Toronto TTC may finally be with the rest of the world

I just read this post from BlogTO today about how the Toronto Transit Commission will be ordering new TTC subways and transforming their stations with a system that actually lights up and announces the current station and next station is in the subway cars. Some photos of this here courtesy of BlogTO:

LED lights in the subway car of the route you are taking:



Outside of the subway car:



Inside the new subway car:



Finally, the TTC is getting along with the times. After riding subways in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou, I'm so fascinated at the efficiency and promptness of these subway systems and wonder why Toronto can't do the same. A transit system is behind the life of a city, it is what makes the city thrive. As I am in Beijing now, I am impressed at how Beijing was able to get so many new subway lines installed and operating this year for the Olympics. The subway system in Beijing here is just great, it runs smoothly and it is a pleasure to use. When I always come back to Toronto, I really envy the subway system abroad and wish Toronto would have a system like that. Well, it looks like Toronto may finally have, and about time too!

On Technorati: Toronto Transit System

Finally the transit smart card comes to GTA!

It was about time! Hong Kong has a very successful system called the Octopus card where you can use it to swipe at any transportation system (subway, bus, tram, train, ferry). Toronto and GTA needs something like that. I've been wanting something like this for a long time, so I don't have to carry a monthly GO student pass and tokens for the subway. Well, it looks like they are trialling the "Presto" smart card fare system.

Unfortunately, they are first trying this out in Mississauga for those riders that originate their trip from Cooksville or Meadowville stations and take Mississauga Transit shuttle routes, or transfer to Toronto Transit Commission vehicles outbound at Union Station. Apparently, it will come to Oakville in late 2008. I would love to try it now, I've been an avid supporter of having a smart card fare system for a long while. Toronto and the GTA needs to be more modernized and technologically competent. Otherwise, we risk losing our competitiveness to other cities.

Another thing that Toronto and the GTA needs is a good transit web site that tells you if you're starting from your origin and you want to go to your destination, what transit routes you need to take. San Francisco and the Bay area has the 511 system, and when I was there last summer, I loved it! It told me which route to take and what time the bus or train would come so I could plan my trip. Extremely useful and something really needed in the GTA.

On Technorati: GTA, Toronto transit

I think I've figured out the transit system

I think I now understand how to work with the transit system here in Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Mountain View. Because the buses don't run that frequently on weeknights especially the bus that takes me home from PARC (the Dumbarton Express), I really can't do much in the city at night. However, I've begun to play tennis at night and sometimes I may want to go out like watch a movie and hang out with my friends from PARC. So, I've found out that I can use my bike (well actually I'm borrowing it from the roommate who I've taken his room until he comes back). They allow bikes on the bus (actually, there's a rack in the front of the bus, and you put your bike there). It took me a while to figure out how that worked, but now I know. So, I can take the bus if I need to, and if there isn't a bus, or I can ride my bike. Having the bike is so convenient I've found out in here!

For example, yesterday, I took my bike on the bus to go to Mountain View to get my social security number (so I can work in the US). There was a bus that goes near to where I work at PARC, but that bus didn't arrive until an hour later. However, there was a local bus that runs every 15 minutes or so, so I took that one, got off a stop and then rode my bike to PARC. And today, I went to Mountain View again and I rode my bike to Stanford Shopping Center, boarded the bus to Mountain View, took my bike off, and then rode along Castro to get my hair cut, and then took the bike back to the bus stop, rode the bus to Menlo Park Caltrain Station, got off and rode my bike back home.

This way, I get my exercise from biking which I haven't done in like 5 years, but then I can make use of my monthly VTA bus pass as well. If the bus doesn't come or the bus stop is far away, I have my bike. It all works out.