GO's Train Disruptions are Poorly Thought Out

 As any regular GO Lakeshore East Line user can tell you, travelling along the corridor has been a challenge on some weekends this year. Due to Ontario Line construction, service on some weekends on the line, as well as the Stouffville Line, has been suspended, with replacement bus services offered.

As I tend to avoid using the GO train during these times, I have been able to avoid these detours. This past weekend, when service was replaced by buses, I was able to see some of the first-hand challenges related to the disruptions. However, I also noted how easy it would be for GO to resolve some of these issues. GO's unwillingness to reduce severity of train disruptions speaks to how incapable they are in promoting regional transit, instead of a downtown-centric system. The impacts in this case are Scarborough-heavy, but they affect all parts of non-downtown Toronto.

In this blog post, I will explain some of my overarching concerns with GO Train service disruptions, and how I think they can be resolved, with a major goal of improving the region's entire transit network.

GO's horrific infographic 'explaining' the service disruption. No explanation of the shuttle variations, limited alternative options explained. 

Outlining the Service Disruption

This weekend's service disruption saw all service on the Lakeshore East Line suspended. Three bus services were offered in lieu of the train:

• 90B: Union Station > Pickering GO > Ajax GO > Whitby GO > Oshawa GO
• 90R: Union Station > Pickering GO > Ajax GO 
• 90W: Union Station > Whitby GO > Oshawa GO

Those who use GO stations in Toronto (Danforth, Scarborough, Eglinton, Guildwood, and Rouge Hill) are instructed to use TTC. GO does not serve stops in Toronto on their train-bus services, aside Union, which kind of makes sense as the stations tend to be quite far from the highway.

Those who need to transfer to the 88 at Oshawa GO are advised that connections time will be different.

Passengers are instructed to look at alternative options, such as bus routes 92 and 96. 

These relatively simplistic instructions are all that GO Transit provides. While the actual service disruption page is long, it is a lot of repetitive, junk text.

The Challenges with the Service Disruption

There are a few major challenges that GO has created with this service disruption. I will break them down in this section.

Firstly, GO instructs those travelling to a station within Toronto to use TTC. While this obviously adds trip time, it does work well enough, if the trips are between stations within Toronto. But what happens when a trip is from a station in Durham, and one in Toronto that is not Union, like Eglinton to Ajax? This trip can't be fully fulfilled on TTC, and the GO shuttles do not help in this case. The TTC-DRT connections are much thinner than other inter-regional transit connections, and there is no fare integration between the two. GO Transit provides no explicit information on what to do, so it takes a bit of digging to find the two options.

The first alternative is the 92 or 96 GO buses, since they both service Scarborough Terminal, adjacent to Scarborough Town Centre. Well, GO did not increase service on these routes, and so service was hourly on each. This was evidenced by a bus on the 92, bound for Oshawa, around 4pm, which arrived at Scarborough Terminal 38 minutes late, caused by traffic and passenger volumes. The bus left 45 minutes, due to the time it took to board all the passengers. This was prior to the stop at Kingston and Port Union, the last stop in Toronto.

The second alternative involves Durham Region Transit's 900 service, on Kingston Road, which operates to UTSC. Not all 900 service operates west of Liverpool, so service into Scarborough is only every thirty minutes. The 900 heading to Oshawa that I had just seen had served only three stops in Scarborough, and was crush loaded. Again, this was prior to serving the stop at Kingston and Port Union. This also has downstream impacts for Durham Region passengers: those who live west of Liverpool may not even be able to board the 900 to go further east. This is partly DRT's fault, as the bus was not articulated, but also not exclusively their problem.

The last challenge is related to connections to the 88 at Oshawa GO. While GO acknowledges that the timed connections will be altered, it does not explain what that means. Those wishing to connect to the 88 are guessing what trips connect, whether the highway traffic will delay them, and what they will do to kill two hours at Oshawa should they miss the connection. Add on the fact that they may be travelling from Scarborough to Peterborough, and it sounds like you should just avoid transit.

My Solutions

My solutions for this weekend's mess are very simple and straightforward.

Improve Scarborough-Durham connections

The shuttles can work fine, but I think that all shuttle trips, no matter the branch, should make one mandatory stop in Toronto, at Scarborough Terminal. This requires GO to break their downtown-only focus. There transit connections here are numerous, and it is right off the 401, reducing delays. It allows those who are not travelling from Union to benefit from the shuttles, even if they do not directly stop at the GO stations in Toronto.

Provide attractive alternatives

GO bus routes 92 and 96, which GO advertises as alternatives, should operate every thirty minutes each. This reduces pressure on the shuttle to Union.

GO should also consider operating their 41 on weekends, even if just a truncated service from Square One to Pickering GO. This would mean that customers travelling west of Union would avoid the shuttles to Union and transferring to Lakeshore West trains.

In an old blog post, I advocated for a new GO route from Highway 407 Terminal to TrentU via Highway 407. The existence of this route would reduce the hassle of some of those who use the 88 and would have to transfer to the 90 at Oshawa.

Work with other agencies to improve local service

GO should work alongside DRT to add extra 900 service to and from UTSC.

Reduce complexity on long-haul trips

Simplify 88 service by reducing transfers. Have buses extend from Oshawa to Union, stopping only at Scarborough Centre. This would reduce the possibility of long waits at Oshawa. (What a crazy long route that would be!)

My Big Suggestions

Those who suffered the most with this week's closures are those who need to travel to points in Toronto not downtown. Even when there is no service disruption, GO buses that operate in lieu of train service have avoided stopping in Toronto. I have done trips where I must travel down to Union to catch a GO bus that bypasses my house on the DVP, with no other way for me to board it. As such, I think GO need to end their policy of no Toronto stops. I think all buses entering Toronto should have at least one stop to allow for transfers to TTC. Even if the connections aren't perfect, they are better than nothing. Here are my suggestions.

• For buses that enter Toronto on the 401, coming from the east, a new stop at Scarborough Terminal.
• For buses that enter Toronto on the 404/DVP, coming from the north, a new stop at Steeles/Woodbine.

Both the above two would travel via the DVP. At Eglinton, vehicles could exit the highway, cross straight through, and re-enter the highway, which some of TTC's old downtown express buses used to do. While the ramps that made this possible have been partially removed, they can easily be re-added as bus-only ramps. Customers can exit or board buses here, and make walking transfers to Line 5, when it opens. While this stop requires some monetary commitment, I think it is completely worth it.

• For buses that enter Toronto on the 400, coming from the north, a new stop at Finch/Signet (Signet Arrow Station), using a new loop in the northwest corner of that intersection.
• For buses that enter Toronto on the 401, coming from the west, a new stop at Renforth Station (or Pearson Airport, depending on routing).
• For buses that enter Toronto on the QEW, coming from the west, a new stop at Sherway Gardens Bus Terminal.

These six stops \would allow for Toronto customers to use GO services more easily without backtracking. This would save a tonne of time for many who travel throughout the region every day. GO, please make this happen!

Each of the red dots shows the six new GO stops, plus Union Station. These stops provide much easier access to regional bus services.