Tag: Transit

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Police Commissioner defends access to Opal card records

Police Commissioner defends access to Opal card records:

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has defended police being given powers to access Opal card records as a crucial tool to ensure the “safety and security of the community”.

The police chief’s defence came as a complaint was lodged with the state’s privacy commissioner about law enforcement agencies being able to track hundreds of thousands of commuters without a warrant.

Significantly, it isn’t just the police who could access Opal card data. It’s anyone defined with law enforcement powers which, in Australia, includes over 100 different groups. That this kind of data can be accessed without warrant – data that can reveal roughly where people live, work, the kinds of places they visit, people they commonly travel with – is absolutely absurd.

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Queen’s Park backs slowly away from transit-dedicated tax hikes

Toronto desperately needs serious leadership on the transit file, and soon: the condo boom is going to bring even more cars on the streets, and that’s going to aggravate already horrible congestion. If Toronto wants to state that it’s a world city then it needs to have the services you’d expect of such a city. And decent public transit is high on the ‘expected services’ list.

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Hidden experts have big ideas for Toronto public transit | Toronto Star

Change parking hours on main streets to reflect changing lifestyles.

Lobo, 50, has been driving a streetcar for 25 years and still loves it. “I never want to do anything else but go back and forth and be my best every day, 10 hours a day,” he said proudly.

He’s seen a lot of changes — not only in the number of passengers, but in the behaviour of passengers, too. People used to have the time to chat, but these days are more focused on their lives and their iPhones, he said.

Lifestyles have changed, too. Workers used to leave the office at 4:30, but these days are more likely to leave at 6 or 7 p.m. So, he asked: Why is parking still allowed after 6 p.m. at some spots on King Street?

“You’ve gone from two lanes to one lane of traffic,” he said. “You go on King St. at 6:30 and the traffic doesn’t move.”

Lobo suggested allowing parking on main streets after 8 p.m. only. He insisted we won’t have to go as far as banning cars on King St. during rush hour; this simple change would make a big difference.

They make other suggestions, as well, but as someone who often has to catch the King streetcar this suggestion resonated most strongly with me. It’s absolutely infuriating being stuck in gridlock along King, though I guess it does force me to get out and just walk to get home faster than on the streetcar.