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JasonParis said:
I think "de-coupling" is the magic word when talking about "free" GO parking. It becomes easier for everyone to understand and even less political.
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I feel like this is the best option, since it doesn't increase price for anyone, while reducing demand for parking (for now anyway). Then GO/MX should lease out the space to developers for commercial & residential, with underground parking being a requirement.
 
innsertnamehere said:
You honestly think that Doug Ford of all people would *ever* support road tolls?
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Rob Ford raised taxes for Scarborough subway.

Maybe Doug Ford would raise tolls to build the Ontario Line. After all, there comes a breaking point where you can't take any more money away from health care and education.
 
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Lets say that we removed all parking at all stations, and instead we built condos there. How much better would those stations be?

I am all for parking lots and garages, but they should be paid for by the person parking.
 
micheal_can said:
Lets say that we removed all parking at all stations, and instead we built condos there. How much better would those stations be?

I am all for parking lots and garages, but they should be paid for by the person parking.
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I think this policy change of charging for parking was long overdue, economics forced it. Without charging, parking lots and parkades would have to continue ballooning.
 
asher__jo said:
I think this policy change of charging for parking was long overdue, economics forced it. Without charging, parking lots and parkades would have to continue ballooning.
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But it needs to go hand in hand with large scale transit expansion (or rethinking) in the 905. A rush hour only bus that make 4-5 trips in the AM and PM is not going to cut it.
 
APTA-2048 said:
But it needs to go hand in hand with large scale transit expansion (or rethinking) in the 905. A rush hour only bus that make 4-5 trips in the AM and PM is not going to cut it.
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Actually, the problem is local. Maybe this will force the local transit to rethink it's routes to better align with the trains. This could be the resurgence of local transit needed. Everyone may want to see doom and gloom, but think about it, most park because the local transit isn't good. Remember, those making decisions at the local level are elected by those who are currently parking.
 
Are there charts/graphs of avg commuter rail fare for North America? And also stats on parking for these regions? I guess it's hard to tabulate but perhaps just a basic average. I think knowing this would help the debate.

I'm not one to be a huge proponent of free parking, but just taking a guess I'd say GO has one of the highest fares on the continent. We start charging for parking we're obviously going to be hitting riders where it hurts. As MisterF notes, an across-the-board fare rollback would be beneficial if parking becomes paid.
 
44 North said:
Are there charts/graphs of avg commuter rail fare for North America? And also stats on parking for these regions? I guess it's hard to tabulate but perhaps just a basic average. I think knowing this would help the debate.

I'm not one to be a huge proponent of free parking, but just taking a guess I'd say GO has one of the highest fares on the continent. We start charging for parking we're obviously going to be hitting riders where it hurts. As MisterF notes, an across-the-board fare rollback would be beneficial if parking becomes paid.
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Metra in Chicago is really the only comparable service in North America. NYCs commuter services are so worlds ahead of ours in operations, frequency, and extensiveness its hard to compare, and other commuter services are small have have pretty low ridership.

Fares | Metra

metrarail.com metrarail.com

Metra single ride tickets start at $4 USD ($5.28 CAD) and go up to $9.50 USD ($12.53 CAD). Seems pretty comparable to me.

I also believe that most Metra stations have limited parking and a lot of it is paid.
 
44 North said:
Are there charts/graphs of avg commuter rail fare for North America? And also stats on parking for these regions? I guess it's hard to tabulate but perhaps just a basic average. I think knowing this would help the debate.

I'm not one to be a huge proponent of free parking, but just taking a guess I'd say GO has one of the highest fares on the continent. We start charging for parking we're obviously going to be hitting riders where it hurts. As MisterF notes, an across-the-board fare rollback would be beneficial if parking becomes paid.
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At most stations on the Metra (Chicago), NJ Transit, Metro-North, LIRR, MBTA (Boston) and SEPTA (Philly), parking is not free - these are the big legacy commuter rail networks that were originally provided by private railways. Newer commuter rail systems, like GO, generally offer free parking (several stations on the old CN Lakeshore commuter train were moved specifically for highway access and land for large parking lots). For the most part, parking lots on the US East Coast and Chicago systems are small - GO Transit is unique among North American commuter rail networks for the vast amount of parking available.
 
innsertnamehere said:
Metra in Chicago is really the only comparable service in North America. NYCs commuter services are so worlds ahead of ours in operations, frequency, and extensiveness its hard to compare, and other commuter services are small have have pretty low ridership.

Fares | Metra

metrarail.com metrarail.com

Metra single ride tickets start at $4 USD ($5.28 CAD) and go up to $9.50 USD ($12.53 CAD). Seems pretty comparable to me.

I also believe that most Metra stations have limited parking and a lot of it is paid.
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Just to compare one 'similar' trip.

I looked up Kitchener GO to Union Station.

Distance vs Distance

Metra, Chicago Union to Fox Lake: 87km
GO: Toronto Union to KW 101km

Travel Time:
Metra: 1hr 37
GO: 1hr 54

Price:

Metra: 12.53 CAD
GO: 16.32 CAD (Presto Fare)

Price per KM:

Metra: 0.14
GO: 0.16

But....METRA charges for Parking at Fox Lake Station!! $1.50USD per day or $2CAD

Adjusted price with parking

Metra: 14.53CAD
GO 16.32CAD

Price per Km:

Metra: 0.167
GO:.0.144
 
micheal_can said:
Actually, the problem is local. Maybe this will force the local transit to rethink it's routes to better align with the trains. This could be the resurgence of local transit needed. Everyone may want to see doom and gloom, but think about it, most park because the local transit isn't good. Remember, those making decisions at the local level are elected by those who are currently parking.
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Without proper funding I am not sure how much improvement rethinking can make.
 
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