Gtaa Takes Lessons From Ontario Government On Creating Revenue Streams

[deicer]

With all the bashing the GTAA takes, maybe they should take lessons from the Germans on how to do it right...

http://www.news.com.au/travel/world-travel/berlin-redfaced-over-airport-fiasco/story-e6frfqbr-1226943883748

[anonymous]

Communication and signage is so bad that it is necessary to have staff people standing just inside the customs hall doors yelling at the top of their lungs (and often, not in a very friendly way, and only in English) so that those who can understand them know where they should go. I've been in lots of airports in my time, and never have I ever seen this form of direction for inbound passengers. Maybe some of those banners up in the corridor or pictures of the kids in the rotunda should give some directions in addition to their "Welcome"s in various languages.

One of my favorite parts of arriving at T1 international customs hall...

This past March I was a revenue passenger headed south, and I think I know T1 pretty well...I headed for the gate following the overhead signs....only to get to the security gate and realize that that side is closed...so walking back to the checkin section of depature level I notice some temporary signs (at floor level) directing us to the proper security station... I shake my head at the constant problems

Can anyone tell me why the intra-terminal train doesn't actually go directy into the terminal??

... And when you leave the garage on the train, the impressive voice says that you're going to Terminal 3 and the Sheraton Gateway hotel. Not T3 and T1. Lots of worried looks, but those soon disappear as people look up their Chiropractor's phone numbers due to the ride.

And let's not forget the very well highlighted floor indicators on the elevators.

How many times do you see people arriving at the Viscount station and they don't realize that the trains travel in both directions through the T3 station?

And the elevator floor indications are an absolute joke.... did they buy them from a catalogue??

[rudder]

It gets better. Did you witness the aftermath of the exploding ceiling water pipes in the entrances on the lower level of T1 last winter?

Boondoggle.

[mo32a]

Wow, I almost want to jump on a plane and go to YYZ, it sounds so entertaining.

[Don Hudson]

"Wow, I almost want to jump on a plane and go to YYZ, it sounds so entertaining."

good one...

[inchman]

It's normal, when a "big, bad guy" bumps their rates, to attack all of the things that bug us about things in their purview.

.... and now that we have bashed the GTAA for the things that they seem to accept and don't do very well, it is probably appropriate to acknowledge that they also do a lot of things very well. There are thousands of aspects of running an airport. The terminals are safe and clean (except the bridges ... the first and last passenger impressions... are not cleaned regularly) and generally run without problems. Washrooms are well maintained, electricity and heat is reliable. Lighting is good. The runways and taxiways are well maintained... if not optimally used... but that's another entity's issue. The CDF is running efficiently. We no longer have to wait for 8 hours to get a RAIC.

Maybe that's the frustrating part... it could be very close to VERY GOOD with a few more simple changes that have been staring everyone in the face for a decade. It's never going to be a beautiful terminal. A bit of wood here and there would go a long way, but its real purpose is to get people and bags on and off aircraft efficiently and there are basic, simple ways to improve that immensely.

[conehead]

And the "free" wi-fi in the terminal sucks. Anyone else find that?

[AIP]

And the "free" wi-fi in the terminal sucks. Anyone else find that?

Sucks isnt the word. It is so bad, that I dont even bother anymore, just use the personal hotspot on my phone.

"Inchman", You are 1000% absolutely spot on with your "review" of Pearson. Ottawa and their nice waterfall are right behind in my books.

[shockwave]

So you just flew for 14 hours half way around the world. Survived customs and the broken down moving sidewalks/escalators. Now you have to scour the immdeiate area for a Toonie so you can cart your families luggage around in a trolley.

Nice.

[AAS]

Carts are free now

[boestar]

Malton Airport Gallery. Never have I ever seen a person in there looking at the displays. Maybe a cleaner.

I like the gigantic train station-style display in YVR. How difficult does this have to be?

And the entire flow/signage/double and triple elevator-escalator combo required to get from Viscount to Departures is a sick, sick joke:

Park, elevator, skywalk, train (2 stops), escalator, go into another parking garage, skywalk, enter area of terminal with zero signs, elevator/escalator up to Departures. Joke

Even the name- Viscount- is confusing to all but the most history-conscious. It's difficult to pronounce and if you don't know about the historical British aircraft manufacturer Vickers and Air Canada's history you've likely don't know that the PA in the train saying VY-COUNT is actually the same thing as the sign that says VIS-COUNT. Most people know Boeing 747 and little else. For non native English speakers this must be a nightmare. FFS just call it the Value Park Garage.

The Garage is located on VISCOUNT road. Hence the name. The road has been ther longer than the garage.

[moeman]

So I'm from Quebec or some other foreign country. How am I to figure out that Visscount (sp) is pronounced Vycount? Does the fact that Vycount is historical matter to me, or is it an unnecessary cause for confusion?

[Seeker]

So I'm from Quebec or some other foreign country. How am I to figure out that Visscount (sp) is pronounced Vycount? Does the fact that Vycount is historical matter to me, or is it an unnecessary cause for confusion?

If you're going to go down that road we'll be here forever; there are literally thousands of place names, street names and other words that are unpronounceable or confusing in every language if you're a non-native speaker. The problem is not with the name, imho, the problem lies with calling it the "Viscount Station" instead of "Viscount Value Parking Garage".

[inchman]

Actually, it doesn't even say "Station". The announcement just says "Viscount and the Alt Hotel". Just another example of poor "signage".

But you're right.... it should refer to the parking garage, and probably off-site car rental (which I don't understand either).

I often smirk at the "please hold onto the handrail" and "please stand clear of the doors" announcements, too. Because of the roughness of the ride, the arrival at the station is the smoothest part of the trip. There's no way you could stand without hanging onto something. And if you've been leaning against the doors while the train is moving, you will do much more damage to the doors than if you happen to be touching them as they open.

[boestar]

My family calls it the Shaky Train

[anonymous]

As I drove to the airport today I was reminded of the highway 409 tree planting fiasco....anyone else notice that the dozens of trees planted in the concrete medians between the express/collector lanes entering Taj Mahal a few years ago?

They cut all of them down a few weeks ago...

I wonder how much that exercise cost?

[Seeker]

I often smirk at the "please hold onto the handrail" and "please stand clear of the doors" announcements, too. Because of the roughness of the ride, the arrival at the station is the smoothest part of the trip. There's no way you could stand without hanging onto something. And if you've been leaning against the doors while the train is moving, you will do much more damage to the doors than if you happen to be touching them as they open.

This may be urban legend but I heard when the train option came in way over budget that the GTAA decided to accept a low-bid proposal from another company - one that had never done a "train" before but sure wanted to try. All their previous projects had been cable gondolas, hence the cable to pull the cars back and forth.

[MURRAY]

Inchman:

Although every fibre in my being is telling me not to, I'm going to ask this question anyway: Why do you feel the runways and taxiways are not being used optimally?

[inchman]

Hi Murray,

While takeoff delays are certainly not as bad as they were a few years ago, there are still times when 15/33s could be used in combination with 23/24s to get more aircraft off the ground faster when things get backed up. I understand that there are combinations that wouldn't work because of go around considerations, etc, but there are lots of combinations that would work, but are not used except when a long haul needs a real long runway and has to have 33R/15L.

We are still often taken downwind on STARS up to 20-25 miles from the airport (at 3000 ft, no less) which tells me that more effort could be made to make more landing capability available, and that means changing the takeoff configuration even when it's not departures that are backed up, to free up some concrete for landers.

Separation on final is better than it used to be, but why is it based on distance rather than being adjusted for groundspeed ? A Dash 8 on final takes a long time to get to the runway with 4 miles of separation and a 30 kt headwind. So why not close it up to 3 miles when there's a good headwind, or change the go/nogo point on final for clearing someone to takeoff when an aircraft on final is only doing 90 kts over the ground?

For years, we complained that Ground wouldn't change the taxi plan to react to an opportunity to taxi and aircraft in a way that made more sense. Yet, nowadays, it's not uncommon to have the Ground controller initiate a better path.

We get conditional clearances almost everywhere in the world to line up after the lander. Without that, in YYZ, we can't anticipate when you're going to clear us to position. So, instead of being ready to roll when the previous lander clears, we're just turning onto the centerline. Often the only indication that we're going after the lander is when the guy calls on final and Tower tells them "Number two, one short final, 787 to depart".

We have been told in the past that "it's done that way because of MANOPS". Rules can change if there is some desire to do so. We have seen lots of good change over the years after first being told that MANOPS says it can't be done. MANOPS did not come down from the mount.

YYZ still has less than 1/2 the movements of ATL with the same number of runways. Yeah... different configuration, but without the 33s, YYZ should be able to handle 60% of ATL traffic with just the 3 east/west runways, so 45% should feel like there's nobody around, not result in 25 mile finals. There are other examples. LGA handles more than 80% of YYZ traffic with two 7000 ft runways, surrounded by other major airports.

I'll say it again... we're not waiting even close as long as we used to and things have improved a lot. So, I'm not unhappy, but I still see room for improvement.

It will happen eventually, when things get too bad again due to growth in YYZ. I just think that it is a shame that it will probably take a return to a crisis situation, instead of just doing it without a crisis, saving fuel, CO₂ ,money and time now and being ready for the future instead of waiting and then simply reacting to it.

[J.O.]

Most of your issues are not controlled by NavCan or the GTAA, they are limited by MANOPS. Changing those in today's regulatory environment is harder than getting Israel and Palestine to live in peace.

[Lakelad]

.

Pearson employees outraged at steep airport-link fares

Metrolinx has proposed a one-way fare of $20 to $30, which would make the service unaffordable for many who commute to work at the airport.


Fri Aug 22 2014 - Toronto Star
Zoe McKnight Staff Reporter,

For many of the thousands of employees who work out of Pearson International Airport, the new rapid transit rail line would shave over an hour off their commute.

If only they could afford it.

It would cost an airport customer service agent about two hours’ wages if Metrolinx goes ahead with a one-way fare of $20 to $30 dollars for the publicly funded Union Pearson (UP) Express. With just two stops between Union Station and the airport, the trip will take 25 minutes.

“This isn’t public transit, this is transit for the 1 per cent,” said Sean Smith, mobilization co-ordinator for Unifor Local 2002, a union that represents 5,000 workers at Pearson, which is run by the Greater Toronto Airport Authority.

Metrolinx has said the airport link should not be considered public transit because it is aimed at business executives at a cost comparable to the Toronto Airport Express bus, which costs about $27, but will stop service Oct. 31.

“This train serves absolutely no purpose for us … you go to any other city and the rail link is public transit, not half a billion dollars funding a private train for the bankers,” Smith said.
Polls

Most of the airport’s 40,000 total employees live in Peel region, but he estimates between 10,000 and 15,000 workers come from Toronto.

“It’s the workers who are going to the airport every day. If you ride the TTC, the 192 Rocket (bus route) is packed all the time and it not just people with suitcases. It’s flight attendants, it’s passenger agents, it’s all the support people who work there, the security staff and concession workers,” said Air Canada flight attendant Joyce Nakanishi, who lives on the east Danforth and makes six one-way trips a week to Pearson, which would cost up to $180 weekly on the new rail line.

“Flight attendants are up in arms about it,” she said, adding she worries relying on business travellers will mean the trains are running at less than capacity. “We pay so much in taxes to pay for services we are not going to be able to afford. That’s crazy to me.”

If the fare was $10, if monthly passes were available or employee discounts offered, Air Canada flight attendant Ole Harder would take the express train.

But at $30, “I can’t justify it,” he said. He’ll continue to take the hour-and-a-half commute from his apartment at Richmond and Sherbourne Sts., “taking transit that’s often overcrowded and overloaded.

“Meanwhile, there will be this direct, 15-minute train to the airport that will be completely empty.”

“The irony is that the very people who work at the airport every single day will find the only rapid transit link to their workplace is unaffordable to them. That’s just folly,”

.

[Fido]

Not a bit of hyperbole in that rant.

[DEFCON]

An FA making six one-way trips a week....now that's a bad block.

[Thebean]

...and people seem to think a high speed rail link from Toronto to Montreal or Calgary to Edmonton would be cheaper than air.......

How far is the new Union - Pearson Express link? Maybe 11 miles of track?

What would it cost to get high speed rail up and running on close to 350 miles of track?

The economic fare on the Airport link probably is about $20 each way. If it's reduced so it becomes taxpayer subsidized, two guesses which sector is going to end up subsidizing it?

For the record, a ticket for a 45 minute ride on the Stansted Express from London to Stansted Airport tomorrow morning is over C$40 one way , $21 if booked 7 days in advance and about $15 if booked 30 days in advance.

In the Canadian context, high speed rail is a Bombardier/SNC Lavalin wet dream.......

Give me a call in 2040 and we'll chat about it.

[J.O.]

What does it cost to go from downtown Vancouver to YVR on the rail link?