Transit ideas to steal from Toronto conference
"A Quiet Car and an Improve Your English car in subway trains. A lapel button to indicate you're feeling gregarious and want to talk. When 100 Toronto transit lovers assembled recently for Transit Camp, they had visions aplenty for the system."
So goes the account in the Toronto Star about Transit Camp, sponsored by the Toronto Transit Commission earlier this year to get ideas on improving the ride. And yes, transit officials were there, taking notes.
How about this refreshing message from Toronto's Frank Kruesi equivalent:
"Gary Webster, 55, interim general manager of the TTC, took notes. "Several years ago this is not a group I would likely spend time with on a Sunday," said Webster. "But if we don't show up we send them a message we don't care ... we have to think of it more from their point of view than we usually do."
Are you listening Frank? Nah, didn't think so.
Here's a cool Web site recapping some of the ideas.
Cool idea -- the BarCamps are neat, and I like the idea applied to mass transit.
Something tells me Toronto's mass transit system is in better shape than our. A TransitCamp for the CTA wouldn't go much beyond "repair the tracks." At least to start.
Posted by: tom sherman | March 14, 2007 at 10:53 AM
A couple of decades back, I lived in upstate NY and would visit Toronto and ride the TTC. The equipment was all clean, the service was on time, and the passengers were very polite (some would instantly give their seat to a lady or elderly person). However, the TTC was one of the first to start using 2 by 1 seating on the buses, later picked up here on the 4400 and 5300 series (Alf Savage worked for both systems). Some Toronto bus websites indicate that there has been trouble with TTC buses holding up to the severe weather, but apparently the funding has come through for new equipment, including a number of hybrids.
Posted by: jackonthebus | March 14, 2007 at 11:14 AM
Please attend the transit meetings,if you have the time.They provide an opportunity to network with like minded individuals and organizations.They provide a forum for ideas and issues ignored by the media.They are on public record.If you voice a concern right in front of Kruesi and Brown,they can't pretend they are unaware of the problem.Politicians[even the ones that are evil incarnate ]are in the business of being elected. They can blow off one person, but they can't blow off one million or they are out of a job.
Posted by: James Reyes | March 14, 2007 at 11:17 AM
Has anyone noticed that the new stone flooring at the Clark/Lake blue line stop is already rust stained and ugly and they haven't even finished installing it yet?!?!? God knows how many dollars and weeks wasted annoying the hell out of me with the jackhammering and meanwhile they can't even run the trains over 6 mph because the tracks need repair. I mean the old floor was cracked and ugly but jeez, priorities people!
Posted by: Amanda | March 14, 2007 at 11:26 AM
I don't know about Clark/Lake, but I can tell you that they powerwashed the floors at Rosemont sometime yesterday, and I had absolutely no idea that the floors were nice maroon-ish quartz-like tiles after nearly four years of using that station on a daily basis. I just assumed they were grey tiles throughout!
Posted by: Patrick | March 14, 2007 at 01:24 PM
Ah Rosemont station. Barely been there since it was called River Road. That was one of the nicer stations on the blue, until the Cermak branch was rehabbed.
Posted by: deepkid | March 14, 2007 at 02:23 PM
Just to clarify something, Toronto TransitCamp was not sponsored by or in any way organized or sanctioned by the TTC. TransitCamp was a community-driven project and people from the TTC were invited as equal participants with the rest of the community. As organizers, we were very happy for their openness and participation at all levels. The Giambrone regime showed a new openness that was richly rewarded by positive participation: "not a complaints department, a solutions playground".
Posted by: Mark Kuznicki | March 16, 2007 at 07:36 AM
This whole TTC just demonstrates that ALL of CTA's problems could be handle completely or could have been avoided all together if the CTA wasn't just a bunch of Lying, lazy criminally negligent incompetents wondering around drunk and or high most of the time making excuses for themselves! CTA is going to have to get up off of their collective fat asses and do some work for a change! Thats all.
Posted by: Dan Suizzo | March 19, 2007 at 12:46 PM