Grand River Transit

[jeffster]

Why should riders be consulted about this? This is about the safety of drivers. 

Verbal assaults and spitting on drivers is real. It does happen in this Region, and they should be treated as seriously as the more aggressive behaviours. And I can imagine drivers feeling especially vulnerable during the last bargaining process + constant strike threats... Anything to make their job comfortable. 

I don't see how passengers can be negatively affected by this at all. A driver's job is to drive a bus, not chatting with passengers. It's not like you can't ask drivers questions anymore (while bus is stopped) - they can still hear you over the plexiglass...

And besides, nobody should be talking while the bus is moving anyways, it's distracting.

Passengers (and even the region as a whole) are affected by the appearance of unfriendliness and of danger.

That being said, it disgusts me that such things could even be necessary.  Who spits on a driver?!  Why don't these people end charged with assault?

Sadly I have to work around with some of these ones that like to go around and assault/spit at any sort of city/regional/etc., worker. Usually charges are dropped because they are so high on drugs and have so many mental health issues that any sort of criminal prosecution doesn't fly in the courthouse. Some of my co-workers had been bitten several times by these people, one which infected with HIV, so onto a cocktail of super drugs and anti-viral meds to prevent infection. The idiot that bit him? Not criminally responsible so he was back on the streets within a short time. I had some guy threatened to kill me. He was picked up and released a few hours later.

It's sad that it's going to take a transit worker to be stabbed to death before a solution is in place. It does suck for the 99% of passengers that are decent, but safety should be number 1 priority.

Of course, they could start to outfit the drivers (and other government workers that have to work outside, unprotected) and pepper-spray. Spend a little bit of money for a weeks long course. And if some idiot is threatening, POP, pepper-spray in the face.

I have a staff meeting tonight, and I might actually be asking about this. Start outfitting us who have to work around the infestation of illicit drugs those with severe mental health issues. I shouldn't take a death for action to be taken.

[Markster]

*cringe*

Oh this is incredibly frustrating.  So slow, and painful, and unnecessarily many clicks for things.  This is clearly worse than it was before.

As a bonus, I just went to generate an "Accessible Schedule", and it plain old doesn't work.

Ugh, yeah, so many clicks.
Getting a schedule before was two clicks.  It was a pdf schedule, but it was a schedule.
Getting a schedule now is click-click-type-click-click.  Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[yige_t]

https://twitter.com/GRT_ROW/status/855398227721539586

Hi there, we will not be posting the PDF schedules on the website as we they do not comply with AODA accessibility standards.

 

Why not have both PDF and HASTINFO?! 
Or better yet, make their PDFs accessible to WCAG 2.0: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/cr...ility.html

I was quite surprised that even made the AODA argument, considering all the other transit systems in the province that still have PDF options (GO, YRT, DRT, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Kingston, and so on...) The deadline for meeting the accessible website regulation was in fact January 1, 2014 under O. Reg. 191/11 s.14 (4). Are they all violating AODA requirements then? 

And if any of these systems has made their PDFs meet accessibility standards, why can't GRT do it? Seems like money better spent than forcing riders to use this terrible HASTINFO interface with no other options.

[KevinL]

Someone seems to have misinterpreted the AODA requirement for an accessible option, to mean they must remove an inaccessible option. Hopefully it gets corrected.

[ijmorlan]

Someone seems to have misinterpreted the AODA requirement for an accessible option, to mean they must remove an inaccessible option. Hopefully it gets corrected.

Next they’ll stop using the back doors of all the buses because they don’t have ramps. Buffoons.

[PhilippAchtel]

"The route timetable is not available for small devices. Please return to landscape format to use this feature."

What in the world? The new website has schedules inaccessible from cell phones?

Edit: Turning my device sideways made no difference.

[Markster]

There are a lot of unfortunate issues with the new site. It's not garbage, but for the few things that I would actually use the site for, it does them worse.

[DHLawrence]

"The route timetable is not available for small devices. Please return to landscape format to use this feature."

Ironic considering the website was described as being more mobile friendly.

[Pheidippides]

http://calendar.regionofwaterloo.ca/Coun...17#page=78
" acquisition of 90 real-time passenger information display signs from INIT Innovations in Transportation"

"The scope of work is for the supply of real-time electronic passenger information displays from INIT at 45 conventional bus stops near ION rapid transit stations, 27 locations along the Route 205 Ottawa Street iXpress corridor, 7 regular service and iXpress stops, 5 displays at the University of Waterloo Transit Plaza, and 6 displays at the Fairway Transit Station."

"In 2017 the provision of real-time bus departure information occurs at 178 transit stops equipped with the PID’s from INIT. The PID’s show real-time departure times for all routes serving the iXpress stops."


I don't think that last statement is true. I'm pretty sure the last batch they purchased from INIT in 2016, mostly for the 204 route, are still are not installed a year later.

[jwilliamson]

I don't think that last statement should be read as saying all IExpress stops have displays, but that the displays show all routes serving the stops they are at.

[Pheidippides]

"All regional roads and the expressway will have capacity reduced by 1/3rd between 7:00am & 6:00pm for spring service levels"

...said no regional government ever.

[danbrotherston]

"All regional roads and the expressway will have capacity reduced by 1/3rd between 7:00am & 6:00pm for spring service levels"

...said no regional government ever.

Modest proposal....at this time of the year, one lane of every four lane road becomes a two-way bike lane.  That's even less than a 1/3 reduction.

[ijmorlan]

"All regional roads and the expressway will have capacity reduced by 1/3rd between 7:00am & 6:00pm for spring service levels"

...said no regional government ever.

Modest proposal....at this time of the year, one lane of every four lane road becomes a two-way bike lane.  That's even less than a 1/3 reduction.

That’s a capacity increase!

(counting people, not cars)

[Pheidippides]

Another modest proposal, seasonal rates. Reduced service standards = reduced fares.

[ijmorlan]

Another modest proposal, seasonal rates. Reduced service standards = reduced fares.

Or charge transit users a percentage of what they would have to pay to use the local roads in their cars.