Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Connect delayed indefinately.... Telvent still can't get it right...

Just pathetic.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...glitches-again

[worth]

I'm not sure why it's so hard. Cities all over the world have these technologies. And I'm not even talking about major world class cities either. I was just in Konya and Antalya Turkey and they both have the ability for active to buy a card and put as much credit on it as they want. Tbilisi, Georgia has the same and they were in a state of revolution and civil war six years ago.

[Wormius]

Seriously, buy Translink's technology already and integrate it to work in Calgary's climate. They have had it working for over 12 years, at least.

[Addick]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Connect delayed indefinately.... Telvent still can't get it right...

Just pathetic.

http://calgaryherald.com/news/local-...glitches-again

In my opinion, this is a blessing in disguise. The functionality of the card isn't at the level that makes it a reliable alternative to paper tickets.

[Regular_John]

Seriously? How is this such a difficult thing for Canadian cities to implement? We don't even have the freaking distance based zones. I feel like I could program the 1/2 dozen if{}else{} statements needed in a day.

[Stealth22]

As a software developer, I don't know what Telvent is doing over there, but with the simplicity of the transit system in Calgary, this should not be a difficult project.

But I digress. I'm starting a new job downtown in a couple of weeks, and due to the location of my current job, I haven't worked downtown in about 4 years.

I'm on the waiting list for a reserved parking spot at the Crowfoot and Dalhousie LRT stations, but I doubt I'll get one anytime soon.

For the people who take the train from the NW every day, how quickly do the free sections of the parking lots fill up? I could go to either Tuscany, Crowfoot, or Dalhousie, but the first two are more convenient.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

nm

[Robbob]

Question about the 4 cars. Is there a ballpark timeline when they think it will be reality. I am guessing if SAIT and Stadium are still being worked on it would be after they are slated to be completed. How far along are those two?

[Finger Cookin]

CT has said that four car service will happen "near the end of 2015" for some time now, at least on its site. It would be nice if they started right after Labor Day and the usual surge at that time of year.

[bizaro86]

Do they have enough cars to go all 4-car service? I was sort of under the impression that their current order was mainly to cover the line extensions (ie Tuscany) and replace some of the older ones...

[Addick]

I think Bizaro86 has identified the problem. I don't believe the LRV fleet is large enough to accommodate 4-car trains without reducing frequency.

[Robbob]

honestly if they run just one 4 car north at 7ish and 5ish and one south at similar times in the other direction on the 201 it would be an improvement. Hell, they could even start by having a four car ready to go after a flames game.

[Finger Cookin]

60 Ctrain cars were bought in 2013, with first delivery scheduled for August 2015 (according to a quick Google search.) Looks like 35/60 are for expanded 4 car service, 25 are to replace older units.

[MRCboicgy]

Originally Posted by Stealth22

As a software developer, I don't know what Telvent is doing over there, but with the simplicity of the transit system in Calgary, this should not be a difficult project.

But I digress. I'm starting a new job downtown in a couple of weeks, and due to the location of my current job, I haven't worked downtown in about 4 years.

I'm on the waiting list for a reserved parking spot at the Crowfoot and Dalhousie LRT stations, but I doubt I'll get one anytime soon.

For the people who take the train from the NW every day, how quickly do the free sections of the parking lots fill up? I could go to either Tuscany, Crowfoot, or Dalhousie, but the first two are more convenient.

People cancel in the summer - also, check out Brentwood for when the students leave in April, and cancel for May.

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

People cancel in the summer - also, check out Brentwood for when the students leave in April, and cancel for May.

Yeah, Brentwood is available right now if I wanted. It's a bit of a drive though. May have to go that route.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Stealth22

As a software developer, I don't know what Telvent is doing over there, but with the simplicity of the transit system in Calgary, this should not be a difficult project.

It really boggles the mind to look at how complex other countries/cities systems are, and how simple Calgary's should be in comparison and they still can't figure it out eh?

I feel like there's what, 5 "user" types to deal with? Maybe add an "admin/staff" customer type to this list?
- Adult monthly pass
- Youth Monthly pass
- Low income monthly pass
- Adult cash fares
- Youth cash fares

if ("user" == "paid") {
success();
} else {
fail();
}

[bizaro86]

It's a little more complicated than that logic wise. For example, there are also one day passes. And the system should be smart enough not to charge a second fare within the transfer window, I would think. But we have only one zone, so there doesn't need to be a "swipe out" to end your trip.

Other cities have had this for a decade+, it's probably time to switch vendors and buy from someone who has implemented this a few times.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

It's a little more complicated than that logic wise. For example, there are also one day passes. And the system should be smart enough not to charge a second fare within the transfer window, I would think. But we have only one zone, so there doesn't need to be a "swipe out" to end your trip.

Other cities have had this for a decade+, it's probably time to switch vendors and buy from someone who has implemented this a few times.

Yeah there is a few other variables at play of course, but compared to other transit networks (as you said, those with in/out scans) our network really isn't rocket surgery.

Whatever money we "saved" with a lower cost vendor has surely been completely burned with all the false starts/scrapping on this one.

[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

It's a little more complicated than that logic wise. For example, there are also one day passes. And the system should be smart enough not to charge a second fare within the transfer window, I would think. But we have only one zone, so there doesn't need to be a "swipe out" to end your trip.

Other cities have had this for a decade+, it's probably time to switch vendors and buy from someone who has implemented this a few times.

Well yeah, its more complicated than a couple of 'if' statements.

But we're not a big city like Paris with 5 different fare zones. The fare is flat, wherever you're travelling in the city. Passes add another layer of logic, but its not difficult stuff.

[Bill Bumface]

I think it's pretty safe to assume that this is much more complex than we all think it is, or it wouldn't be a problem in multiple cities.

You have things like handling communication issues. If your communication network is down are people denied bus rides?

Think of the days when car2go has issues. Imagine if that happened on our transit system. It's simply not acceptable.

It does seem to be the case, again, where the city goes with the lowest bidder and ignores some other key factors in bids, such as competence. The steel fabricator for the Peace Bridge falls into this category as well.