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André Darmanin's avatar

Thanks for providing additional commentary to my post from Friday and Lanrick's, which I haven't read.

MiWay, YRT Viva, Brampton Transit, and LA Metro have branded services. LA Metro only uses their HOV lanes but do not have dedicated lanes throughout their road network (Beverly Hills won't want special treatment for "those people". UGH!) TTC probably didn't do it because of budgetary constraints and the good old lack of political will.

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Iain Montgomery's avatar

I’d argue they’re all quite bland examples too. Would look to the likes of what TransDev Blazefield or Trent Barton have done in the UK with distinctive branding for individual routes.

Just the paint on the bus doesn’t really go far enough.

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Rob Mackenzie's avatar

I feel like prioritizing rider safety also belongs on this list. It's unfortunate that this issue has become politicized but the fact remains that violent incidents on the TTC are up 60% since 2019 and it's not a mystery as to why.

Lax fare enforcement and inadequate city resources for homeless people makes the TTC a magnet for those in need of a temporary refuge, and the population of people experiencing homelessness has a high overlap with those experiencing mental health issues that leave them prone to violent/unpredictable behaviour.

Despite the risk of a violent interaction being low, my risk tolerance for traveling on the TTC with two young kids under age 4 is different than it was as a 20 or 30-something adult.

I'm speaking for myself here but I don't need a financial incentive to go back to riding transit. I just need to hear politicians acknowledge this problem and start making an effort to do something about it.

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Iain Montgomery's avatar

You raise an important point. I think the reality is overblown, but it’s the perception that matters far, far more. I left this out as I think a) the city is already getting better and working on this as well as b) it’s a more complicated fix.

It needs to be done regardless though. There’s not a lot of point having good transit when people feel nervous in using it.

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AdamoMarinelli's avatar

Love this, great work!

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Mr Asa Weinstein's avatar

The wrong question is 100% correct! When I read the title of the report and then read the report, the authors AGAIN prioritized moving cars instead of moving people. What a waste of time. There are so many better ways to go about addressing these problems and the report only provides a limited solution to moving PEOPLE as opposed to cars. I was recently in Paris and having been there before COVID and then after COVID I can unequivocally state that Paris is moving people 10x better with the additional bike lanes and priority lanes for transit that they implement over COVID than they did before COVID.

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Terry Gailey's avatar

The love affair with the car is toxic.

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