Are you sitting down? Good. What I'm about to tell you might shock you. Guess what? You're NOT the most important person on the train

I know it's hard to hear this when you've been led to believe for your whole life that you are more important than anyone else, especially any person with mobility issues.

JW writes:

Back Story: 2 weeks ago, I messed up my knee (ice is evils I tells ya!). 1 week ago the Dr. put me on crutches.  I have mostly worked from home, but I am into a busy point and need to be in the office more.

The rant is this: why do people, even when seeing the crutch, feel free to push ahead to get on the accessibility coach and the elevators?  Last week a CSA had to tell 2 women twice to wait and let me on the elevator first.

This week, a very nice woman has made certain I get on the elevator when we arrive at Union (she also makes certain a visually-impaired gentleman with a service dog gets on the elevator as well).  Then held me up because others jammed on and pushed me over!

There are nice considerate people.  But more and more, there are so many that are just rude and pushy and very self-important.  Even some of the CSAs are not telling people to wait while those of us are trying to get on.  In the mornings there is myself and a gentleman with a cane.  Unless the train stops directly in front of where I or he is standing, people will force their way onto the train.  I have seen the carnage.

Basically, people need to know that those with mobility implements are not using them because they want to (believe me, I am hoping I can ditch it after the Dr. appt on Friday).  We are slower and hurt and can't dodge and weave like everyone else. Some common decency goes a long way to making our day a little nicer.

Crisis averted!

There is no strike by CN Rail. GO service remains business as usual.

Anyone else experiencing fare overages on their Presto cards on GO?

@PRESTOcard Can you tell me what the extra charges are for? 1 tap = 2 Charges ? #PrestoFail #GOTrain #Frustrating pic.twitter.com/uYVCHRv7fa

— Steve Ulrich (@steveulrich_TO) March 20, 2017

@PRESTOcard Oh, another 1 tap= 2 charges how often does this happen??? #PrestoFail #GOTrain #moneywasted pic.twitter.com/RQlU2lNuEd

— Steve Ulrich (@steveulrich_TO) March 20, 2017

Expect delays!

#CNrail #CNstrike #GOTransit #GOtrain pic.twitter.com/Yz4ljJ31cD

— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) March 20, 2017

Incident happened this past Tuesday

Toronto man arrested after teen girl sexually assaulted on GO Train https://t.co/gLCTdSppTn via @torontostar

— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) March 15, 2017

Are you surprised? I'm not surprised

Metrolinx using Presto fees to gouge 905, councillors say https://t.co/YoFbNvttWa via @torontostar

— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) March 15, 2017

GO Train Schedules Displayed for Highway Commuters — Update

From: Iona Pintó

Sent: March 9, 2017 3:50 PM

Hi Cindy,

It appears your enquiry to the Ministry of Transportation, may have initiated a call to action.  There is now a second variable message sign beside the QEW in Burlington.

The new display was erected recently alongside the Toronto bound QEW between Guelph Line and Walkers Line.  Even though the structure stands taller than the sign I shared with you in the prior article, I'm not convinced this one will provide Eleanor any better vantage if she is in lane 2 and there are high-sided commercial vehicles to her right.

Sadly, the quality of the information displayed on this sign is on par with the one we discussed previously, as you can see here viewed from the South Service Road.

Sincerely,

IP

That's one way to fill your shorts with coleslaw!

'Hard brake' at scene of fatal crash being investigated by OC Transpo https://t.co/6c18QBqnMb

— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) March 9, 2017

So unnecessarily complicated

Busy weekend included many fun tasks. Not amongst them was my annual hour of Presto math so I can file my taxes. So unnecessarily complicated but still worth it. #prestocard #taxes #gotransit #picoftheday #feb26

A post shared by Shannon Stuart (@shanstu) on Feb 26, 2017 at 3:33pm PST

Looks more like someone really likes to eat baking soda (the hell?)

Gentlemen, this brings us to our next point. Don't smoke crack... #crackrocksteady #bakingsoda #rustyspoon #crackhead #gotransit #Oshawa #leftovercrack #unionstation #thatsmyseat #crack #dontsmokecrack

A post shared by grotesque b (@grotesque.b) on Mar 3, 2017 at 10:44pm PST

Looks like this is a "thing"

if you need a little laugh to get you through the rest of this day, this may be it! I shit you not, this is what I happened to stumble upon one morning heading into work. who knows if this person was trolling (like I suspect), or if they were actually keeping it real haha 😂 #punsfordays #gotrain #isiteverthatserious 🤔

A post shared by Zillah Marie ♡ (@zzeemarie) on Mar 6, 2017 at 11:01am PST

#BeKindToOneAnother

Today, in addition to being stuck on a GO train for an hour and a half, I contributed to local journalism 🤣 #gotrain #lovecbc

A post shared by Serenity Palia (@esspalia) on Feb 24, 2017 at 2:50pm PST

Respect (P.S. Transit Driver Appreciation Day is March 18)

In the wee hours of Tuesday, February 14, a Winnipeg bus driver was assaulted by a knife-wielding passenger who had been asked several times to exit the bus, because it had come to the end of the route and was out of service.  The driver died later in hospital.

Later that day, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Amarjeet Sohi, rose in the House of Commons to pay tribute to the slain Winnipeg Transit employee.  Mr. Sohi’s comments included that he was a former bus driver; this brought a chorus of laughter from Progressive Conservative members.  In my opinion, this display of disrespect demonstrated without a doubt the PC’s elitist tendencies.

The following day, Adam Vaughan (Spadina — Fort York) rose in the House on a point of order to demand an apology for the outbreak of laughter.  The response from House Leader of the Opposition, Candice Bergen, was fine up to the point she uttered the words, “I’m not sure what laughter; there’s all kinds of laughter that occurs here.”  To me that showed her words were insincere, trite, and disrespectful.

This brings me to the events of last Sunday evening at the Niagara Falls bus terminal.  I was waiting for the 19:30 Megabus departure on Platform 2 when an altercation between a male passenger and the GO bus driver erupted on Platform 1.  I kept my distance, because this dude was dropping “F-bombs” like there was no tomorrow.  As best as I could tell, the dispute was fare related.  Before I boarded my bus, I saw two NRPS cruisers arriving on the scene.  I trust the melee subsided quickly after that.

On the trip to Toronto, I got to wondering why a driver would debate payment of a fare with that kind of passenger, endure verbal disrespect and possible physical abuse, especially in light of what had happened in Winnipeg.  I wondered what that the highest GO Transit fare from Niagara Falls might be.  Let’s say it’s to Peterborough — $26.65 one way.

I value my life more than that amount; most people do.  Why not wave the passenger on board to avoid a confrontation, radio the control centre to have police or GO Transit’s constables meet the bus at the next stop and haul the passenger off the bus?  I understand that drivers are on the front line for trip policies and procedures, but to what extent?

In my opinion, drivers must not forget their real obligations — to family and friends.  The driver in Winnipeg may have been right per the rules of the transit company, but in the end he lost at a much larger game.  It’s a job.  There are more important things in life.  Understand and respect that.

Let me wrap up by reminding everyone that Transit Driver Appreciation Day is March 18.  This year that date is a Saturday, so the day will be celebrated on March 17, too.  A simple cheery “Thank you” goes a long way.  So does a tea or coffee.  And in Niagara Falls, I’m given to understand that delivered wonton soup is the ultimate compliment.

There's something awfully familiar in this opening scene from "Taken". I can't seem to put my finger on it

Footriders learn young (great parenting, by the way)

Celebrating 7 years today! And you know what I got as a gift? My work's content filtering software has blocked this website

Nice, huh?

I can use the back-end but I can't see the front-end. So I can post content, but I can't see it. Good times!

I don't think it was deliberate. There's been all these attempts to lock everything down, it's shocking we can even check the weather these days.

So this happened

Here is the offending poll found in Metrolinx's office, which refers to the TTC as a "cesspool" and its riders as "the great unwashed." pic.twitter.com/MfFdxA6UQV

— Ben Spurr (@BenSpurr) February 23, 2017

I'm sure other agencies would like to get their money back, too

TTC wants report on fares lost because of malfunctioning Presto readers https://t.co/eF65QYrH0U via @torontostar

— CJ Smith (@ThisCrazyTrain) February 22, 2017

Have I taught you all nothing?! Carry a blowtorch. Problem solved.

GO Train Schedules Displayed for Highway Commuters? So... how's that going?

When I received this submission for publication, I reached out to the Ministry of Transportation for Ontario for comment. So far, a week later, crickets.  For all I know, my email was filed under "G", for garbage.

Another burgeoning boondoggle for Burlington?

Special to This Crazy Train

By Iona Pintó

For a few moments, let’s set aside the engineering embarrassment that is Burlington GO station (and its parking garage).and look at Metrolinx’s latest experiment for that city.

I’m sure you recall the provincial government’s announcement on October 14, 2016 of “a year-long pilot that will use electronic highway signs to show drivers nearby transit information and promote alternative travel options, to help manage congestion and get people where they're going sooner”.

Burlington’s MPP, Eleanor McMahon, positively gushed with excitement in Inside Halton’s news article when she gave the following example of the signs’ benefits:

“So, I’m sitting on the QEW westbound in lane two, I just hear on my radio… there’s a collision on Mississauga Road on the QEW and you suddenly realize that you’re now not going to make your 9 a.m. meeting,”

“You look up and the sign says GO train 12 minutes…. I’m going to do that. Why? Because I can sit on the GO train and make a phone call hands-free to my staff saying I’m not going to make that meeting, please tell the folks I can join them by phone… and have my material infront [sic] of me.”

“.... There I am, I haven’t missed the meeting, I haven’t wasted anyone’s time and I can actively participate because I can sit on the train and I’m leveraging my personal technology to participate,”

What?!  There are some things I just don’t understand about what Eleanor said, like the following:

1. Is it safe to assume Eleanor is making her way from her constituency into Toronto?  If so, why is Eleanor heading westbound?
2. If Eleanor is in lane two, she better hope there isn’t an eighteen wheeler or other large commercial vehicle to her right, because she won’t see that sign.
3. In order to make that GO train in “12 minutes”, does Eleanor believe there is a reserved parking spot for her close to the platform?  Has Eleanor paid for a reserved parking spot at a GO station?  If she hasn’t, she’ll be hiking in from the “back forty” of the parking lot.
4. Does Eleanor think she’ll get a seat on the train?  If she does, what if it’s in the Quiet Zone?

Neither the Ontario government, nor Inside Halton bothered to provide locations for the signs.  The best they could do is state “near Appleby GO station”.  WTF does that mean?

The QEW interchange before Appleby Line (Toronto bound) is Walkers Line.  The star on the map identifies the vicinity of a sign matching the description given in the news article.

A recent drive by captured the following information displayed on the sign:

Play the video as many times as you want; there’s NOTHING displayed on that sign.  Is this the correct sign?  Perhaps readers of This Crazy Train can provide the exact location of any working sign along the QEW with GO train information.

Given that we’re four months into a one year pilot project, I’d like to know where these signs are, so I can provide meaningful feedback to Eleanor and Metrolinx (as I’m sure we’d all like to).