On January 19, 2015, Mayor John Tory, TTC Chair Josh Colle and TTC CEO Andy Byford held a press conference to announce major changes for TTC riders in 2015.
- Adult fares will rise by 10 cents (from $2.70 to $2.80, or 3.7%) with proportionate increases for passes, senior and student fares.
- Children under 12 will ride free (the current fare is $0.75 cash or a ticket for $0.60).
- The cash fare will remain at $3.00.
- All day, every day services that were cut in 2011 will be restored.
- A network of key bus and streetcar routes will have 10 minute service except overnight (after 1:00 am).
- Crowding and wait times off peak will be reduced by modifying the loading standards.
- Proof-of-payment and all-door loading will be extended throughout the streetcar network.
- Twelve new Blue Night routes will be added to the 22 now in operation.
- Fifty new buses will be acquired for service improvements.
- Crowding and wait times during the peak periods for 21 busy routes will be improved.
- Four new express bus routes will be added.
- The pool of buses available for maintenance will be increased.
- Temporary storage will be obtained to house the buses pending new garage construction.
- Trains on the YUS and BD subways that are now held on standby for emergencies will be scheduled into the regular service.
- Route management will be improved for streetcar routes to provide more reliable service and better utilize the capacity of vehicles in service.
- The reliability of signals, track and communication systems will be improved with more resources for maintenance.
Updated Jan. 19, 2015 at 4:00 pm: One sour note in the announcement is the fact that the Metropass multiple will go up from 49 to 50 giving a new price of $141.50 vs the existing $133.75, an increase of 5.8%. In the midst of an otherwise upbeat, positive set of recommendations, it was a poor choice not to mention that frequent users would pay a higher increase for TTC fares. This continues TTC management’s desire to bump the pass pricing up on the basis that frequent users are getting too high a subsidy. If that’s the official position of the Mayor and TTC Chair, they should have said so in the press release.
Much of this program arose from the August 2014 “Opportunities” report from TTC management.
At the time, then-candidate Tory argued against these proposals on the grounds that they were unfunded, and behind the scenes, the Tory camp complained that the TTC was supporting another candidate’s platform. To his credit, now-Mayor Tory recognizes the importance of better transit service that can be delivered in the short term, and he has embraced advice from Andy Byford wholeheartedly. Among the lessons he learned was that TTC’s off-peak ridership is higher and growing faster then peak demand, and that investments in off-peak service will benefit a very large number of riders throughout the city. This is an important change from a focus just on peak period, core-oriented capacity.
Tory has reluctantly dropped his proposed fare freeze saying that Toronto cannot do this and get on with improving transit. He now argues that fares will go up a bit more, but that riders will get a lot more service.
During the press conference, the Mayor made pointed, repeated references to “my predecessor” and “the previous administration” saying that the policy of service cuts and subsidy freezes was wrong. One can be gleeful seeing the Ford era openly criticized by the new Mayor, but that’s not the important point. Simply by making the statement, Tory puts allies inherited from the ancien régime on notice. Better TTC funding is not simply a predictable request from the usual activists and left-wing Councillors, but part of the Mayor’s program.
The financial proposal is that the TTC’s budgeted subsidy from Toronto will rise from $440.1-million in 2014 to nearly $479m in 2015. The fare increase plus added ridership (projected at 545m in 2015, up 10m from 2014) will bring in $43m more, net of the elimination of children’s fares ($7m). (The subsidy includes approximately $90m in provincial gas tax revenue which is paid to the City. This amount has not changed in many years.)
Further details will be revealed in the City Budget Launch on January 20, and at the TTC Board’s own budget meeting on February 2. Implementation of this plan is contingent on Council approval, although the new fares (which can be approved by the TTC itself) will take effect March 1. Service changes require lead time for planning, staffing, and in the case of the new buses, acquisition of vehicles and a storage yard. In practice, the changes will likely roll out beginning later this spring with the majority of service improvements coming in September or later. This will also limit the cost of new services to a smaller part of the year, although full-year costs will have to be absorbed in 2016.
The maps in the Opportunties report (linked above) show the range of routes that will likely be affected by the various proposals. I checked with TTC officials at the press conference, and although there may be minor changes, these maps give substantially a good idea of where the improvements will be.
Of the many opportunities proposed in August, the one which is notable by its absence is the two-hour fare. There is only so much money to spend on a new fare structure, and rebuilding service takes priority this year. However, the need for a simpler “transfer” mechanism on the TTC will be forced by the Presto implementation which Andy Byford is pressing Metrolinx to complete by the end of 2016. This will more-or-less force the question as part of next year’s budget planning.
During the scrum, the inevitable question to Mayor Tory was “how will you pay for all of this”. Tory demurred saying all would be revealed at the Budget Launch. An important point, however, is that he plans to keep tax increases to inflation, but the Scarborough Subway tax will be outside of that “inflationary” envelope.
This is a very good start for the Tory/Colle era of TTC policy-making. Rather than cherry-picking a handful of improvements that might benefit only a small segment of Toronto, they have opted for a variety of changes addressing many submarkets within the TTC’s ridership. If this continues in future years, by the time the TTC and Metrolinx open new rapid transit lines, Toronto will have a much improved surface network linking riders to new and improved trunk routes.
Steve Munro 
One thing that’s not showing up anywhere:
The 60 additional streetcars that were in the August 2014 report.
Steve, do you have any idea what is the deadline for TTC to take up options? It would be a shame to have to pay more for these in the future.
Steve: I believe that the original deadline was last year, but with Bombardier screwing up so badly on the order delivery, I suspect they will be happy to extend this if only to lock in their position with the TTC. By the way, those 60 cars were in the unfunded part of the capital budget a year ago.
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Today it offers unlimited travel for any one person on weekdays, and for a family on weekends and holidays.
With respect to swapping seniors for children, why do we have to change the existing model? Getting unlimited travel for two adults is already a good deal, and as you point out those between 13 and 19 will still also be covered. In essence, it will continue to do what it was intended to do – make it affordable for a family to travel together on the TTC.
Every time we give more people free rides that they would’ve otherwise paid for there will be either service cuts and/or fare increases for everyone else.
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No equivalent? Then how does it work well in Hamilton, Oakville, Mississauga, etc. Anytime I use my PRESTO card in another city, I simply tap on the first time and the fare is taken off my card. For the next two hours, no money is taken off anytime I tap on another machine. Now, the other organizations do allow for time based transfers, which is the only real issue I know of, but this easily fixed with PRESTO (as in you simply allow for time based transfers.)
Steve: You really have not been paying attention. Time based transfers are already used by Presto as you describe. What does not have any equivalent are the arcane rules about where and when you can transfer between routes on the TTC today. Get rid of that, and the Presto implementation in Toronto simply extends the model already in use elsewhere. That’s the point I was making.
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I think it would be wise for the city to work with Metrolinx and the province to find the money to fund the cost of (or cover the $20 million in foregone revenue associated with) the move to a 2 hour pass.
I understand that the TTC will likely move forward with this when the move to PRESTO is completed but it makes a lot more sense to do this now when the transition and growth are happening.
Speaking as someone who has used the 2 hour transfers in Mississauga for a decade, it isn’t just about getting out and back on one fare…I’m far more likely to be taking multiple trips with long stopovers, running errands and doing different things in these trips.
Cheers, Moaz
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Age-based fares have never made any sense, other than as a rough proxy for income or wealth. Without that proxy function, it’s just crude age discrimination, since the cost of providing service doesn’t vary with a rider’s age.
This proxy works well with children, since few of them have much income. Children under 12 are dependents, and are more likely than the general populace to belong to low-income households. Eliminating fares for this large group of people with no income is a progressive move.
60 years ago the proxy worked well for seniors too. Today, seniors are the wealthiest segment of society, with the lowest rates of poverty of any age group. Senior-led households are also less likely to contain dependents. Providing a subsidy today to seniors is regressive and strictly age discrimination.
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Just saw a globe article saying Presto will be outfitted on all TTC streetcars in 2015. First I’ve heard of it and definitely news to me – any word on this being the new plan, Steve? Last I heard they were pushing for 2016 instead of 2017, but 2015? If that’s true, definitely a step in the right direction. Seems like it might have been neglected in the announcement but it kind of goes along with the streetcar boarding improvements they’re implementing.
Steve: If the TTC plans to convert all of its streetcar routes to all-door loading and PoP in 2015, it also needs to bring forward complete Presto functionality. There was a time when the clear intent was not to retrofit the CLRV/ALRV fleets, but given the delivery of the new fleet over many years, this really was not a practical approach. I will inquire further about this at the TTC board meeting later today.
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Thomas: Last I heard they were pushing for 2016 instead of 2017, but 2015?
They were pushing for 2016 instead of 2017 for the entire system. Target is now end of 2015 for streetcars, mid-2016 for buses, and end of 2016 for remaining stations.
If they’ve figured out how to do the installs on the old streetcars, it shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s going to be quicker to do the installs on 247 old streetcars, compared to over 2,000 buses!
The question will be, will the late-2015 streetcar install be complete before or after we receive enough new streetcars to get rid of the replacement 504 buses? Not at the current rate of 4 streetcars a year … though if they ramp it up to 12 streetcars a year as discussed recently … then still not enough. 🙂
Steve: Details in the capital budget show deliveries ramping up to 40/year. See Budget Analyst Notes at page 14.
I have not yet had a chance to write up all of the details in the city budget reports which only came out yesterday afternoon. There will be an article on Torontoist later today with an overview, and I may get into more detail on this site before the February 2 TTC budget meeting.
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I would generally agree, and also wealth is an important test. I fully expect my income to drop when I retire, but if I am sitting on a large wealth base, why does that matter! The important aspect however, in terms of the kids, is that they can get home regardless of whether they have money in their pockets. I would also expect that few of these trips by kids will be in the peak hour in peak direction.
However, there is still the issue of it becoming a bit of a game, and have no idea how you deal with it. However, in today’s age of helicopter parents, how many kids will be doing so. I personally would like to see more kids having the type of freedom to roam I had when I was a kid. You learn independence by being able to move around, on your own.
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OK – cranky senior here. Back in the days when bus drivers had to fight off dinosaurs obstructing their routes, I paid a child’s ticket every time I rode the TTC to and from public school, transferring from one bus to a second one. And I rode alone, partly because our family was on a tight budget, but also because helicopter parenting was unknown (are there really parents who accompany their kids to high school? college?) Now I’m a senior, and I pay either senior’s fare, or (for convenience at automatic entrances) a token. I, too, have some concerns about crowds of kids all claiming to be under 12 occupying every seat on a TTC vehicle. What about the scandalous concept of teaching our kids some responsibility, which includes making sure they have the correct TTC fare when they travel? I’m all for a new reduced child’s fare that could help lower-income families, especially those with several kids, but freebies? Maybe not such a good idea.
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A question and a comment. I saw Andy Byford describing these service improvements as historic. Are they really? Does these service improvements just reverse the 2011 Stinz/Ford cuts or are there additional improvements such as the additional night routes?
As for whether seniors should get a concessionary fare, perhaps have Seniors pay full fare during peak and have a concessionary fare for off peak?
Steve: The changes are historic by the standards of the Ford era that Byford has lived through. However, much of what is being done was part of David Miller’s Ridership Growth Strategy. As for time of day fares, this sort of thing could easily be implemented by Presto, and for any class of rider. One could even have the “two hour fare” extend to a longer period say in the late evenings and on weekends.
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Looks like TTC is raising fare for nothing.
They’ve raising fare once every single year … and I cannot see any service improvement for last several years.
Steve: For the past few years there has been no increase in subsidy, and the fare hikes have simply kept the system running with lower standards.
The implement of Presto card is getting delayed as well as other project.
Steve: Actually Presto is being sped up to complete by the end of 2016.
People working for TTC should better visit some cities in East Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, or Shanghai) to learn how their transit system is operating.
I’m from Seoul, South Korea and their transit system is way more organized than Toronto. There are few or no delays on the subways and surface route, and subway has a thing called screen door on the platform, which prevent people from falling to the track level.
Steve: Platform doors require automatic train control to ensure correct stopping locations so that the train and platform doors are aligned. This work is now in progress on the Yonge line, and will follow on Bloor in the early 20s. Now if you have almost a billion dollars in spare change, we can actually install the doors. Seoul had the advantage of building its system to modern standards from scratch.
Let’s see how Mayor Tory can improve this old crappy TTC system.
Steve: The challenge for Mayor Tory will be to stay for the long haul even when things don’t go exactly as he would like them to. Fix the problems, don’t just walk away from them.
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As pointed out above, I suspect the decision to make kids free has a lot to do with making Presto roll out go more easily, but obviously it will speed up boarding of surface vehicles to some extent. We shouldn’t assume that a TTC that loads pain onto metropass users has some sort of social conscience.
There are many seniors I ride with on peak TTC services heading to well paid jobs downtown, some of whom would have been mandatorily retired in the past but now choosing to work on. If you want to discuss a back-end affected Presto discount for seniors, say those in receipt of OAS, that would be consistent with city policies in respect of property tax increases for those who demonstrate low income etc. but in addition would definitely spur calls for others on benefits to get similar help. But to give a freebie to every senior at a time when they are set to become a substantially larger demographic than heretofore? Madness.
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Last time I was in Seoul – which I admit is a few years now, I don’t recall many platform doors. What about Line 1? I don’t recall seeing any in Busan either.
The other thing that seemed odd there, is that there were no platforms at any of the subway stations for buses – has this been fixed? It always seemed a mystery where to catch a bus at the subway station. And there didn’t seem to be any way to get a transfer from the subway to the bus – but perhaps I was missing something in translation.
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Ah, that’s interesting. It only adds up to 195. The assumption when writing this was that we’d have 9 vehicles by the end of 2014 rather than 3. Which makes me wonder how old this schedule is. I dare say it predates the strike. So really 27 vehicles in 2015?
Also interesting is the 2015-2017 30-car ALRV rebuild to extend life for 10 years … until retirement.
So the plan to make the entire fleet accessible by 2020 has been shelved?
Steve: Is 100% accessibility before the legislated due date more important than having more service on the street? By 2020, the 30 ALRVs will represent a small part of the service and they can be confined to peak period trippers.
Further down it discusses in detail the purchase of the 70 new TR trainsets (420 cars), noting the final 10 trains will be delivered in 2015. This seems to be in conflict with the early 2014 order of an additional 10 trains, to bring the total to 80 new TR trainsets (480 cars). How can this not be mentioned?
Steve: There is some confusion in the report between the 10 trains for TYSSE and the 10 for added service which, self-evidently, cannot be used until the ATC project is completed late this decade. I think part of the problem here is that the 10 TYSSE trains are included in the budget for that project, while the other TRs are in projects of their own.
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One aspect I havn’t seen much discussion of is how this will make day time school outings really cheap. 10 years ago when our child was taking grade school trips, school buses cost $20 a seat to hire. In essence, my monthly pass is subsidizing education in this city.
To the discussion of kids taking over the TTC, I would think it would be a good thing for kids to spend a lazy day or two taking the subway all over and buses from Rexdale to the Bluffs. Might englighten them as to how big this city is and how many people live here – reduce Nimbyism perhaps.
Lastly, I give it 3 years until somebody is brought up before the Court of the Toronto Sun Front Page on charges of putting their kids on the subway as childcare.
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Re: Presto and child fares
Presto requires transit authorities to align their age boundaries, which are 6, 12 and 19. TTC uses ages 2, 12 and 19. TTC was going to have to make up to kids 2 to 5 free anyway. But Tory et al. decided to extend it to the next Presto age bracket as well.
The only people in danger of being found riding in endless loops are railfans. Our courts are sporadically but increasingly forcing parents to hover by criminalizing normal childhood supervision. I doubt children born today will be allowed to walk to school or take transit unaccompanied.
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Ah, good point. That would explain the discrepancy. It’s surprising they simply didn’t add a sentence in parenthesis to note that for clarity.
Hmm … and an interesting point about not being able to use the trains until ATC is running. Though I suppose they could stick a couple at Davisville or in a pocket track to fill gaps … and perhaps extend full service further north on the University line during AM peak if they wanted, in the interim. Given the surcharge they are paying on these units after the option period, it’s surprising they didn’t simply defer them for another 3-4 years.
Steve: Once Bombardier shuts down the production line for TRs at Thunder Bay, it’s going to take quite an effort to start it up again. There will be a point that there simply are no more orders Queen’s Park can use to prop up that plant, although something for RER is a possibility. Without the big (but less than expected) LRV order, that plant would be in trouble.
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Any school outings my kids have been on has been on the TTC – unless it’s more like a 90-minute on transit trip rather than just 50 – 60 minutes. This seems pretty standard these days as far as I can tell, judging by how frequently my bus or streetcar gets invaded when I find myself heading to work after 9 AM. And how frequently we are requested to send Child tickets to school for whatever outing is going on. I doubt this change will increase school trip usage … but it sure will make it easier to organize, not having to collect tickets or change from many parents – and then hand it all over to the driver and ask for 25 transfers!
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What did Thunder Bay do in the decade between the T1s and the TRs? Other than the steady stream of GO cars.
Less LRVs than expected? They are up to 400 already, with the 196 for Metrolinx/Waterloo … though presumably the 48 for the SRT are at risk – but sooner or later we’d need an equal number of TTC vehicles.
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So if the ALRVs are going to be rebuilt and the CLRVs were already going through rebuilds assuming the ALRVs would be retired early, does that mean the CLRVs are going to be around longer than last planned too? I’d have to think, given they’ve committed to investing in Presto hardware for the whole existing fleet, that the retirements would be put off for longer. Maybe not 2025 for the CLRVs but perhaps later than 2019? It seems the urgency for retirement has been ‘relaxed’. (Freezing air-lines aside.)
Steve: No the CLRVs are not going to be rebuilt. The original idea was to keep some CLRVs alive, but they have come to their senses and realized that they need larger cars while the really busy routes await the LFLRVs.
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Moaz: Given how much influence that plant holds on Queen’s Park, I’m curious if those LRVs will just end up being used on Hurontario-Main and Hamilton’s LRT line instead. I suppose some could even be parceled out to Waterloo or Ottawa if Hurontario-Main and Hamilton are not built … or even be regauged and used by the TTC if necessary.
Steve: Ottawa’s cars are not coming from Bombardier. They are using Alstom Citadis cars. As for using the cars on the TTC, no, the Metrolinx version are not compatible on several counts. What would happen is that the option to purchase cars would be converted back to “TTC” vehicles. It’s not as if there is a warehouse full of Metrolinx cars looking for a home.
Or John Tory might break another election promise and propose a network of 4 LRT for Scarborough instead of the subway … which would make Thunder Bay and Queen’s Park happy … and I’m sure Brad Duguid and the Scarborough MPPs could rewrite history if Kathleen Wynne decided that is what she wants.
Cheers, Moaz
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I am a retired teacher in Peel and still do some substitute teaching and yes there are an awful lot of parents who drive their kids to and from high school. Just try to drive by one at the end of day, or get out of the parking lot. There is a public school at the end of my street and it is impossible to get by some days because of illegally parked cars. It is even worse when there is snow.
There is this thing called inflation. Costs go up every year and therefore revenues need to keep pace just to maintain service at existing levels. On top of that we have had various levels of government who have reduced maintenance and capital spending to keep taxes down. Canada has a huge infrastructure problem with worn out roads, bridges, water and sewer systems etc.
On top of that we have things under the ground that do not show up on any records or are in the wrong place. This is one of the reasons that construction on Queen’s Quay and Leslie are over budget and taking so long. Since the TTC is the last group to work on the road they get the blame for all the problems which are really caused by other groups.
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I think that we need to look at this as the Druids and Pagans celebrated the Winter Solstice. It is not that it is brighter than it has ever been, however, we should be awfully excited about the fact that it has stopped getting darker. I hope like them we can reasonably hope that each day going forward will have a little more light in it.
Steve: But TTC budget day is on February 2, and we may get stuck in a loop, unable to move forward. However, we may also see a burst of spring cleaning if we stick to the Pagan calendar.
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They went for age 12 because there is already de facto free for children 2 to 5 free. I seldom if ever see children that age having a fare paid for them nor do the TTC Operators ask for/enforce said payment. Therefore they would not realize that $7M “savings” by eliminating the 2 to 5 fare category.
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I see people paying for 2-year olds all the time. I’ve also paid for many a 2 to 5-year old over the years.
Sure, there are law-breakers out there, and also there are operators not doing their job. But for most people, as soon as the child hits 24 months, they are paying the fare.
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True … I was thinking about how Ottawa just purchased a new set of DMUs to replace the Talents used for the O-Train. If they were to expand a successful LRT line and need more trains they might be able to use Bombardier Flexity LRVs.
Other than that I’m not sure why the “Transit City” LRVs would not be compatible with the TTC network. Other than the slightly different rail gauge (they can be regauged) and the vehicles being double ended with doors on both sides (they can still use the loops and travel on the streetcar tracks) what else am I missing? Traction systems? Voltage?
Cheers, Moaz
Steve: The cars have not been built yet. They exist only as an option on the contract which was for “n” cars of either design. It’s not a question of converting Metrolinx cars to TTC cars, but of simply building more TTC cars. How many times to I have to say this?
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The largest reason I can see an issue, is that [they] appear to be completely incompatible with the local political operating system. There seems to be a complete problem with where they fit with the ego and appear to fail to have that all important ego boost subroutine built into their set-up.
It has become extremely clear that in Toronto that transit has become a function of political import, not actual need, or practical effect. Look at how people talk about the centre of Etobicoke being served, which of course is purely next gen hardware, and how downtown is well served, which anybody who was paying here, would know was a discontinued and no longer supported version.
There is a fundamental incompatibility with the balance of Toronto transit, as they are designed to be practical which is not a function for which Toronto transit politics has any compatibility.
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One more time (please?). I’m still enjoying the fantastical thought of a warehouse full of Metrolinx cars just waiting for adoption by some lucky burg. Or better yet, their completely unexpected arrival somewhere: Got pantograph lines? Bazinga! Brings new meaning to “build it and they will come” in transit discussions.
I wonder if anyone can supply a meaningful yet comedic sentence combining ‘warehouse full of Metrolinx cars’ and ‘swan boats’.
Steve: If someone talks about painting the swans green, they will have to answer to me, and I won’t be gentle!
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The main problem is that they will not be modified to handle 11 m curves. They will be standard cars that have 25 m curves on the route and, perhaps, 18 m curves in the car house. They also will not need to handle single blade switches. The voltage would not be a problem because with switching power supplies they could handle a wide range of voltage. The TTC was going to run the St. Clair cars out St. Clair to Jane and then up Lane to Eglinton as a car house move and once they got to Jane the line voltage would have been 750 VDC not 600.
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Moaz said:
“Other than that I’m not sure why the “Transit City” LRVs would not be compatible with the TTC network….what else am I missing? Traction systems? Voltage?”
Robert Wightnan said:
The main problem is that they will not be modified to handle 11 m curves. They will be standard cars that have 25 m curves on the route and, perhaps, 18 m curves in the car house. They also will not need to handle single blade switches. The voltage would not be a problem because with switching power supplies they could handle a wide range of voltage. The TTC was going to run the St. Clair cars out St. Clair to Jane and then up Lane to Eglinton as a car house move and once they got to Jane the line voltage would have been 750 VDC not 600.
Thanks Robert for answering the question about the reasons why the Metrolinx cars (if built) would not be compatible with the TTC network. I was wondering what I was forgetting and now I know.
Since everything is so hunky dory up at Thunder Bay I am sure there will be no issues with converting the Metrolinx LRV order to build TTC cars…and Bombardier won’t try to hit anyone with penalties for any changes.
Cheers, Moaz
Steve: OK. Once more for the students in the back who have not been paying attention.
The TTC placed an order for 204 new “Toronto” cars with an option for several hundred more that would be divided between this design and a “standard” Flexity for the Transit City Lines. The split in quantity was to be determined in the future. When Metrolinx took over Transit City, part of the option was assigned to them, and the TTC kept some for itself for additional orders.
This is not a question of “converting” cars from one type to another. Only the exercise of options to buy vehicles.
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And surely (hopefully) since all of this is in the future there will be no supply chain issues that would delay the “exercise of those options” up at Thunder Bay.
Cheers, Moaz
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If TB can’t fix its issues, the utility of those options will be greatly reduced. Even with ALRV refurbs, timeliness is potentially crucial.
One has to wonder if the TB plant’s demise is being sown by these issues. By the time the next set of orders is up, it’s far more likely a PC gov’t will be in Queen’s Park, and they are less competitive for TB seats.
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Ross Trusler said: If TB can’t fix its issues, the utility of those options will be greatly reduced. Even with ALRV refurbs, timeliness is potentially crucial.
One has to wonder if the TB plant’s demise is being sown by these issues.
I’m hoping the issue is not within TB. I read a few days ago that there is another supply chain issue in Quebec that is leading to layoffs there.
Another interesting story is that STM is planning to keep their 40 year old trains running until 2036. Imagine Toronto kept the H-6 or T-1 cars until they were 60 years old?
Cheers, Moaz
Steve: The arguments by STM about their cars’ longevity are interesting — an all underground system avoids some environmental issues that would affect their trains. That said, various generations of equipment have challenges such as the obsolescence of control gear and other design issues.
The TTC got rid of the “G” trains because they were slow and heavy and could not keep up with newer trains acquired as the system expanded beyond the original Eglinton to St. George route. The H1 trains had problems with their motors that prevented operation at high speed due to a sympathetic vibration of components at higher speed that would cause motors to fail. There were also hunting problems with the trucks at high speed.
When the TTC moved into solid state controls, the first cars had the first generation of control gear, and even within the life of the cars, component change-outs were required just to deal with obsolescence and to improve reliability.
The most recent cars have moved to AC controls from DC, and include provision for automatic operation.
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TB or not TB is not the question for a customer. If TB can’t deliver on time, it might not have to concern itself with future orders.
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