Grand River Transit

[KevinL]

No tap location on the LRV - it'd be on the platform (probably a puck on the TVM).

Right, I keep thinking of Toronto streetcars. You're correct, but there may be standalone tap points at busier stations/those with multiple entrances.

[Pheidippides]

I managed to get a recording of the new voice. Apologies for the quality.
https://clyp.it/viz34hrb

[Canard]

Oooooooo that's nice! Thanks Pheidippides!

[Canard]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Join us at 2 pm for hot chocolate, cookies and carolers to celebrate the opening of the new Cambridge Centre Station! <a href="https://t.co/QSvLZ8dWxi">pic.twitter.com/QSvLZ8dWxi</a></p>&mdash; Grand River Transit (@GRT_ROW) <a href="https://twitter.com/GRT_ROW/status/811603892832239620">December 21, 2016</a></blockquote>

[KevinL]

I'm definitely growing on the new voice - the tone does a better job of cutting through other noise (engine sounds, heater fans, conversation) so you don't miss the message.

[Canard]

She's no Randi Miller ( ), but she's not bad.

...and ugh, I just realized that I bet someone is going to come on here, lamenting the fact that she happens to work in a car dealership.  The horrors!

[Markster]

...and ugh, I just realized that I bet someone is going to come on here, lamenting the fact that she happens to work in a car dealership.  The horrors!

Well, I guess we'll never know if someone would have done something so tangential, since you brought it up first.

[Pheidippides]

Region approves 3 per cent tax hike
http://www.therecord.com/news-story/7061...-tax-hike/
"Transit improvements had an easier ride, with about $4.6 million in new annual spending up for debate. Staff broke the options down into three bundles, and two will be implemented in 2017. The third bundle will be brought back for the 2018 budget process."

Anyone know what the bundles were?

[Markster]

To be clear:

The 205 Ottawa St iXpress has been postponed to Sept 2018.

[dunkalunk]

I think we can infer that LRT opening has also been pushed to Sept 2018. The Ottawa iXpress is supposed to coincide with ION opening.

[timio]

Looks like early 2018.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/mikeboos">@mikeboos</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/srlake">@srlake</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KenSeiling">@KenSeiling</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DaveJaworsky">@DaveJaworsky</a> Bundles 1+2. 3 to come back with an early 2018 implementation and possible 2018 pre-approval.</p>&mdash; Berry Vrbanovic (@berryonline) <a href="https://twitter.com/berryonline/status/819314381502681089">January 11, 2017</a></blockquote>

[Canard]

I think we can infer that LRT opening has also been pushed to Sept 2018. The Ottawa iXpress is supposed to coincide with ION opening.

LOL!!!!

...no. Early 2018.

[MidTowner]

I don't think that's a laughable inference. The 205 iXpress should certainly open no later than Ion. Hopefully it is launched in early 2018 to coincide.

I take exception to the Record's wording that transit improvements "had an easier ride" in budget deliberations. What does that mean? That line is preceded by a quote by Councillor Clarke saying that she wanted to monitor the new resources given to ambulance services. Was there no debate before council voted to approve two of the three transit improvement bundles? That doesn't seem likely.

[Canard]

I'm laughing at the idea that we'd let an almost $1bn piece of rail infra sit idle for almost a year just because we want it to synch up with a "bus route change". I keep reading all this "but it has to line up with the bus route changes in the fall" and I just don't buy it.

The busses can accommodate the train opening date. They'll figure it out. It's just a bus.

[MidTowner]

That's not what dunkalunk was saying. He was saying that, if GRT is preparing to delay the 205 until late 2018, it means they suspect that Ion will be delayed until late 2018.

Ion doesn't need to line up with the bus routes, the bus routes should line up with the launch of Ion, whose launch is indeterminate. We don't know, but I suspect (as others have suggested) that bus route changes will happen at another time of year, even if that's not GRT's normal practice.

We're not talking about "just a bus," though, we're talking about brand new routes.