Mid-Block LTC Stops
LTC General Manager Larry Ducharme is ready to flaunt a decision by the Ontario Human Rights Commission which requires that public transit operators call out the names of all stops as of 2008/06/30. And as Philip McLeod wrote in this week’s The Londoner, nobody knows how the HRC will react to Mr. Ducharme’s deliberate violation of it’s order. I’m willing to go out on a limb and guess that it might involve lots of London taxpayers cash.
It seems that because “many of London Transit’s bus stops are in the middle of the block” 01, LTC drivers wouldn’t be up to the task of knowing what to call them. I guess that calling out something like “the stop that’s 50′ south of Baseline instead of at the corner” is too much of a mental challenge for them. Mind you, nobody at LTC has ever expressed any concern about passengers like myself who have to try the impossible task of transferring from one bus to another in those situations (eg. from the Baseline Westbound to the Wellington northbound).
Over in Dubai (one of the world’s wealthiest jurisdictions) they’re selling the naming rights on its new public transit system. 02
The Toronto Transit Commission is currently studying the possibility of selling off naming rights to new subway stations and rapid-transit lines. 03
Sources:
01. 2008/04/23 - The Londoner: London Transit ready to break the law
02. 2008/04/24 - National Post: Fresh ideas elude TTC brass
03. 2008/04/24 - Globe & Mail: What’s in a name? Possibly a lot of money
Other Links:
2008/04/24 - Toronto Sun: Brand new take on station names
2008/04/24 - Toronto Star: Next stop . . . ‘Home Depot’?
April 25, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I don’t think the TTC will do it, and if they do shame on them.
As for the LTC I am still in awe that there is a stop every .2km in my neighborhood, the 16 has at least 5 stops in my blocks .7km’s. So I can understand how naming them might get a bit confusing.
I saw an interview with the LTC on Rogers and Larry said they were going to implement the HRC’s ruling, but they wouldn’t be able to in the time frame allotted.
April 25, 2008 at 9:07 pm
I think that the excuses offered for not making any attempt to implement the ruling by the mandated date are bogus. Larry claims that to do it for a couple months until they’re ready to roll out their new technology would cost about $200K if I remember correctly, and I think that’s bogus as well. There’s no reason why it should cost anything to have the drivers call out stops as best they can in the interim, even if that isn’t perfect. At least it would demonstrate willingness and an attempt to comply.
April 26, 2008 at 8:28 am
I think the $200k is in the cost of the call system that would need to be installed for drivers to call out stops. I believe it consists of a microphone, speakers, and a foot pedal to activate the microphone.
I don’t know how much this system costs, but installing and then removing it is probably the costly part.
They probably could yell out the stops sans mic, but then our overpaid pedal pushers would have to learn a new skill.
April 26, 2008 at 10:14 am
Naming rights. Damn! That is a brilliant idea!