always been deferred in favour of new lines and extensions.

I agree with the benefits you mention though. Having the red line below 8th and the blue line on the existing 7th Ave tracks would isolate issues to one line or the other, and it would also allow for longer trains under 8th, and perhaps most importantly, increased frequency and efficiency.

But it wouldn't be cheap, that's for sure. I would imagine that it would become more of a priority after the green line is built, or in practical terms, decades from now!

[Senator Clay Davis]

Another day, another 10+ minute delay. At least for me I'm north of the issue, but what an abysmal run for Calgary Transit.

[rotten42]

Originally Posted by GGG

Calgary transit has had less delays in getting people downtown than the roads have. Being better than the automobile is the measure we should be judging them by.

Right? Its like people don't seem to think the weather and road conditions effect transit like they do every other vehicle on the road.