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Monday, July 8, 2013

Time to shut the hell up across the entire system

I don't subscribe nor requested mailings from Metrolinx but this popped up in my inbox this morning:

Given the positive feedback from the Barrie pilot, GO Transit will expand the Quiet Zone pilot program from the Barrie line to all seven of our rail corridors. Beginning July 15, 2013, the Quiet Zone will be in effect for all weekday, rush-hour trips.

The upper level of all coaches on all seven of our rail lines will be designated as the Quiet Zone during all weekday, rush-hour trips.
Quiet Zone rush hour train trips are defined as any trip scheduled to arrive or depart Union Station between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. in the morning, and 3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the afternoon/evening.

Short and quiet conversations are fine within the Quiet Zone during rush hour train trips, but passengers should make sure their electronics, including cell phones, headphones, tablets and laptops, are muted.
We are expanding the Quiet Zone pilot program to all of our rail customers as part of GO Transit’s Passenger Charter and our commitment to making our customers’ experience comfortable.
Also,we have listened to our customers and we are responding to their feedback, which has been reinforced by surveys. Since launching the Quiet Zone pilot on the Barrie line on February 11, we’ve found it to be quite successful.
Based on the survey we gave Barrie line passengers, the majority of our customers who experienced Quiet Zone – 83 per cent – feel their trip was more comfortable due to the Quiet Zone pilot.
It should be noted that,at this time, there is no set end date for the Quiet Zone pilot. We are continuing to gather feedback from customers and insight into the program. We will assess the pilot and determine next steps once that evaluation is complete.

8 comments:

Squiggles said...

Oh Happy Day!

I wonder what took so long. I emailed them about 2 months ago and they said it probably won't happen.

Lori said...

I am so happy. But I wish it was running weekdays and weekends. I also wish it was running all day and not just rush hour. I would like to see it policed by transit cops but it's gonna fall to us. And I'll be listening to music when I use it but I'll be pulling off my headphones to make sure others can't hear it.

Anonymous said...

I ride the Barrie line everyday, and nobody follows the rules of the "Quiet Zone". People still yap on their phones, or with the people in their pod. People don't give a shit. Even when people are called out, they just roll their eyes and keep yapping away.

C.J. Smith said...

I agree. It's going to be a tremendous fail.

Anonymous said...

I agree with the concept but at the same time I don't agree with or appreciate the dirty looks if I WHISPER one sentence to my seat mate. And I mean it's a bloody WHISPER. I think I'm going to pull out this quote from now on when I get mad cut eye.. "short but quiet conversation"...

I'm sorry but I don't pay close to $300 a month to be shushed or have people shoot me death stares just because I've simply whispered for a brief moment. You want to sleep? Go to bed earlier!!

That is to say that I thoroughly enjoy the quiet zone on days where sometimes there used to be a guy that played his guitar or another that sang but couldn't carry a note to save his life. On these days, I'm thankful for the quiet zone.

Dan-1 said...

Won't work.

It's only the people that are courteous to other passengers and follow the rules that will be quiet, it's the ones aren't courteous that are the problem, and they won't follow the rules due to GO's already established lax enforcement.

Anonymous said...

I was on the Barrie line yesterday and there were a couple of groups that were in the Quiet Zone that did not stop talking for the entire journey, despite the announcement re: the "rules" of the Quiet zone. I don't think I'm going to bother sitting in this Zone when it launches on the Richmond Hill line, because it will bug the hell out of me if people aren't obeying - that's just me. A great idea in theory but too many ignorant passengers for it to ever work.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes the vigilante "Shushers" are louder than the whispered conversations...and it always seems to be the newbie riders that are doing the shushing. As the above poster says, "short and quiet" conversations are fine...it isn't the dead silence zone.

I would much rather have people keep their dirty feet off of the seats, turn off the ringing and beep-boop noises on their phones and stop space hogging an entire quad during rush hour than worry about a few people saying hi in the morning.

It's destined to fail.