Heads
up, GTA bus riders -- your bus schedule may change soon. Every year,
summer timetable changes catch some riders off guard, so consider
yourself warned. Those lucky users of very frequent bus and
streetcar routes may be able to ignore schedules, but many transit
users need to know in advance when a transit vehicle will arrive at
a specific stop. Timetables matter if you travel off hours, or
through areas of the metropolis with half-hourly service -- or
worse. Whether a bus will actually show up at its ordained time is
an issue for another column -- or three.
Labour
Day marks the transition from lazy summer to heavy commuting season.
Back in June, timetable changes left some readers in the dark, as it
can take weeks for all bus stop schedules to be updated. Judy Cooper
of Toronto wrote In Transit after being surprised when service on
the 17 Birchmount bus was reduced. Eventually the schedules at the
bus terminal were changed, but in the meantime riders had trouble
getting accurate information.
L. Lepe of
Toronto also faced uncertainty at the beginning of the summer, this
time on the Jane route which she uses to go to a seasonal job.
Knowing when a particular branch of the #35 bus is expected can save
her a long walk to work -- but the “InfoPost” at her favourite bus
stop went missing at the end of last year’s work season. She
reported that a new schedule was put up finally in mid-June.
Although the TTC offered to send her a printed timetable in the
interim, Ms. Lepe told me it would be better just to have the posted
version at the stop.
How
many of us are likely to carry around a printed schedule? For daily
commutes, it may be enough to know when a particular bus is supposed
to arrive. What if that time changes every June and September? In
Toronto, 74 of 140 TTC routes are adjusted for lower transit
patronage in summer. Around 2,300 of 2,800 InfoPosts have to be
replaced twice -- and a job like that can’t be done in one day. The
sheer number of new timetables to be switched is one reason why
several years ago the TTC removed InfoPosts from many lesser-used
stops. Now the priority locations for schedules are those where two
or more routes meet.
Another victim
of the cost-cutting era of the last decade are printed schedules on
buses. With so many routes, some of which have may experience timing
adjustments as frequent as every six weeks, it would be a real
challenge to keep all vehicles stocked with current timetables. This
makes the InfoPost a valuable commodity, and it’s important for them
to be in place and up to date.
Most
GTA transit agencies will mail or fax out some kind of printed
schedule upon request, if that’s of use to you. Many transit
agencies outside Toronto do provide timetables on board their
vehicles or at terminals. Once again, keeping the schedules properly
stocked is crucial -- especially for routes that run hourly or just
in peak periods.
The
majority of stops across the region have no posted schedules, which
may not inspire new riders to try transit, and can frustrate regular
users. This leaves a reliance on each system’s customer service
phone lines, and the internet. Most GTA transit agencies have
schedules available online, but they are often not formatted for
easy printing. The other problem is knowing when a schedule will
change. TTC timetables and InfoPosts, for example, are not dated. To
avoid any rude surprises in the next few weeks, look for ads in
Metro and check your local transit website -- many list the current
and upcoming timetables. You can link to many transit agencies from
the TTC’s home page at www.ttc.ca.
Send e-mail to
transit@eddrass.com. Include address and phone number.