Fun With Trip Planner

Let me start this off right away by saying I am not a fan of the ETS trip planner. It's cumbersome to use, provides too many options, refuses to make use of on street connections and is a poor substitute for actually figuring out a trip using printed schedules.
Now, there's an open house being held in Terwilleger for proposed changes to SW Edmonton routes following SLRT, and I want to check it out. To figure out how to get from my work, near Jasper Place TC, to Terwilleger, I decided to check out the trip planner, to see if it had been improved, and to see if it would give me a good chuckle. And it did not disappoint.
Let's look at the options it gave me:
Option 1:
Route 120 [Stadium]
Depart At
Jasper Place Transit CentreBus Stop # 5110 / Map
North
at 16:37
Arrive At
101 Street/Jasper AvenueBus Stop # 1336 / Map
East
at 17:03
Transfer to next route in 1 minutes, approximately 166 metres away
Route 47 [Heritage]
Depart At
101 Street/MacDonald DriveBus Stop # 1142 / Map
South
at 17:04
Arrive At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4213 / Map
North
at 17:39
Transfer to next route in 2 minutes, approximately 41 metres away
Route 35 [Terwillegar Towne]
Depart At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4211 / Map
North
at 17:41
Arrive At
Tomlinson Common/Toane WyndBus Stop # 4980 / Map
South
at 17:55
Fairly straightforward and reasonable, take a bus directly from Jasper Place to Downtown, transfer to the super express to Heritage and get the local to Terwilleger.

Option 2:
Route 133 [Parkallen]
Depart At
157 Street/100A AvenueBus Stop # 5106 / Map
West
at 16:35
Arrive At
101 Street/MacDonald DriveBus Stop # 1142 / Map
South
at 17:06
Wait at this stop for next route in 0 minutes
Route 47 [Heritage]
Depart At
101 Street/MacDonald DriveBus Stop # 1142 / Map
South
at 17:06
Arrive At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4213 / Map
North
at 17:39
Transfer to next route in 2 minutes, approximately 41 metres away
Route 35 [Terwillegar Towne]
Depart At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4211 / Map
North
at 17:41
Arrive At
Tomlinson Common/Toane WyndBus Stop # 4980 / Map
South
at 17:55
Option 2 is mostly reasonable, suggesting taking the 133 instead of the 120 as the only variance. While the 1 or 120 is more direct from Jasper Place, the 7 or 133 don't make too much of a difference, as 107 Ave is not that far north, and takes about the same amount of time as the Jasper Ave trip. The only problem is that the 133 supposedly pulls up to the stop at exactly the same time as the 47, leaving no margin of error, and if the 133 is delayed by a long boarding, a light or some traffic, this option falls apart.

Option 3:
Route 1 [Capilano]
Depart At
Jasper Place Transit CentreBus Stop # 5110 / Map
North
at 16:30
Arrive At
100A Street/102 AvenueBus Stop # 1966 / Map
East
at 16:51
Transfer to next route in 1 minutes, approximately 53 metres away
Route 17 [Yellowbird]
Depart At
101 Street/102 AvenueBus Stop # 1462 / Map
South
at 16:52
Arrive At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4205 / Map
South
at 17:38
Transfer to next route in 3 minutes, approximately 16 metres away
Route 35 [Terwillegar Towne]
Depart At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4211 / Map
North
at 17:41
Arrive At
Tomlinson Common/Toane WyndBus Stop # 4980 / Map
South
at 17:55
Option 3 involves using Route 1 instead of route 120, and the 17 instead of the 47. The use of the 17 doesn't make much sense, as it is local past Southgate, and I would rather take a direct express the 47 which doesn't stop, but I still wind up on the same route 35 out of Heritage, so it doesn't make much difference.

Option 4:
Route 1 [Capilano]
Depart At
Jasper Place Transit CentreBus Stop # 5110 / Map
North
at 16:30
Arrive At
100A Street/102 AvenueBus Stop # 1966 / Map
East
at 16:51
Transfer to next route in 6 minutes, approximately 378 metres away
Route 47 [Heritage]
Depart At
101 Street/MacDonald DriveBus Stop # 1142 / Map
South
at 16:57
Arrive At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4213 / Map
North
at 17:26
Transfer to next route in 15 minutes, approximately 41 metres away
Route 35 [Terwillegar Towne]
Depart At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4211 / Map
North
at 17:41
Arrive At
Tomlinson Common/Toane WyndBus Stop # 4980 / Map
South
at 17:55
Option 4 is the same as option 3, but using the 47 instead of the 17 for the Downtown to Heritage portion of the route.
So far, all of these options have been reasonable ways to make the trip I want. But in the next two trips we will see lunacy take over.

Option 5:
Route 3 [Cromdale]
Depart At
157 Street/100A AvenueBus Stop # 5106 / Map
West
at 16:30
Arrive At
100A Street/102 AvenueBus Stop # 1966 / Map
East
at 17:01
Transfer to next route in 9 minutes, approximately 234 metres away
Route 47 [Downtown]
Depart At
100 Street/Jasper AvenueBus Stop # 1457 / Map
North
at 17:10
Arrive At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4213 / Map
North
at 17:52
Transfer to next route in 19 minutes, approximately 41 metres away
Route 35 [Terwillegar Towne]
Depart At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4211 / Map
North
at 18:11
Arrive At
Tomlinson Common/Toane WyndBus Stop # 4980 / Map
South
at 18:25
Now, this option recommends I take the route 3, which makes a detour up to 118 Ave to serve the NW Industrial area rather than go straight Downtown. This adds unneeded time to the trip, meaning that I can't connect with the 17 or 47 out of Downtown from the previous trips, and subsequently wind up on a 35 half an hour later than the one in the previous options. Further, this option recommends that I get a northbound 47 in Downtown, ride it to the Downtown layover point, sit out its layover, and then head down to Heritage. And it recommends walking 4 blocks from 101 St/102 Ave to 100 St/Jasper Ave, when there is a southbound route 47 stop on the other side of the intersection where I get off the bus.

Option 6:
Route 3 [Cromdale]
Depart At
157 Street/100A AvenueBus Stop # 5106 / Map
West
at 16:30
Arrive At
99 Street/102 AvenueBus Stop # 1707 / Map
East
at 17:10
Transfer to next route in 8 minutes, approximately 501 metres away
Route 45 [Heritage]
Depart At
101 Street/MacDonald DriveBus Stop # 1142 / Map
South
at 17:18
Arrive At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4207 / Map
South
at 18:03
Transfer to next route in 8 minutes, approximately 36 metres away
Route 35 [Terwillegar Towne]
Depart At
Heritage Transit CentreBus Stop # 4211 / Map
North
at 18:11
Arrive At
Tomlinson Common/Toane WyndBus Stop # 4980 / Map
South
at 18:25
Option 6 has the most laughable moments in it. First, it again suggests the route 3. Secondly, it claims that route 3 will get to 99 St/102 Ave at 1710, while the previous option said it would get to 101 St/102 Ave at 1701. So somehow, it will take the bus 9 minutes to travel 1 block? Also, it recommends taking the 45, and walking 6 blocks from the downtown library to get it in front of the Edmonton Journal building, when a) there is a route 45 stop closer by and b) there is a route 3 stop I could get off at that is also closer. So why would it recommend walking all this distance when I could get off the bus one stop earlier and get on the next bus one stop sooner?
Clearly, the trip planner is still in need of an overhaul. The best thing that can be done is to get rid of the multiple option, and only show one or two possible trips, instead of coming up with insane combintation to reach 6 possible trips. On another trip I tried, which involved going straight down 124 St, to reach 6 trips it recommended I get a route 135, ride PAST the stop I want to get off at, and then get a 135 heading the other way. Another trip to get to the downtown library recommended getting off the bus at 101 St/102 Ave, walking two blocks south to get the LRT, ride for one station, and walk two blocks to get to the library, when I could stayed on the bus for one more stop and get off right in front of the library. There is no need to give everyone 6 possible options for a trip, when it will just confuse them, and produce ludicrous combination to make them. Trip planner needs to be either completley overhauled or eliminated. Plain and simple.

Old Vancouver Trolleys Going to Argentina

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/st...d8-411ad353013a
As reported in the story above, Vancouver has sold 80 of their old E900 trolleys to a city in Argentina, reportedly for twice their scrap value. This is significant to Edmonton, as with the recent vote to phase out trolleys, the active BBC fleet has been reduced to 29 buses, out of 100 originally ordered. A large number of the other 71 have met their final fate, being stripped, parted out and crushed. No attempt has been made to sell these buses to other cities. While there may be no market for them in North America; Vancouver shows that there is a market for them overseas. There is no reason for Edmonton to not follow suit, especially as the BBC trolleys being scrapped are in better shape than most of the E900's in Vancouver. As it stands, Edmonton is missing an opportunity here to make a small profit on the disposal of old equipment, instead of just letting it go to waste.

Corporate Marketing Trumps Saftey

Look at the shot of the new Glaval Bus to the left, and you will notice that it has two orange poles on either side of its front. This poles are there to help with visibility in poor lighting conditions, improving saftey for the bus and people around it. Recently, however, these poles were painted a dark blue. The most likey reason is branding, as the colours of ETS are blue and silver. Of course, the blue paint now used on the poles isn't reflective, but I guess having a consistent corporate image is more important than such minor concerns as safe operation.

The False Service Increases

As part of the September 2008 service changes, ETS has "added" 3 new super-express routes to NAIT. Route 95 from Southgate, 97 from Mill Woods and 98 from West Edmonton Mall. ETS is bragging about how service to NAIT will be improved with these "new" routes. The problem is that these aren't new services. These 3 routes already existed, albeit as "school special" routes. The only change is that these routes are now numbered in the regular route series. To claim these as new services is misleading, as no actual service increase has occurred. Similarly, it is claimed that route 1 has several new trips between Downtown and West Edmonton Mall in the midday. Again, these trips already existed, but were operated as a "school special" route, which was signed up as a regular route 1. That opens up a whole other issue, where ETS makes overload/extra trips on a lot of routes officially "school specials" instead of the regular route.
Beyond that, these routes will do little to actually improve service to NAIT. Each of the routes only has two AM and PM trips. And the trips are both around the same time, meaning these routes only serve people travelling at one particular time. Compare that to the routes running out of the University, which operate from the start of rush hour right through to the end.
Overall, these three new NAIT routes gives ETS something to brag about (and will doubtless be brought up when negotiations for a U-Pass at NAIT begin), while doing nothing to improve service.

Keeping Trolleys = Denying Service to New Areas?

Looking over the service changes for September, there is an impressive slew of improvements to outlying areas. A lot of routes that were peak hours only now get midday and Saturday service, other routes have been extended into the evening and Sundays, and new late night service is being added to Terwilleger and Heritage Valley. Suburban service is seeing a major increase this fall, just as it has pretty much every fall for the last few years. The budget increases for these new services would have been approved back in December 2007 as part of the 2008 budget, which also included funding for the operation of the exisiting trolley bus system.
What makes this striking is the fact that in June during the debate on the trolleys, the city's transportation manager, Bob Boutiller, made the case that suburban areas were crying for service, being denied needed service increases and would continue to be so, because of the trolleys. He famously said that all the new ridership was coming from the new subdivisions, with no growth in the inner city (in spite of all the new condos springing up in Downtown and adjacent areas).
The service increases this year prove that new subdivisions are not being denied service. If anything, the area that is being denied service is the inner city, which is only gaining a few slight increases, despite overcrowded buses at all hours of the day, in some cases. The local buses along Jasper Ave between 124 St and Downtown are all carrying heavy loads, and are at near capacity. Indeed, some of the routes that need service increases the most are the trolley routes. Of course, increasing trolley service would reduce the cost of running each bus, since the fixed cost for the overhead would be divided over more service. Plus, increases on inner city routes is more cost effective, since there is an established ridership base to build on.
It is clear that new subdivisions are not being unreasonably denied service, and that the whole arguement was made by mangement, to make it seem as though they had a legtimate reason to get rid of trolleys.

Core Routes Denied Increases

The fall schedules are now available online, if you use route schedule search, and use a September date. Looking over them quickly, it appears that once again most of the money will be wasted on suburban routes while the core routes get little or no service increases. The 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 and 150 are all running overcrowded in rush hour, and weekday midday. However, instead of boosting these routes to frequencies beyond 15 minutes in rush hour, they are left alone so that new midday service can be added to Blackburn, Miller, Britnell, and Terwilleger Towne and Rutherford can get late night service. This is a disturbing trend, where the routes that carry the majority of the systems passengers get denied increases. While it is important to ensure geographic coverage of the city by transit, there have to be priorities, and providing service to suburbanites who will view it only as an "emergency service" to use when the car breaks down should not priority over providing service to those who will actually use it, and deserve better than an overcrowded bus showing up 10 minutes late.

EDDIE

Paula Simons wrote a column in today's Journal about the EDDIE bus, and its lack of riders. I agree with some of her points, mainly on the fact that some of Edmonton's premier attractions (most notably Fort Edmonton Park and the Valley Zoo) are under served by transit. However, I disagree that EDDIE is the best way to serve these attractions. For someone on 124 St heading downtown, would they rather wait up to an hour for an EDDIE bus that costs $15, or pay $2.50 and hop on the first 5 or 135, which have a combined 7 minute service, that shows up?
We need to provide better public transit to our major attractions, but not with a winding, circuitous route that costs 6 times as much as a regular bus. In its current form, EDDIE is more of a publicity stunt than an effective part of our transit system.
Here are some things that can be done to provide the same service goals as EDDIE, but in a more efficient manner:
1) Expand the 596. The current service only runs Sundays and once an hour. Make it a 7 day a week service from Bonnie Doon to West Edmonton Mall, serving Whyte Ave, University (where it could connect with the LRT), Fort Edmonton, the Zoo and WEM. Increase frequency to every 30 minutes, and alterante low floors with historic buses on this route.
2) Promote existing services. Have the 124 St area promote the 5 and 135 to their area, include information on how to get to the attractions via transit in brochures.
3) Provide a series of shorter shuttles, similar to the existing 596 (University to FEP) and 599 (Southgate to Snow Valley). Some potential routes include 598 (Westmount to Space and Science Centre er Telus World of Science), 597 (Kingsway to Aerospace Museum) and 594 (Downtown to Muttart). Running these short shuttles would provide a more frequent service to these attractions, and provide a better connectivity to the transit network. To get on EDDIE right now, you pretty much have to get it Downtown or at the University, as most of the stops are located only at the major attractions, with the buses zooming by express along the rest of the route.
The other point made in the article was that EDDIE is an excellent way to see the sights of Edmonton. If you want to see the sights of Edmonton from a bus, I'd recommend taking the ETS historic tours, which also allow you the chance to ride on an historic bus, and provide live commentary on the history of Edmonton.
Or ride the High Level Bridge Streetcar, which offers an unparalled view from the top of the world's highest streetcar river crossing.