HawthorneVillager.com

DO NOT CHARGE PEOPLE TO PARK AT PUBLIC TRANSIT FACILITIES OR I WILL PERSONALLY URINATE ON YOUR LAWN OVER AND OVER IN THE SAME SPOT, RENDERING THAT SPECIFIC PATCH DEAD FOREVER.

So far you:
-Like red light cameras
-Like paid parking lots in towns like Milton - for public transit no less.

What's next? Charging people to take a dump? Hey, every time you flush: $2! If it's yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, let it mellow!

With all the discussion going on about the Big Move http://www.bigmove.ca and coming up with ideas to fund this massive investment in transit, what kind of funding sources can be used here? Parking fees?

IMO the issues people have with taking Milton transit can be summed up as:

- perceived as too expensive. Milton Transit hasn't exactly gone out of their way to advertise the $0.60 co-fare for Presto users so most people probably figure it's going to cost them an extra $6 per day in bus fare vs the $1.20 it actually costs.

- not integrated with Presto system so you have to either find $0.60 in change every day for bus fare (who has change anymore?), or buy the $24 monthly pass which isn't such a good deal unless you are taking the bus both ways.

- takes too long. As has been mentioned before, you can drive almost anywhere in town in 10 minutes, so if you have to spend too much time walking to the bus stop and waiting for the bus then the benefits fade pretty quick.

- bus timing isn't convenient. Every 30 minutes might sound good on paper, but during rush hour when you have trains leaving every 15-20 min this sometimes doesn't work well. For example, if I want to catch the 6:43 train I catch the bus at 6:25 and get to the station on time. But, if I want to catch the 7:03 train the 6:55 bus doesn't get me there on time, so I have to take the 7:13 train. There should be buses running during rush hour that ensure that all trains can be serviced, not just the ones that fit the 30 minute bus schedule.

- the same goes for coming home. If your train arrives and you have to wait 15 - 20 minutes for the bus to show up, spend another 10 - 20 minutes on the bus, and then walk back home you'll probably just pick the option to drive home in 10 minutes door to door.

- people with kids who need to do daycare dropoff and pickup aren't going to take the bus, it just adds unnecessary delay in an environment that is often rushed already.

I occasionally take the bus in the morning. It's about 5 min from my house and gets me to the station with time to catch my train so in my case it works but coming home is a pain because the bus comes 15 - 20 minutes after the train arrives so you just cool your heels at the station instead of going home. I could almost walk home in the amount of time it takes me to wait for the bus in the evenings, and if the weather was better it would be preferable.

Transit advocates love to make it sound like taking local transit is some panacea that we're all too blind to understand, but the reality is that unless the bus is as convenient as driving (or preferably more so) most people won't bother because they either don't have the time, don't want to sacrifice the time that taking the bus would add to the commute, or simply can't take the bus because it conflicts with other before and after work obligations.

Personally I think charging for parking at the GO station would be a great way to push more people towards driving downtown. It already costs over $3000 per year per person (or over $6000 for a family where both adults commute) to take the GO from Milton, so tacking on even more cost for parking is just going to piss people off. Someone mentioned they'd be willing to pay $5 per day, but then consider that would add an additional $1200 annually to that $3000 or $6000 cost and ask yourself how many people are going to be "ok" with it.

People will pay a certain premium over driving downtown and parking downtown to avoid the hassle, the traffic, etc. But, once that premium passes a certain threshold then people will just say "screw it" and go back to driving again.

IMO if you want to get less people to drive downtown you need to make it unappealing financially (tolls, core fees, etc.) so that they're more likely to consider transit, and then ensure that transit options exist to get people where they need to go. Charging more for transit, or charging for parking and adding other fees will just push people away from transit and back into their cars.

Not sure if Metrolinx understands that concept.

Does anyone know why the Superstore has done nothing to try and keep Go Riders out of their parking lot? Is the store leasing space to GO Transit?

Its already expensive as is taking the GO. Why don't the govt tax the rich more ($100,000+/yr+ individuals) to fund expansion. Hmmm.