Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[SebC]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Fare Increase Policy Improvement

This is a small change but in the future, when fares are increased, the "old" books of tickets will be accepted without having to add the difference at the fare box, in a similar fashion to the way postage stamps have worked for quite a few years now.

I never knew that that was not the policy.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

@TurnedTheCorner:

Have I? I don't like them either. At the risk of someone digging up an older post where it may seem that I argued for them, I was probably either playing devil's advocate or was arguing more for the seating arrangement philosophy (longitudinal or "perimeter," "inward facing").

I really don't prefer the bucket seats over bench seating, but acknowledge they do provide some benefits. More correctly, I dislike the current arrangement of poles, handholds, stanchions, seating arrangement and seat type (bucket) as it has been executed on the Series 8 cars. All of these elements factor into a suboptimal situation.

I thought it was you, probably a case of mistaken identity on my part. I assume you post all thoughtful, detailed posts in this thread.

FWIW, I think bench seating with the tri-posts would be fine, as long as those other random posts in the bench sections were eliminated.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by SebC

I never knew that that was not the policy.

It was the official policy. but drivers have thier discretion of course. I don't believe many drivers (myself included) would hassle a passanger to put an extra quarter in to cover the difference.

[Knalus]

I've asked drivers about the fare increase policy before. I found a 6 year old book of tickets with 3 tickets left once, and the driver told me "If I bought a fare, then it's my decision when to use that fare". Like SebC, I didn't realize it was discretionary.

[ken0042]

I just hope that with the next fare increase they put back some sort of incentive to buy bus tickets. Even if it's only 50¢ per book, that's better than nothing.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by Cuz

It was the official policy. but drivers have thier discretion of course. I don't believe many drivers (myself included) would hassle a passanger to put an extra quarter in to cover the difference.

This is a big part of why it was a terrible policy. Once in a blue moon, you'd get some by-the-book operator who would ask someone for 25 cents extra on their likely few-weeks-old ticket. 25 cents that they likely didn't have on them because a lot of people don't carry change on them, and if they do, sometimes it's only loonies and toonies. It didn't happen often and never to myself, but I did hear of it happening.

The policy was typically published on the website or in print alongside any information pertaining to the fee increase. CT offered to have you go into the customer service center and trade in your tickets plus the difference for new ones.

Here's the policy (which is actually still on the website, despite the change):

Adult and Youth Tickets


Not eligible for cash refunds. At the time of a price change, tickets may be returned and their value used to purchase current tickets or other fare products.

Tickets retain their cash value as printed on the front of each ticket. Customers may continue to use outdated tickets, but must add cash to the value of the price printed on the ticket that equals the current ticket price. The ticket and cash combined may then be placed in the fare box of the bus. This does not work when taking the CTrain as there is no fare box and customers are advised to exchange old tickets for current ones.

http://www.calgarytransit.com/html/refund_policy.html

It had poor optics both when it was applied by the operator and advertised by Calgary Transit, and it produced inconsistent outcomes by having it be at the operators' discretion.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by ken0042

I just hope that with the next fare increase they put back some sort of incentive to buy bus tickets. Even if it's only 50¢ per book, that's better than nothing.

Yeah it sucked for passangers when they took the savings away from the books, now they're only for "convienience."

[frinkprof]

The Fall 2013 Service Revisions are up.

Fall is typically the biggest of the quarterly service revisions due to school starting up again.

http://www.calgarytransit.com/html/f...ions_2013.html

Also, Chinook Station opening date has been announced - Labour Day at noon.

[YYC in LAX]

I recently moved and will now need to use Crowfoot station for Park and Ride. Any idea what time I need to get there at to get a parking spot? I typically leave my house at 6:30.

[TurnedTheCorner]

The free spots are close to filling up at 6:30 IIRC.

[TurnedTheCorner]

Transit is a pretty viable alternative for DT workers to commute M-F during peak times.

But man, when I take it outside of peak? I'm reminded about what a colossal ####ing failure I am at life.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner

Transit is a pretty viable alternative for DT workers to commute M-F during peak times.

But man, when I take it outside of peak? I'm reminded about what a colossal ####ing failure I am at life.

What times are you needing to commute for? The trains run pretty close to 24/7 right now.

[TurnedTheCorner]

I took it early this morning, and then home later this afternoon. The cray crays were out in full force. In peak times they are usually drowned out by the worker bees like me just existing through banality.

[frinkprof]

News Roundup

Some of this has already been discussed above, but these articles clarify and/or flesh things our a bit more.

Calgary Transit planning ‘complete restyling’ of its website



Calgary Transit is looking to give its website a complete overhaul, making information more easily accessible on mobile devices and updating the overall look and feel of its online presence.


The redesign “will require a complete visual restyling, functional enhancements and the addition of new web technologies and capabilities,” according to a request for proposals the city recently posted.


Transit spokesperson Stephen Tauro said Monday the goal is create “a simple site where information is up-to-date, reliable and a little bit more 2013.”


[...]

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/771...f-its-website/

Calgary Transit director will clean up vomit during Undercover Boss Canada episode

Cleaning vomit off a bus, working in fume-filled garages and helping calm customer tensions along the LRT line was all in a week’s work for one of Calgary Transit’s top officials this past spring.


It was revealed Monday that transit director Doug Morgan will star in an episode of Undercover Boss Canada Oct. 31.


For 10 days of filming in May, Morgan shed his “trademark” goatee and donned a disguise that fooled the handful of employees he toiled away with during graveyard maintenance and security shifts.

[...]

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/770...anada-episode/

New Chinook LRT station to open in ‘early September,’ Calgary Transit clarifies

After nearly eight months of reconstruction, the Chinook LRT station will open in “early September” but not necessarily on Sept. 2, as previously indicated on social media, Calgary Transit clarified Wednesday.


“We’re working on the exact opening date and we’ll release that later this week or early next week,” project engineer Chris Knobel told Metro. “It’s safe to say it’ll be early September.”


Knobel said “it was a mistake” when a tweet was sent out late Tuesday from Calgary Transit’s official Twitter account, saying the much-anticipated station re-opening would happen Sept. 2 at noon.

[...]

http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/773...sit-clarifies/

[MrMastodonFarm]

Chinook Station opens tomorrow morning.

[frinkprof]

This leaves the following stations that haven't been extended to 4 car length:

39th Avenue
Barlow/Max Bell
Bridgeland
Zoo
SAIT
Banff Trail
Stampede

The following stations are currently undergoing construction for their 4 car extensions and refurbishments:

Rundle
Marlborough
Franklin
University
Lion's Park
Anderson

[You Need a Thneed]

Rundle is very nearly complete.

[SebC]

Seems a bit odd to me that they're not trying to get one of the lines done before moving on to the other one (at least it doesn't look like it from the station statuses).

[frinkprof]

^That wouldn't have any big benefits and would be undesirable for construction phasing in terms of operations. While only a couple of the stations have had to undergo long closures, almost all of them have required at least one weekend closure to perform work. The weekend closures are a tough thing to juggle since they are also needed for regular maintenance work (like this past weekend along 7th Avenue).

To have more than three stations under construction on the same line (the NE line currently has 3 under construction, and even then the start/end times are staggered) would be a lot for customers, operators and CT management to bear.

Besides, although the NE-West line will for sure be fully 4 car capable by sometime next year, actual 4 car operation won't happen by that time due to not having the necessary rolling stock supply.

[frinkprof]

Calgary’s older LRT cars breaking down far more often in 2013


Calgary’s older LRT cars are failing at a faster and faster rate, leading the mayor to question whether there will be enough reliable vehicles in the fleet when the city eventually moves to four-car trains.

“Are we not going to have enough cars to run the four-cars, because the (old cars) are going to have to be pulled?” Mayor Naheed Nenshi asked at a meeting of the city’s priorities and finance committee Tuesday.

Full Article