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On The Rocket, Episode 2

Adam Giambrone’s CP24 show On The Rocket airs Thursday evening, Nov 26, from 9 to 10 pm, repeating at 1:30 am.

As I will be one of the guests, I will not be reviewing the show.  Anyone who wants to do so is welcome to leave a comment here.

19 thoughts on “On The Rocket, Episode 2”

  1. How do we get on the streetcar to deliver an uninterrupted hour’s worth of icy glares in various directions?

    Steve: You have to speak nicely to CP24. The car does not pick up passengers enroute.

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  2. “The car does not pick up passengers enroute.”

    CP24’s website for the previous episode says that “viewers are invited to get on and off for a free ride. Viewers can join the show at the McCaul loop on McCaul Street, north of Queen Street, or or at the corner of Queen and Spadina, between 8 and 9 p.m.”

    Steve: I’m not sure of the arrangements for tonight. I had to indicate if I was bringing a guest, and they may not be making the car open to whoever shows up.

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  3. I know. They’ve never been consistent about who can get on, when, and under what conditions. They certainly wouldn’t want any dissent.

    Steve: Tonight should be interesting — real activists!

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  5. And, as ever, our fearless leader cannot pronounce an even mildly unfamiliar proper name. Take a bow, Steve Maaawnro.

    Steve: There are Munros (the Scots spelling) everywhere! We have a clan and mountains too!

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  6. Aha they kept called you Steve MONROE!! Poor thing. Did you ever bother to correct him?

    Steve: No, I didn’t. I have not watched the show yet, and hope that CP24 at least got the super and the website name right.

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  8. 1) Adam Giambrone was quite excited over the start of construction on the Finch LRT. It made me wonder. How many, if any, of the proposed lines will be built simultaneously.

    2) What was tht bit about Montreal having better transit than the TTC? Adam seemed to agree. I don’t!

    Steve: Actually he was excited about Sheppard East, but the idea’s the same. Sheppard East, Eglinton, Finch West and the SRT conversion to LRT will all overlap with each other to some degree. The big question is whether Metrolinx is going to interfere, or if the mayoral campaign will unveil someone who would rather stop the whole process and start over. Perish the thought we would actually build something.

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  9. I swear that CP24 advertised the show this afternoon as being from 8-9, which made me wonder if you were going to miss your ride. Alas you were right and they were wrong. I think 8:00 is a better time for a show like this.

    I was also curious about the choice of 4034 again – or did they just reuse the footage from behind that they had filmed last time? It was hard to recognize who was in the back seat from the outside view…

    Steve: It’s the same car. Seats have been removed for the cameras and control area setup.

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  10. Nice show! There was a good deal of diplomacy and fair exchange of questions and answers between everyone – now if only there could be an equivalent on CP24 involving GO Transit, hmm…

    Steve: Yes, but the program would mysteriously go off of the air except for a five minute “public” session.

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  11. They got your website address right, but the show lacks substance. Give us the meat and potatoes — there was no talk about the cattle herding at Bloor-Yonge, LRT vs. subway, etc.

    I hate to say this, but Adam Giambrone just doesn’t have the right TV personality for this — he comes across as a bit awkward and nervous.

    One more thing … hand sanitizers in subway stations? — good grief, they’re going to turn this city into a bunch of obsessive compulsive germ freaks.

    Steve: That was a question from a caller, but it shows the way the media in general have sensitized people to the issue. If there were not some disaster in progress somewhere or other, several TV stations and at least one newspaper would go out of business.

    As for the cattle herding, it didn’t come up in the questions we got.

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  12. Hi there;

    Almost 30 years ago I recall being on a streetcar when it was involved in a minor fender bender with a car. The driver of the streetcar cranked the front door open and remarked to the driver of the car, “You’re the one with the steering wheel!” I’ve never forgotten that moment, and therein lies the problem with streetcars in a modern city. They are unable to steer around things! It seems archaic, but having trains running down the centre of some of our busiest streets is perceived as an efficient way to move people through a modern city. I say bring on the electric buses, such as the ones in Vancouver, and eliminate the need to dig up tracks every few years, (with the inherent pollution caused by the construction, or should I say de-construction this brings)

    Buses can manoeuvre around obstacles, and don’t have to be custom-made for the city, like new streetcars for Toronto do, with our peculiar streetcar track gauge.

    There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a line up of streetcars backed up behind something they can’t drive around. When they do finally get clear, and five streetcars in a row show up at your stop, it just adds to the frustration. Here’s an idea….keep the Spadina streetcar line as a quaint reminder of a bygone era and as a tourist attraction, but please, lets move into the 20th, not to mention the 21st century and have more efficient methods of public transit than trains going down the centre of streets meant for cars.

    Steve: Sad to say, there are far too many other cities building and expanding tram systems for me to agree with you. And, by the way, the streets are not meant just for cars.

    If we even simply enforced the parking and stopping regulations now in place, it would make a huge difference to transit. This could be construed as a “war on cars”. Is Toronto serious about making transit work or not?

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  13. 1.5% rate of fare evasion eh?

    To me that sounds like a low number … I have never seen a fare checker on a streetcar, I would like some proof that they exist (anyone ever get caught by one?) … on GO they average one check every 10 rides … or at least that is my experience…

    But even if it is 1.5% (how would they know this number), and we’re bringing in 800m$ in fares, thats 12 million$ … almost the same amount that advertising brings in … what’s the calculation on how many checkers they have? I would think the proper formula is …

    if
    (number of people caught/year * the amount of fine) > (amount to hire checkers/year)
    then
    hire more checkers

    Steve: You probably noticed that I didn’t let Adam Giambrone get away with that 1.5% figure as I have never encountered a fare inspector on Queen. That’s an amazingly low evasion rate, and even the TTC has cited higher values in the past.

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  14. After David Miller retires as mayor he will need a new job. I suggest head of Metrolinx might be a good job for him.

    Steve: Rob Prichard’s got that sewn up for many years, assuming he actually stays there.

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  16. Hi Steve;

    Just to clarify my point, Trains running down the centre of our streets are not as efficient as electric buses, that can get around obstacles. I realize streets are meant for numerous methods of transportation, I just don’t think trains that break down and can’t get out of the way of things are practical.

    Oh, and just to be a bit more controversial, as far as I’m concerned public transit should be free. That’s right. Free. The money exists.

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  17. Hey Steve!

    Nice to meet you, and again – thank you for the great service this blog is!

    I think they’re still trying to sort out the format of the show. It’s sort of weird, as when you’re a guest, it’s like Adam’s chat show, and when you’re a rider, it’s more of a Q & A style show. I commend everyone for the experiment though.

    Next time, hopefully I will see some ink. 😀

    Steve: I don’t think it’s that kind of show 😉

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  18. I also liked Steve’s comment that transit is no longer about only commuters or those living downtown. That has also been a problem with the TTC (and GO) for that matter – it’s the “Get everyone downtown” idea. Yes, a lot of people want to go downtown, and there are a lot of things to do downtown, but the people do not always work in downtown anymore, or will live near where they work.

    For example, Mississauga has a lot of businesses, people may want to live in Toronto, but their job is in Mississauga. It is just as important to get them around home (to do shopping for example), as it is to get people out to Mississauga.

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  19. I read today that the TR train which is at Kingston has failed a TTC inspection and might be going back to Thunder Bay! Is this correct or is it just a rumour?

    Steve: Where did you read this? It will be easier to check out the story if there is a published source.

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