On January 1, 2006, DRT inherited separate route systems from APTA (in Ajax and Pickering), Whitby Transit, Oshawa Transit, and Clarington Transit. Each of those systems quite naturally had numbered their routes independently starting with route “1″. On DRT’s day 1, therefore, there were four route “1″’s in service, corresponding to each of the old routes.
One year later, this is still the case. DRT has not yet rationalized their route numbering system. This causes unnecessary confusion since it’s not possible to just say “take route 1″ without specifying which route 1 is being referred to.
DRT has stated that dealing with this is in their plans, but they are waiting until the retirement of older buses results in a fleet with all-electronic route signs. This will make changing routes less expensive since new roll signs will not have to be manufactured. This is true enough, and new buses (30 new and 7 used) are coming soon, but perhaps this should have been a higher priority.
And what about those roll signs? DRT’s current signage ranges from pretty good in Whitby and Oshawa, where a large percentage of the fleet it inherited has new orange LED signs that are easy to read and consistently programmed, to “poor” in Ajax and Pickering where fewer buses have electronic signs, and those that do are a mishmash of different sizes and formats. Here are just some of the problems I see on a regular basis at the Ajax GO station:
- Buses labelled without any route number (e.g. just “Nottingham”) but a route name. All route signs should display a number. Strangely, Ajax buses tend not to have route numbers on their electronic signs while Pickering buses tend to have them, despite being run out of the same garage.
- Buses just labelled “Ajax GO Station” or “Pickering GO station” without any indication of routing
- New routes (e.g. R-22 Audley South) being run with old equipment using roll signs, so that correct signage is not available. This route is sometimes displayed as R-22 Shoal Point (its predecessor route), “Special”, or just a blank sign. Some buses have cardboard signs in the window with the route name, but many do not. This is all very very confusing to a potential rider. If nothing else, a consistent approach should be taken. Perhaps the Shoal Point name could have been kept (since the Audley South bus still serves Shoal Point) so that new signage was not required?
- Electronic signs not updated with new routes so that “Shoal Point” is still displayed over six months after its replacement with Audley South. Surely there has been enough time to address this issue, so I’m not sure what the problem is.
- Confusion over the use of “M” and “R” designations. Granted this will likely change when routes are renumbered, but according to the DRT schedules, only rush hour routes get “R” designations. So why do some buses display R designations at other times of day?
Given all of these problems, and given the expected significant changes to service in 2007, this needs to be addressed. I urge DRT to make an effort to have new route numbers, signage, and consistent standards for the display of route information on all buses ready for the introduction of new routes this year, even if it means ordering new roll signs to fit onto the older buses still in service. The current state is really a mess.
I give DRT a 0/5 on this issue, since the relatively good state of route signage in Whitby and Oshawa predates the formation of DRT.
I always wondered what the heck “Special” meant. I see it in the morning for the high school runs.
Speaking of that you know what I can’t stand seeing, the number of kids that are standing everyday and the many times kids are no doubt in front of the white line. There was a day last school year that I am sure kids were standing on the stair area on way to Dennis O’Connor school. I would hate to be the kids that pay the same as the kids that are on the bus early in the route and get a seat and the ones that get on late and never get to sit down.
I want to see the route signs at the Ajax Terminal larger so you can see them from a distance a bit.
David I understand where you are coming from with the route number issue, but they are in separate cities. I don’t see how someone who needs Whitby route 1 will end up taking Oshawa route 1. I gave an idea of adding hundreds to perexisting routes. Example R-101 Industrial (pickering) R-301 Otter creek (Whitby) R-402 King (Oshawa) R-240 Applecroft (Ajax). Iknow this would mess up DRT West evening/Sunday numbers, but it could be easely changed.
Sigs in Oshawa are great! nice easy to read orange luminator mega max signs that are all programed the same, Whitby is ok the new luminator signs they put in to replace rollsigns are ok but are still difficult to read at times, Ajax/Pickering signs are rather poor it’s a mix of different signs, with different fonts. Signs in 8012-8013, and 8016-8017 are horrible signs, they are hardly readable. Someone who programed the signs for Pickering mede a mistake it reads R-182 Bayriger/Westshore/Finch/HWY 2, when it should read R-182 Bayriges/Westshore/Rosebank. this happened on all the electronic signs, two months have gone by and they still read the wrong message
Buses that say just the route name and no number are midday routes. If you see this during rush hour it’s becaues the driver has the wrong sign up. I see this happen all the time. I see R- routes displayed during midday and just route names displayed during rush hour. Drivers should take more care to make sure the right sign it posted for the appropreate time of day.
DRT, I don’t think the DRT west evening/Sunday routes are going to last, given that they publicly talked about having consistent routings throughout the schedule and all-day service on key routings. My understanding is that this was a no-cost implementation for now, with a better approach to come.
I’m going to post more on a common route approach later on, but your approach is a reasonable one.
It is frustration when you go to the Ajax or Pickering Go Train station because there are no labels at the Platforms. So you have to look at the sign on the buses. I am sure people would probably catch their bus if they had the Platforms labeled.
Anna and Karem, I understand fully where you are coming from. In Whitby, and Oshawa they have nice big square signs with the DRT logo and “connecting communities” beside it. below there is the route number and the route name. They are great signs. Ajax is ok thy have the blue signs with the route, but at the R-22 spot they just replaced the old one with a standard bus stop. The Ajax spot just has the M-10 and not the R-10, but i think people understand it. Pickering is horrible they used to have the blue standard signs with a route number stuck on. Now they replaced the signs with the new DRT standard sign with no route number or name. I have had many people ask me where there route is and I tell them the bus number or that it is “five signs down from here”. I think they should replace the Ajax/Pickering signs with signs like the Whitby and Oshawa signs.
I do not understand why whitby and oshawa have better service than Ajax and Pickering. For example in Whitby and Oshawa most of their buses are new and state of the art, while in ajax and pickering you ar wishing for a bus that doesn’t look like it is about to fall apart at any second. Or why in ajax and pickering major routes such as westney harwood and brock have to go all the way around the town when in whitby and oshawa they have organized routes that go up and down streets and do not make huge loops around the twon in order to get there.
The answer is simple. DRT is mostly operating with equipment purchased by its predecessor systems in Ajax-Pickering (APTA), Whitby, and Oshawa. Oshawa and Whitby put a much higher effort to acquire new equipment than APTA did, and so the equipment was newer there. They also put more effort into transit, mostly because Oshawa is an urbanized area.
The same applies to routes: Oshawa and Whitby were full-service operators to a much greater degree than APTA. APTA’s focus was pretty much solely on getting people to/from the GO stations which means that Ajax and Pickering have some of the best “to GO” service anywhere, but these systems are next to useless for going anywhere else.
All of this is gradually changing since the advent of DRT. 45 new buses coming this year, and that will retire much of the oldest equipment. Most of what’s left will be fairly new and in good condition. Significant service changes are coming in 2007 as well, particularly in Ajax and Pickering, and these changes will eliminate a lot of the large one-way loops you mention in favour of two-way service on the same streets. For details, take a look at the 2007 service plan details I posted back in January.
Things should be looking better by the end of the year if all goes according to plan. Right now, we need to ensure that the 2007 Regional Budget includes full support for the full plan.
Now I don’t live in the region, but these are my opinions and observations.
One thing that would drive me nuts if I was a resident in the Ajax-Pickering areas are the fact that the route numbers aren’t consistant. The best way I can describe this would be having an “R” or an “M” indicating what the type of route service depending on the time of day. Considering that some routes, not all, operate all-day, would have the R and M.
In my opinion, I really don’t think it’s neccessary. One route with all-day service with a number and the route name is adaquete. The schedule would indicate the type of service.
On the route plan…having more fixed, organized routes in Ajax/Pickering is neccessary. Eliminating the large loops would be very time-consuming. With the region as a whole developing, it makes common sense on making those improvements. I’m looking forward to what the region will be unvailing in their plans once the provincial budget’s passed this afternoon.
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