I want to get on/off/on the bus

No, I’m not opposed to taking transit. I just want to be able to step off now and then to run some errands.  The TTC, on the other hand, wants to hold me hostage. 

While many other transit systems have payment systems that allow riders to hop on and off during a set travel period, the TTC carries on with an arcane transfer system that completely handcuffs its riders.

The TTC’s system works only if I am willing to go directly from A to B.  But God forbid that I want to stop at C for some groceries or D to pick up my child from school. 

Scrutiny of the strange tear marks on my grubby transfer by a brow-furrowed streetcar operator will instantly betray my radical quest for freedom from the TTC’s transfer rules. The only exception is the “pilot” on St. Clair’s 512 streetcar.

This system isn’t good for transit riders – and it isn’t good for our climate.  It isn’t good for our climate because it artificially limits our use of transit for multiple short trips and makes us opt for the car instead. 

Unless you are a monthly pass holder, the cost of multiple trips is simply too great.  (And the TTC’s Metropass is actually one of the least generous among major Canadian cities in providing a net financial benefit to the average transit user, although about half of daily users now have passes.)  I’d just as soon buy time on the system as individual rides.

With that innovation in place, I would then be free to run many more errands on transit.  One other service would make this a really attractive option:  I need local retailers to get back into the delivery business. 

I had to laugh (ruefully) at a Toronto Star reporter’s description of some guy hauling a snow blower onto a jam-packed streetcar.  We’ve all been there – either as the person being pushed aside by the woman with a giant new microwave or as the person struggling up the streetcar steps with some large and awkward package. 

How great would it be to support local shops while getting goods delivered to your door (maybe even by bike trailer)?!  This is a real economic opportunity for small retailers struggling to compete with big box stores equipped with hundred-acre parking lots. 

If the TTC lets me get off and shop locally and I can then get my purchases delivered to my door, the vibrancy of local shopping streets is going to be a lot greater.  And that, in turn, is good for my neighbourhood, giving me more opportunity to walk, bike or take transit the next time I need milk – or something bigger.       

 About Julia Langer

Comments

[Tim]

The TTC's transfer system makes absolutely no sense. Here is an example of its shortcomings that surely happens thousands of times a day:

You have to travel on one route from A to B. Then you have to transfer to another route to go from B to C. You know that if a streetcar comes immediately, you can get from B to C in 10 minutes. But you also know that you can walk from B to C in 20 minutes.

What do you do?

The most logical answer to this question is to start walking. That way, if a streetcar comes along, you can hop on and you'll get to C faster. If it doesn't, as a worst case scenario you will walk the whole way and get to C in 20 minutes. People with Metropasses can do this.

Unfortunately, the TTC's transfer system does not allow this. It forces you to use a transfer only at the point of transfer. So instead of guaranteeing you will be at C in no more than 20 minutes, if you end up having to wait 15+ minutes for a streetcar, it will take you 25+ minutes to get to C.

I cannot understand why they force riders to transfer at the transfer point only. Situations like the one above are very frustrating, and extremely commonplace. I have emailed the TTC to ask why they insist on this policy, and they were unable to provide me with an answer other than "these are the rules".

[JB]

"Dear Julia, Please check with the TTC before writing this article. You are currently allowed to make a 30-minute stop, do some shopping and get back on the bus with a transfer. - John Smith"

Where is this information on the TTC website? Doubt that drivers actually know about this. Also, can you do that with the subway / RT or its only limited to buses / streetcars?

[Tyler Grace]

You do realize the TTC is already beginning to implement this?

Check out this video by the TTC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1emO_zZTHAk

[Amber Waving]

Helen is wrong; you can 'get away' with it but officially, per rules on the back of the transfer, the driver can reject it. It depends on the transfers in the area, and they certainly don't allow back and forth on a route with a transfer. Mississauga does and has for YEARS.

Adrian - Just from my experience, the adult passes for Canada are better priced, as are the passes in Washington DC and New York City, which are comparable big cities with volume of service. When it jumped to $110, I went back to tokens for my 4 day/week job plus rec use. I save $15-20/month off a pass and got around fine. That's pathetic.

[Peter]

Hopefully once the TTC adopts Presto, the re-boarding within 1 hour option will be available. I loved visiting Amsterdam this summer - a tourist pass and a transit pass are available for 24/48/72 hours (separate cards, but the clocks don't start ticking until you activate them for the first time. You can buy 24 hour passes for less than the cost of three of the 1 hour passes. If Metrolinx wanted to look to a city to emulate for GTA solutions, Amsterdam and its surrounding regions would be ideal.

[just mike]

The bigger issue is there is no zoned transit. implementing zone transit would allow for such a thing.

[Frank]

The TTC can afford to develop a mobile version of its website. It can also afford new luxurious cars to replace the old ones. But keeping rates low or allowing us to make a brief stop and getting back on.... that's crazy talk! Clearly they don't understand the People of Toronto.

[Kevo]

@Phil - the GO system doesn't make you get your ticket checked. Yes, you have to swipe (Presto) or get your ticket stamped (2 or 10 ride passes), but it's purely on merit. If you get caught on the train without a valid ticket, though, you've got a good sized fine coming your way. Currently, I have a Metropass so I do hop-on-hop off constantly (even excessively in bad weather) and I guess it'd be nice to make every fare a time transfer rather than just the Matropass and Daypass.

It'd be interesting to see the implications on both ridership and income for the TTC with a time based transfer. Someone draw up a study.

A snowblower isn't the weirdest thing I've seen on the TTC. I've saw two guys portaging with a canoe onto the subway so they could get from their house to the harbour. It was on a Saturday morning, so it wasn't busy, but I found it funny and interesting (and now I'm tempted to try it for a laugh).

[Jomo]

Josh,

The TTC Metropass is $120, compared to $70 in Montreal. And for non-Metropass users, a one-way fare is $3, compared with $2 in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and other major cities. No, the TTC is actually a huge rip-off

[vaalea]

In my utopia I order everything online and it comes to my door... and everyone else does this too so it's cheap and we can all stop wasting time running all over town to pick things up just because only certain stores carry certain things... and yes, easier then to use alternate modes of transportation.. less baggage... really when it is most handy to have a car IS when you are shopping from place to place and impossible to carry everything with you everywhere the car provides a "portable" safe locker.
I'm also annoyed that the same chain store, two different locations can be carrying completely different clothing options. I want to see my options at one, not waste my time looking/or missing out at what is at the second location.
But clothing is a little difficult. Would have to have a better way of fitting online, or shops where you try on before delivery. Certainly shopping-delivery is an area I'm interested in seeing further developed.
And I find public transit can be confusing or a pain.. especially in new cities visiting, I don't even want to try. If we want to talk about dreaming again, I would love to see PRT systems in cities that lets people punch in an address or landmark, and then it whisks you straight where you want to go and drops you off... a driverless taxi.

[Let There Be Zen!]

This is exactly why I normally choose YRT and abandon this T-rex Transit Commission whenever I have a choice, such as commuting to York University. Actually, I had a heated argument with a TTC driver about this issue and he said, "Well, we have a lot more passengers than they do!" WTF! This is exactly why TTC should be much MORE ready financially in implementing the hop-on, hop-off policy within a set period!

[Peter]

Once I made a mistake, and got off the bus one stop before my transfer point and I received a severe reprimand from the next bus driver when I tried to board his bus with my transfer. That...he said was FORBIDDEN.

[W. K. Lis]

Timed transfers needed. With the neighbourhood store, bank, drug store, hardware store, one really didn't require a stop-over. Today, with big box stores not in your neighbourhood, a timed transfer is required.

[David]

In Mississauga, the transfer is good for 2 hours, and you can use it, one time, on a neighbouring transit system (except TTC of course).

It's perfect for going shopping, picking up kids, going to the doctor or job interviews, etc...

The TTC needs to emulate Mississauga Transit in many ways. rarely are the buses late for their scheduled stop, the drivers are vastly more helpful and courteous and the vehicles are very clean for the most part.

[OfficeWorker]

It would also be nice if our transit system actually ran all night long, or at least after last call at most bars. The New York Subway runs all night long on most of their lines.

[Theresa Wojtasiewicz]

I mentioned to a driver, casually, how much I liked the YRT "2 hour ticket" and wished the TTC had something like. He said it would never work in Toronto; I asked why, to which he replied, the TTC would lose too much money. I guess there is that to consider, since the TTC is no longer subsidized by the provincial government. And think on this: there is a proposal being floated in some quarters to break Toronto up into zones, the way GO transit is. No longer would you be able to travel from end of Toronto to the other on one fare. A trip from Etobicoke to Scarborough and back could easily cost you upwards of $12 to $15 dollars, for one round trip. Yikes!

[Dan W.]

There is a very, very good reason to modify the current transfer system that has nothing to do with convenience or shopping and everything to do with the entire purpose of the TTC: TRANSIT! That is, When transfering to a bus or streetcar line, I (often) have to wait for the next vehicle. However, if my destination is less than 1 or 2 km, then I will (often) find that I can walk there faster than waiting for the next vehicle. So I walk. If I have a metropass or a daypass, I can hop on the next vehicle at any stop along the way (if/when a vehicle comes) but if I have a transfer, I have to make up my mind: Wait (and wait?) for the next vehcile WITHOUT making any progress to my destination OR ELSE throw away my transfer and walk the whole way... and if a vehicle DOES come... TOO BAD since they won't honour the transfer at the "wrong" stop.

It's a very good reason to buy a metropass... but that's a silly way to sell metropasses and it's a bad way to treat a patron who has paid full fare for less than full service.

[jh]

Cameron hit the nail on the head. The system needs to work throughout the region seamlessly. Metro Vancouver has one system for the entire metro area. Such a novel concept...

[jh]

...and of course Vancouver also gives you an hour and a half to ride transit as long as need be after you buy a ticket.

[JK]

It's sad really. I think GTA is the only metropolitan region that has a different transit authority for each municipality. Look at all these different places:

Seoul - 3 Metro Subway providers but they provide transit for different lines, but a lot of these lines (Except #2 I believe) reach other regions in the metropolitan region.

Tokyo - Similar to Seoul as well, except 2 providers

London - Subways reaching to Watford, Croydon and other surrounding Regions

Hell, Paris, Moscow, even Vancouver have systems that span across the entire metropolitan region, so why is GTA one of the few others that has different providers for each of the metropolitan regions?

[Jon J]

Couldn't resist bringing another thing up (repeated complaints enter TTC's 'complaint void'):
What is the deal with not accepting transfer tickets (proof-of-payment, right?) as a part of a payment when purchasing a daypass?

I am a frequent user residing downtown, but tad-bit away from the closest subway station. During weekends I regularly buy a daypass but to my annoyance I have to walk to a station to purchase my ticket - instead of taking a streetcar to a station and obtain the pass while there. Nope, storm or still, if I don't want to pay $13 bucks for a pass walk I must.

And don't get me started on the 'corner-grounding' policy when transferring...

[matt gorgun]

As indicated in the original article, time-based transfers are only available on the 512 street car as a trial program. Check out the TTC website:

http://www3.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Fare_information/Transfers/index.jsp

[iSkyscraper]

Sigh. So many negatives to dwell on, but they all have basis. First of all, the TTC is the most expensive transit system in North America. Period. No other system has such an expensive monthly pass. (Montreal is what, $70?) So right off the bat there is a lot of displeasure with how the TTC is set up even if all of the transfers and such work well.

Further, it is one of a few older legacy systems that works on flat fares. This was a great idea for citybuilding at the time since it encouraged suburban growth at the expense of downtown or short-term (hop-on, hop-off) use. New York, Boston and many other systems continue to use single fare. But newer systems have moved towards fare zones, a concept the TTC discarded long ago. It is time to take another look at this but it involves some messy policy decisions. Making the ride cheap for the guy at Finch probably does more to get cars off the road at commuting time than, say, having a $1 fare zone downtown and $4 if coming in north of York Mills. But should we favor commuting gridlock reduction over downtown livability? Especially when that ungrateful lunk at Finch doesn't appreciate the subsidy (or what it does for his property value) and votes against good-for-downtown policies? The changeover to Presto may be the right time to develop a whole new fare system with fares, transfers, prepayment and other policies that favor urban livability over commuting subsidies.

By the way, as much as I would like to see it, don't count on a free fare zone. Although many, many cities have this it is usually a development tool to get places with low ridership and bad downtowns (few residents, few stores) to try transit. Once a city matures it often discards the free fare zone (see Seattle). Portland's free-fare zone just dropped buses, by the way, and now only applies to rail. Expect this to go away eventually too.

[Al]

In Winnipeg, the transfer was good for one hour. You could even use it for quick return trips.

[DianaB]

Once when I was on the Spadina streetcar at Queen going north, a young guy got on carrying a McDonalds bag. As you may recall, the McDonalds at that corner used to have a window where you could order food while standing on the sidewalk, which is what that guy obviously did.

I couldn't believe it because the driver refused to accept his transfer saying that riders are not allowed to "stop over" when transferring. I thought it was absolutely outrageous!

Technically, if you're transferring at a corner with a convenience store, you're not allowed to nip in and buy yourself a chocolate bar.

Another point: if you live downtown, you pay $3 to go very short distances. To go from one downtown point to another and then return home you're often travelling much shorter distances than many one-way trips in the suburbs that cost the same amount.