(The following article by Kevin McGran was posted on the Toronto Star website on February 12.)
TORONTO — GO Transit is being urged to buy a $500,000 mobile snow blower to clear ice and snow from frozen switches as well as hire “ambassadors” to keep passengers informed in response to the agency’s worst on-time performance since the 1999 ice storm.
Those are two recommendations in a report from general manager Gary McNeil to be presented tomorrow to GO’s board which is feeling the heat after only 79 per cent of GO’s trains made it to their scheduled destination on time in January, down from 92 per cent in January, 2003. Of the 4,413 scheduled trains, 939 were delayed, including 89 for more than 30 minutes, and 89 cancellations.
“Like any organization, sometimes you need a public outcry, a crisis or a perceived crisis to gives us a kick in the pants and to accelerate the things we should be doing so that we can deliver a better service,” said GO chairman Gordon Chong.
Chong hand-delivered the report yesterday to Transportation Minister Harinder Takhar.
“I’m very concerned with the service levels,” Takhar said. “The consumers are looking for solutions. They don’t really care who runs (the trains) or the arrangement with CN or CP. We need to resolve these issues and come up with solutions.”
Other recommendations include:
Buying an on-train global positioning system to give GO instant information when a train is delayed.
Installing messageable signs for passengers.
Continuing to press all levels of government for funding to upgrade the rail network and buy more reliable passenger cars and locomotives.
Backlash was swift and strong from customers tired not only of delays that went on for hours, but also a lack of information about those delays. While GO normally receives about 1,200 formal complaints in an average month, in January, the number of complaints jumped to 2,240.
GO’s trains are run by CN and CP crews, whose first priority is not to “customer service” but to getting the train moving again, the report said. “The conductor is sometimes so busy trying to get the train moving or finding out about the delay that the eventual message to the customer comes back as being unsure, ineffective or too late.”
An on-train ambassador, who could service as a ticket checker during a normal run, could act as a go-between between the CN crews and GO passengers.
“Customers demand immediate action,” said the report. “Improved communication to customers is critical.”