There is no place in the greater Tokyo area that cannot be reached by a 10 minute walk from a train station. People take trains everywhere. There is absolutely no reason to have a car there. In stark contrast, lets take a look at Toronto's subway system:
That's pretty pathetic.
8 comments:
I couldn't agree more....I think that while some people are in love with their cars, there's a big group of people who would stop driving and take public transit if public transit were just a little better. Judging by my daily subway commute in downtown Toronto, I can hardly blame people who can afford a car and therefore decide to use it. The subway is at capacity. Every single morning I either throw up my elbows and squish onto a disgustingly packed train, or wait for 2 or 3 traind to pass until I see an opportunity to make my move. Once on, your personal space becomes literally zero and you feel like you are a teenager in a moshpit once again. Only you can't move your arms and you usually get coughed on.
If I could afford to keep a car in the city and pay the $26/day in parking at my building, I would certainly consider it during the winter. It's not that I want a car - it's pretty ridiculous to have on for city commuting - it's just that the alternative is so terrible. And surely there must be tens of thousands of people in similar situations, but they CAN afford the car and therefore sacrifice their ideals for a commute that isn't hell.
Also, that TTC map doesn't include the Sheppard line...but it also calls the Harbourfront streetcar "rapid transit", which is bullshit. It's no different than any other streetcar line!
Could Metro Toronto's population of 2.5 million support a network this large?
As you mentioned previously, until we put a cap on sprawl, transit like this will never be seen in Canada.
Mike D, you're right that riding the subway eats ass a lot of the time. But I think we have to realize that transit will never match the comfort levels afforded by car travel. Even in cities with huge transit networks (Tokyo or London) are riding the trains there "nice?" Not from what I've heard. At times, it's still the cattle car situation.
At some point we have to say fuck it, this is my life. It's going to be uncomfortable at times, but I'll adjust.
Sorry if I sound over-zealous/idealistic/self-righteous; this stuff gets me excited.
Toronto certainly couldn't support a transit system the size of Tokyo.... but even proportionate to population, the Tokyo system is still probably 10 times more extensive.
The key, i think, is city planning. In Tokyo, every aspect of city planning is built around the train line. there isn't really any one "downtown" Tokyo... there are mini-downtowns built up around the important train stations. its the same in the suburbs, and smaller cities like yokohama where i lived. There are dense commercial/residential areas that build up around each train station.
What we need in a place like vancouver is planning and zoning that allows ultra-dense areas to build up around what little transit we have. we need another mini-downtown to build up around, say, the commercial station, and stadium station (which is happening a little), and around cambie and broadway when the canada line finishes. instead, the building of the canada line has just destroyed that entire area. and guess what is going to happen when the line finishes? rich people will take over the area with low-density housing and giant one-story supermarkets. its retarded.
Well I wouldn't ever expect "comfort" from the subway...and frankly that's not really a problem - I'm only on the thing for 20 minutes and I just want it to take me from point A to point B. Speed also isn't the issue - I will say that during rush hour trains are quite efficient. But they are way, way over capacity and it results not only in a lack of comfort but in an intense DIScomfort. People who choose cars because they want a big leather seat to themselves and their music on the stereo are being inconsiderate to the world around them. But people who choose cars because because their morning subway ride borders on barbaric and inhumane can't really be blamed for their decision, in my opinion.
I know it sounds like I'm exaggerating about the conditions, but I'm not! Closet thing to a herd of angry, hurried cattle you'll ever see.
I should add that my disgust for rush-hour public transit doesn't transfer to travel by bicycle. While there's room for improvement, I think Toronto is a reasonably bike-friendly city and it's by far the fastest method of inner-city transportation. Only problem is that for about 4 months of the year, you have to be fucking crazy to do it.
I think the real obstacle to transit is not so much the comfort factor, but the reliability factor.
For example, when i was working in the summer there was a day in july sometime where i had to register for 3rd year classes. registration is done electronically and opens at 9am. the most popular class fill up right away.... you can prepare a worklist for registration, then at exactly 9am you press a button online and you register. so if you want to get into popular classes you have to be logged in and ready to rock right at 9am. i usually got to work at 8:30. but just to be sure, i left a little early that day. it turned out, it was an especially bad day for buses, many passed my by, i didnt get to work until 9:15. i didnt get into a bunch of classes i wanted to take.
now that could have been something even more important... i could have been scheduled to meet an important client at 9 sharp.
similar things happen all the time... im often late for school because of the buses. you just can't rely on them. if something is really important to get to, the buses are basically useless.
comfort i can sacrifice. even in good transit systems like tokyo, there is little comfort. i dont think i will ever experience clausterphobia the way i did taking the Tokyo den-Entoshi line into shinjuku station in morning rush hour. thats the one where they have people on the train platforms pushing people in so the doors can close. possibly the worst 20 minutes of my life.
Yeah, I hear what you're saying. Traveling at rush hour on the Bloor line can be a total nightmare. When I was commuting to Don Mills via the Bloor line, I found the only way to avoid the shitstorm of bodies was to alter my travel routine by 20 minutes. Instead of boarding the train at 8:00, I'd arrive at 7:40. This, normally, meant trains rolled into Dufferin station with ample space on still available.
In my experience, bus reliability is worse in Vancouver than Toronto. Getting passed over by buses at capacity, or more often, buses labelled "out of service" is almost a daily occurrence. How is it so many buses are "out of service" every day!?
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