Transit

First-year student arrives at U of T with a plan to improve Toronto’s transit

Christopher.Sorensen — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 17:25:49 +0000

First-year student arrives at U of T with a plan to improve Toronto’s transit

Christopher.Sorensen Mon, 08/28/2023 - 13:25

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A member of New College, incoming first-year student Zarif Ali is hoping to study computer science and meet others who are passionate about improving transit and “other things that ... could dramatically improve our quality of life” (photo by Polina Teif)

Tabassum Siddiqui

Topic

Our Community

Back to School 2023

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Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Cities

Faculty of Arts & Science

New College

Transit

Undergraduate Students

Subheadline

Zarif Ali says the idea for his rewards-focused app grew out of a Grade 9 geography project

Zarif Ali is betting the University of Toronto – and its culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in particular – can help him get where he wants to go.

A recent graduate of the International Baccalaureate program at Scarborough’s Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate, Ali has been making media headlines in recent months for Transit+, his concept for an app that would incentivize public-transit riders through a rewards program while consolidating other features from existing apps, such as route and schedule information and digital fare payment.

“It was originally part of our Grade 9 geography culminating project,” says Ali, 18, who will be starting first year in the Faculty of Arts & Science as a member of New College with an eye toward entering the computer science program in his second year. “Our teacher assigned us to create something that would improve the quality of life in Toronto.”

He says had wanted to attend U of T ever since middle school and made up his mind when he discovered the university had a specialist program for designing computer interfaces.

“I was immediately interested, as that relates directly to how I want to thrive in my career. It was very clear to me from the beginning that U of T was going to be my top choice – and so I actually didn’t end up applying anywhere else.”

Inspired by a transit-focused episode of comedian Hasan Minhaj’s talk show Patriot Act and his own burgeoning interest in computer science, Ali decided to focus on a digital solution to the issue of transit cuts and fare hikes due to transit agencies’ lack of revenue.

“Transit+ is like Starbucks Rewards for your transit fare,” he explains. “The more you ride the TTC or Metrolinx using your Presto card, the more points you would be able to rack up – and at the end of the week or month, you could redeem them for a free bus ride or even a weekly or monthly pass. And if you wanted to incorporate small businesses around the city, you could have them do promotions within the app for you to redeem using Presto or your credit card.”

Ali points to other transit agencies that have implemented similar systems over the years, such as the STM Merci loyalty program in Montreal that was able to generate $100 million in additional revenue from new ridership over the course of its three-year pilot project, according to a study, or Hong Kong’s Octopus smartcard and its rider perks.

“Right now, the app is very focused on the rewards program – it’s meant to incentivize people who are either considering using transit, or already using it, to use it more frequently. If you're able to increase ridership, you increase the total revenue that the agency is able to bring in,” Ali says.

Encouraged by his teachers and fellow classmates, Ali kept fine-tuning his idea for the Transit+ app throughout high school while continuing to learn more about computing by watching YouTube videos and taking a Grade 10 computer science course.

“I’m interested in computer science because of how it enables you to create things that are accessible to so many people,” Ali says.

He credits his experience at Wilfrid Laurier for helping him prepare to enter university.

“The teachers there were absolutely wonderful in guiding everyone throughout our high school career – especially in the last two years in the IB program,” Ali says.

“There was definitely a competitive atmosphere, but it just fueled everybody to try and do the absolute best they could in whatever field they wanted to get into. And happily, everybody in my friend group was able to get into their top choice for university.”

Ali’s former geography teacher, Karen Pak – who graduated from the master's program at U of T's Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 2017 – says the school project that led to Ali's app was based on principles from the Global Ideas Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, where she was formerly the mentor program manager. She says Ali's enthusiasm for learning will serve him well in university.

“As an educator, you always hope that students will be sparked by something to make learning truly tangible and applicable,” Pak says.

“Zarif deserves all the credit in taking this opportunity and turning it into a pathway for his creativity and intellect – a winning combination. I know he will go on to accomplish incredible innovations and inspire others to do the same.”

As he gets ready to start at U of T in September, Ali is as focused on his academic goals as he was on building Transit+.

“I’m hoping that I can meet the requirements to get into the computer science major. After second year, I want to go into the focus in human-computer interaction program, because that’s where you get to learn about design fundamentals.

“And I’m hoping to meet like-minded people at U of T who are also as passionate about computer science and improving things like transit or looking at other things that could be very simple to implement, but could dramatically improve our quality of life,” Ali says, adding that he’s planning to join some of U of T’s entrepreneurship clubs and accelerators to help him further develop his app.

For Transit+ to become a reality, Ali knows he’d need buy-in from TTC and Metrolinx – and has already reached out to local politicians, activists and transit staff who've offered feedback and even helped him refine his pitch.

Ironically, Ali – who immigrated to Scarborough from Bangladesh with his parents in 2010 – has never been much of a transit rider himself. But that’s all about to change as he gears up for his daily commute to campus this fall.

“I've always been lucky enough to have my schools or wherever I need to go really close by, so I never really rode transit that much,” he says. “But now that I'm coming downtown to attend U of T, I feel like having a program like Transit+ in place would be great.”

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How transit authorities can better respond to subway disruptions: U of T researchers

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 16:27:02 +0000

How transit authorities can better respond to subway disruptions: U of T researchers

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 08/06/2020 - 12:27

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In one case, U of T researchers determined their "bus bridging" could have reduced passenger delays following a disruption to Toronto's subway system by 50 per cent (photo by Aaron Lynett/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Tyler Irving

Topic

Our Community

Cities

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Graduate Students

Research & Innovation

Transit

It’s a phrase Toronto subway riders hear all too often: “Shuttle buses are on the way.”

Service disruptions are a fact of life for rail transit systems around the world. The most common remedy is “bus bridging,” in which buses are pulled from regular routes and dispatched to serve as shuttles along a disrupted rail segment.

But the transition rarely goes smoothly. If the buses are not dispatched in time, or if there are not enough of them along a given route, the result is overcrowded sidewalks, long delays and an overall operation that’s less efficient. In New York City, for example, major subway disruptions have been estimated to cost US$389 million per year in lost wages and productivity.

Amer Shalaby, a professor in the University of Toronto’s department of civil and mineral engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, and his team are working on solutions. Over the past few years, they have conducted a number of studies to pinpoint the key factors that determine successful bus bridging deployment, and have developed tools that transit agencies can use to make better decisions.

“Bus bridging has gained growing attention in recent years due to the dire need for more efficient strategies to counter the effects of unplanned disruptions of rail service, which are happening more frequently,” says Shalaby. “Our approach is unique in terms of the balance it achieves between a theoretically robust procedure and practical application.”

Much of the team’s work has been conducted by analyzing incident reports provided by transit agencies such as the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Using machine learning and queuing analyses, the team was able to recognize factors that have a big impact on bus bridging outcomes, but that are not always taken into account by transit agencies.

“A current strategy might focus the number of buses needed based on the length of the disruption – say, 10 buses every 10 minutes,” says Alaa Itani, a PhD candidate in Shalaby’s Transit Analytics Lab. “But it is equally important to consider other factors, such as which routes to pull the buses from and where to start their initial service.”

Itani gives the example of a disruption in Toronto in 2015 that affected eight stations and lasted for an hour. Her analysis suggested that the buses used for bridging in this case were too few and too far away to effectively deal with the disruption. Using more buses from routes closer to the incident could have cut passenger delays and the longest queue at the disrupted stations by 50 per cent, Itani says.

Even in cases where the number of buses is held constant, being more strategic about which buses are used and where they are deployed can make a difference. In the case of the 2015 disruption in Toronto, Itani’s models suggest a more strategic approach could have reduced total user delays by about 23 per cent.

“There is always a compromise between how far [away] the dispatched buses are and how many riders they would otherwise serve,” says Itani. “If we pay more attention to maintaining that balance, we can get better outcomes.”

Even so, Itani says that there are some situations where shuttle buses simply can’t get to the scene fast enough.

“Our analysis showed that while bus bridging can be effective in less congested subway segments, there are places in the downtown core where bus bridging is constrained by the road or curb capacity at the affected subway stations and thus it is not enough,” says Itani.

“In these cases, agencies are recommended to follow supplementary mitigation plans like directing passengers to parallel routes or encouraging passengers to continue their trips using active modes [like walking or using a bike share program].”

The team has developed two decision support tools to help transit agencies deploy bus bridging more effectively. The first, called DASh-Bus Planner, is designed to help transit agencies assess different shuttle bus deployments and scenarios. The second, called DASh-Bus Optimizer, provides transit operators with a near optimal bus bridging plan in the event of an unplanned rail disruption.

Itani says these tools could not only help agencies better manage disruptions, but could provide strategies to reduce crowding due to ordinary surges in ridership.

“Transit agencies are usually risk averse, so we understand that it may be challenging for them to make the kinds of changes recommended by our tools,” says Itani. “However, the recent pandemic has forced the issue. The disruptions they are currently dealing with could provide an opening for them to re-think their traditional approaches.”

What does transportation equity mean? U of T researcher on why it’s too important to ignore

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 13:31:53 +0000

What does transportation equity mean? U of T researcher on why it’s too important to ignore

Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 11/08/2019 - 08:31

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"What we’re trying to do is start the planning process with a clear idea of what inequalities exist in the [transportation] system." says U of T's Steven Farber (photo by Ken Jones)

Topic

Research & Innovation

Transit

Transportation

U of T Scarborough

Canada is on the cusp of some major disruptions to its transportation systems.

Ride-sharing apps, on-demand transit and micromobility (scooters, for example) are already available in some cities. Self-driving vehicles are in development. And as urban centres continue to grow, it is necessary to invest in traditional public transit that will best serve riders in the future.

But social benefits are often an afterthought in transit planning. When new technologies come into use, who gets left behind?

Steven Farber is an assistant professor in the department of human geography at the University of Toronto Scarborough. Much of his research looks at the social and economic outcomes of transportation use in urban areas. Farber is helping to host a two-day workshop this week called Mobilizing Justice that is bringing together industry, government, community stakeholders and academics to understand the role equity plays in planning transportation systems.

Farber recently sat down to talk about the role technology plays in creating and addressing inequities in transit systems, and why transit planning is a social justice issue.

What does transportation equity mean?

There’s no agreement yet on what it means exactly, but the general concept is looking at how to design transportation systems that are fair. This can be thought of as how transportation ‘goods’ and transportation ‘bads’ are distributed among different populations.

Transportation goods are things like ease of access to downtown via the subway, how frequent and affordable is the service, and to consider who has access to these good things – is it only the rich? Is it mostly white people? People of colour? In terms of transportation bads, it’s understanding who’s suffering from pollution, lack of access, safety issues or congestion.

Consider someone who is riding the bus because maybe they can’t afford a car. That person may be sitting in traffic caused by all these people driving around in single occupancy vehicles. How is that fair? So it’s also looking at how we can change the balance to improve the experiences of people who are making economic, environmentally and socially responsible decisions about transportation.

When we talk about transportation planning, it’s rarely thought of in terms of social justice. Why is that?

It’s a good question. Take the proposed Ontario Line [subway expansion] for example. The province conducted a full business case analysis based on ridership, costs, mode switching and congestion relief on the Yonge line, which are all good reasons, but the socio-economic impact was done very much after the fact. What we’re trying to do is start the planning process with a clear idea of what inequalities exist in the system. Do we have equity and fairness issues right now and, if so, what are the best transportation plans to remedy it?

A recent study you co-authored found that nearly one million Canadians live in transport poverty. What does that mean?

It’s pretty easy to define. It’s when being economically disadvantaged intersects with what’s called transport disadvantage. Generally speaking, this means a lack of reliable and frequent transit service, services that are too expensive or a lack of accessible transit, so it excludes people.

Some people may have transport disadvantages, but if they’re wealthy, they can overcome these barriers and it doesn’t affect their ability to get to work, to grocery shop or go about their daily lives. So there’s all sorts of reasons to be transport disadvantaged, but when it combines with socio-economic disadvantage, that’s transport poverty.

Some feel that technology has the power to level inequities, and that extends to transportation. What role do you think technology can play in addressing inequity in transportation systems?

At the moment it’s a mixed bag, and there seems to be two visions for the future. One is quite dystopian, with zombie autonomous cars driving across the city, more people taking cars because they can sit back and relax. More cars and more sprawl, causing more congestion. On the other hand, there’s these great things like apps that create better access to carpooling or give opportunities to people who live in poorly serviced transit neighbourhoods access to different forms of transit

There’s massive disruption taking place in the transit space due to technological changes. Things like ride hailing, autonomous vehicles, car-sharing apps, dockless micromobility such as scooters, bikes, and even on-demand transit systems. It’s important to look at the potential impacts of these disruptions and to have conversations about what are the opportunities to use technology for social good.

If certain technologies are only going to create greater inequity in transit systems, it could be equally important to look at how we can regulate them.

Nine tips for getting the most out of your U of T experience

noreen.rasbach — Mon, 26 Aug 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Nine tips for getting the most out of your U of T experience

noreen.rasbach Mon, 08/26/2019 - 00:00

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(photo by Randy Landicho)

Isabel Armiento

Topic

Our Community

Back To School 2019

Centre for International Experience

Undergraduate Students

Varsity Blues

Between acclimatizing to roommates, searching for food on a budget, trying to make lasting friendships and rushing to get to your next class on time – all while carrying what seems like 20 kilograms of textbooks on your back – the first few weeks of life at the University of Toronto can be intimidating.

But there’s no need to panic. Whether you’re a first-year student transitioning out of high school or a fifth-year student returning from a lavish four-month summer holiday, here are nine ways to make this year as stress-free as possible.

(photo by Diana Tyszko)

1. Figure out your campus route before school starts

U of T can be difficult even for long-time students to navigate – not to mention first-year students, especially those who have never been to Toronto. To avoid the confusion, explore campus before your first day of class. Plan your route using these interactive maps of the three campuses – U of T's St. George campus, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough – which are brimming with helpful tips for new students, such as information on the nearest washrooms, food spots, recycling facilities and places to lock your bike.

Commuters should consider their transit options, whether you’re commuting to the St. George campus, U of T Mississauga or U of T Scarborough. If you’re still not sure where you’ll be commuting from, familiarize yourself with U of T’s student housing resources, including emergency student housing.

2. Create a list of go-to food spots for any occasion

You’ll be grateful you did when you need to grab a quick coffee near your 9 a.m. exam or when a new friend wants to go for an impromptu lunch date. Curate your own personalized list or check out this one from U of T News, so that, regardless of your budget and taste, you’ll know a place around campus that will satisfy that craving.

In the past few years, U of T has been offering healthier, fresher, more sustainable and more diverse food choices – be sure to check out the on-campus selections, which go far beyond hot dog stands and fast food. Whether you’re at the St. George campus, U of T Mississauga or U of T Scarborough, there are plenty of delicious options to choose from.

(photo by Ken Jones)

3. Immerse yourself in the U of T community

U of T orientation week can be exciting, as well as overwhelming – campus is flocked by engineers dyed purple and someone just might whisk you away from your orientation group as part of a campus-wide scavenger hunt. Both fun and informative, orientation is a useful resource when it comes to campus life, from activities designed to make you an expert in all things U of T to your orientation leader’s helpful tips. Map out your orientation week and see what’s planned at the St. George campus, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough.

First-years aren’t the only new students at U of T. International and exchange students should check out the Centre for International Experience for supports and resources – as should domestic students who are on the lookout for international opportunities.

(photo by Strategic Communications)

4. Check out U of T’s lit(erature) library scene

With more than 40 libraries, U of T’s library scene is a cache of hidden gems – for example, visit the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library to flip through unique items such as the world’s first gay magazine. Check out U of T Libraries for resources on research projects, or to borrow the latest bestseller – a cheaper alternative to parting with $25 at a bookstore. If you prefer your books brand new, visit one of U of T’s Bookstores and complement your purchase with U of T merch that’s sure to get you excited about the upcoming school year.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

5. Show your school spirit

With 44 Varsity sports teams and literally hundreds of clubs (more than 350 recognized by the UTSU), U of T is brimming with school spirit. Cheer on the Varsity Blues or join a club – from book clubs to beatboxing, there’s something for everyone. Stay up-to-date on events around campus for new ways to engage with the U of T community.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

6. Take advantage of every student discount you can

Attention all U of T students: Your TCard comes with a ton of underused perks. Skip the fees at your local gym and drop by one of U of T’s athletic centres, located on all three campuses: St. George, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough. Registered students can use the space and equipment or can de-stress with a yoga class. If you want to learn a new skill while working out, try a discounted instructional fitness class, with diverse offerings like belly dancing and parkour. Hart House also hosts a variety of creative workshops at affordable rates, from Photoshop to puppetry.

U of T offers a number of free and cheap entertainment options for your much-needed free time: Stop by the Faculty of Music for a free concert, catch a flick on-campus (St. Mike’s and Innis College both offer free film nights during the year), visit one of U of T’s art galleries or purchase discounted theatre tickets with a student ID. These deals give U of T students the chance to experience Toronto’s cultural scene without breaking the bank.

(photo by Ken Jones)

7. Take breaks for self-care

Whether you’re out partying with new friends during orientation week or struggling through stacks of readings during exam season, self-care and wellness are tri-campus priorities. For physical and mental health-related needs, visit the health and wellness centres at the St. George campus, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough.

U of T offers a host of accessibility services for students with disabilities. There are a wealth of resources designed to make students’ transitions to university life as seamless as possible, located at the St. George, U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough campuses.

Supplement these resources with a list of the essential supports and services provided by U of T.

(photo by Student Life)

8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

Starting at a new school – and for many of you, a new city or country – can be daunting. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from those who’ve been there. During orientation week, reach out to anyone wearing an orange “ASKme Anything” t-shirt with any questions you might have. You can also check out the askastudent blog to consult upper years and alumni on anything from tips for choosing courses to advice on whether or not to live in residence.

9. Stay connected

There’s no better way to stay in the know than keeping up with U of T News. You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook and on Twitter: tri-campus, U of T Mississauga or U of T Scarborough.

Stranded without transit? U of T researchers say one million urban Canadians suffer from 'transport poverty'

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 21:54:36 +0000

Stranded without transit? U of T researchers say one million urban Canadians suffer from 'transport poverty'

geoff.vendeville Wed, 01/09/2019 - 16:54

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A new U of T study found about one million urban Canadians live in low-income households and are also transport-poor, meaning they live in areas lacking transit options (Rene Johnston/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

City & Culture

Cities

Faculty of Arts & Science

Geography and Planning

Poverty

Transit

U of T Scarborough

If you can't afford a car or Uber, and there's no major public transit route in your neighbourhood, finding a job and keeping it can be an uphill battle.

It's an all-too-familiar challenge for up to one million urban Canadians, according to an estimate by U of T geographers Jeff Allen and Steven Farber, who published their findings in Transport Policy last month.

The authors used household demographic and employment data from the 2016 census, among other information, to do a national accounting of so-called “transport poverty” across the country for the first time.

“We know how many poor children there are in this country, we know how many recent immigrants there are, but no one has ever known how many people are transport-poor,” says Farber, who is an assistant professor in the department of human geography at U of T Scarborough.

He and Allen say they hope their research will help inform government policy on transportation.

“In Canada, governments are currently investing billions of dollars in public transport with very little guidance on whether and how this infrastructure can be used to achieve a higher degree of transport justice in Canadian cities,” they write.

What does it mean to be transport-poor? Farber says it's a mix of disadvantages: socioeconomic status (low income, ill health, being a recent immigrant or elderly) and a lack of access to transportation (being unable to afford a car, or reach destinations easily by transit, for example).

These circumstances can create a vicious cycle, he adds. “It can have long-run implications on your quality of life and well being,” he explains. “Your ability to access goods and services, your ability to access the political process, your ability to find work and keep a job – that all feeds back into your socioeconomic status.”

Allen, who grew up in Toronto, says it's a topic that's long been on his mind as he noticed the range in transit services available across the region. Now a PhD student in physical geography, he and his supervisor Farber looked at the problem in Canada's most populous urban areas: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Quebec City and Winnipeg.

A screenshot of an online map created by Allen and Farber that shows access to jobs by transit in Toronto (photo courtesy of Jeff Allen)

“We find that within Canada's eight largest cities, 5 per cent of the total population are living in low income households which are also situated in areas with low transit accessibility,” they write. “This totals nearly one million people who are at risk of transport poverty nation-wide.”

In an online map, they plotted some of their data to show access to employment opportunities across these cities. Zooming in on Toronto, one sees that people who live downtown have a wealth of opportunities, but they become more scarce farther out from the city centre.

When it comes to transport poverty specifically, the researchers pointed to two types of at-risk neighbourhoods. The first are the inner suburbs: low-income, high-density communities living in apartment towers. Neighbourhoods like Flemingdon Park and Thorncliffe Park in Toronto are relatively close to downtown, but they aren't situated on high-order transit routes. They're also home to many low income and recent immigrant households who can't afford a car. The other typically transport-poor neighbourhoods were outlying low-income suburbs like Scarborough, pockets of Markham, Etobicoke, Oshawa and Brampton.

As more and more people find themselves priced out of downtown – a trend known as the suburbanization of poverty – more households could find themselves living at a transport disadvantage, Farber said.

Their paper references and builds on the work of the Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership led by U of T Professor David Hulchanski, that has documented the growing gap between rich and poor in Canadian cities.

Farber says there hasn't been much weight given to transport poverty in decisions about where to put new transport infrastructure or add transit routes. “They'll give a project bonus points if it goes through a low-income neighbourhood,” he says, “but they haven't really been up to speed with what's been going on in academia and other jurisdictions where there's been more of a concerted effort.”

By putting the problem on the map, the researchers hope to change the conversation and raise the issue to the national level.

“The bigger the problem, the more important it is that we solve it,” Farber says.

Are Uber and public transit friends or foes? It depends on size of city, U of T study finds

geoff.vendeville — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 04:00:00 +0000

Are Uber and public transit friends or foes? It depends on size of city, U of T study finds

geoff.vendeville Thu, 10/25/2018 - 00:00

Cutline

A study led by U of T's Jonathan Hall and co-authored by American economists finds that Uber is a complement rather than substitute for most public transit agencies (photo by Richard Lautens/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

Geoffrey Vendeville

Topic

City & Culture

Economics

Faculty of Arts & Science

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Research & Innovation

Transit

Transportation

Falling transit ridership across big North American cities – including Toronto – has raised concern that Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing services may be leeching passengers.

But a new study in the Journal of Urban Economics led by the University of Toronto’s Jonathan Hall suggests Uber is more of a complement than threat to most public transit agencies. He and his co-authors, Craig Palsson at Utah State University and Joseph Price at Brigham Young University, used American federal data on transit ridership for about 200 U.S. cities and towns where Uber has a presence, from New York City to Ames, Iowa.

They estimated Uber’s market penetration and took into account when it made its debut in each city to assess how it has affected ridership between 2000 and 2015.

What they found was that, in the average city, a standard increase in the intensity of Uber’s market penetration led to a 1.38-per-cent increase in ridership. “Uber's effect on transit ridership grows slowly over time, increasing transit ridership by 5% after two years,” the researchers add.

Instead of being a problem for most transit agencies, Uber seems to be “medicine” for transit that has fewer and fewer riders, says Hall, an assistant professor in the department of economics and Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, in an interview.

“The big message here is that people are freaked out that Uber and Lyft are going to destroy transit. This study says, ‘Hold on, it’s not so simple,’” Hall says.

Uber’s impact wasn’t the same in all urban areas. “Our results indicate that Uber reduces transit ridership in smaller MSAs [Metropolitan Statistical Areas] while increasing ridership in larger cities,” the paper says.

The results were different depending on the size of the transit agency and mode of transportation. The study suggests Uber helps larger agencies compared to smaller ones. It also seems Uber helps bus ridership but slightly decreases train use.

The researchers got their data on metro areas from the National Transit Database, which has monthly ridership numbers for transit agencies that get federal funding. They base their estimate of Uber market penetration on the relative number of Google searches for “uber” – which appears to be a good approximation for the number of Uber drivers per capita. The study focuses on UberX, which makes up the majority of Uber trips.

The data isn’t enough to explain Uber’s impact on transit, but the economists have a few theories. They suggest it can actually help transit by filling in gaps in the system's map and schedule. It can also offer a solution to what's known as the last mile problem in transportation – the idea that the last leg of your commute, such as getting from the subway platform to your office, is the hardest.

One reason Uber doesn’t steal all that many passengers from transit is that it remains much cheaper to take the bus or train, the researchers write. The median Uber fare was US$5 compared to US$1 for transit. “Transit is cheaper by enough that Uber’s role in adding flexibility to the transit system is more important than its ability to substitute for riding transit,” the study says.

What about a city like Toronto? Although the paper just focuses on the United States, Hall predicts Uber would have no real effect on ridership here based on his and his colleagues' findings since the TTC provides extensive coverage. For smaller metro areas with above-average ridership, Uber appears to hurt transit, which is probably bad news for cities like Hamilton and Barrie, Hall says.

The results were surprising even for the lead author. Hall says he expected Uber to help trains over buses. “Imagine a trip on the Bloor line,” he says. “Uber is going to be more expensive and slower than the subway.” Vis-a-vis the bus, the same trip by Uber would still be more expensive but save more time.

The paper, he says, intends to contribute to the conversation on efficient mobility and to show the importance of considering ride-hailing in the inventory of urban transportation options. He points to Innisfil, near Barrie, where the city has turned to Uber as an alternative to public transit, as the kind of experiment that municipalities should be trying.

“Experiments like the one by Innisfil are well worth doing,” he says. “Modern transportation systems that get people where they want to be are probably going to involve all these options.”

U of T graduate students explore new wards for Urban Policy Lab program to help Toronto voters

noreen.rasbach — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 18:49:06 +0000

U of T graduate students explore new wards for Urban Policy Lab program to help Toronto voters

noreen.rasbach Fri, 10/19/2018 - 14:49

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Alex Gold-Apel, one of the students who studied Toronto's Ward 18, says many people he talked to say they won't be voting because they don't believe politicians will do anything to solve the ward's problems (photo courtesy of Alex Gold-Apel)

Angela Gu

Topic

City & Culture

Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Alumni

Cities

Election

Faculty of Arts & Science

Graduate Students

Transit

Transportation

Transit problems. Traffic congestion. Lack of affordable housing. They are three of the leading issues on the minds of Torontonians as they get ready to cast their votes in Monday's municipal election.

To find out more about the issues at play and what matters most to Toronto residents in this election, University of Toronto graduate students have been heading out to each of the city’s new 25 wards as part of a newly launched initiative called Munk in the City. It is run by the Urban Policy Lab, a teaching and research hub at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy.

Assistant professor Gabriel Eidelman, the founder and director of the Urban Policy Lab, says the project allows students in both programs -– global affairs and public policy – to work together and think more about the city and its issues. There is value, he says, in comparing what they learn with other cities and then applying the takeaway lessons.

“This is the advantage of being in and teaching in cities,” he says.

Seventy-five students in the Master of Global Affairs and Master of Public Policy programs have been pounding the pavement in teams, talking to residents and local businesses.

One group explored Ward 18 – Willowdale. This is a rapidly growing area, with highrise buildings springing up on the main arterial road, Yonge Street. As one turns east or west onto quieter side streets, condos and apartments give way to single-family homes. The ward is diverse on many counts: from ethnicity to income to household size.

Alex Gold-Apel, one of the students in the Ward 18 group, says he found transportation was almost a universal concern among the residents: too much congestion and construction, and not enough transit.

The area is home to a younger segment of the population – one-third of the residents are between 25 and 44 years old, according to the most recent census. Gold-Apel says he found that affordable housing is one of the most important issues for young people in the city.

Gold-Apel and his group members also learned that there is a high population of recent immigrants in Ward 18 who have not yet obtained Canadian citizenship. These are permanent residents who may be passionate about city issues but are unable to vote and have a direct influence on the makeup of city council.

The group also encountered residents who will not be voting in this election by choice, sometimes because of a lack of knowledge about the candidates and their views.

For those residents, the Urban Policy Lab has partnered with Vox Pop Labs, whose cofounder Clifton van der Linden is a U of T PhD student, and the CBC in a civic engagement tool to help: Vote Compass. The online tool makes it easy for voters to learn how their political views align with those of candidates running for office.

The Urban Policy Lab’s contribution to Vote Compass comes in the form of the Council Scorecard, a civic education project, developed in collaboration with journalist Matt Elliott, that aims to present municipal voting records in compelling and accessible new formats.

U of T students vote against discounted TTC pass proposal

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 18:33:47 +0000

U of T students vote against discounted TTC pass proposal

geoff.vendeville Wed, 03/28/2018 - 14:33

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(photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Topic

Undergraduate Students

Subheadline

Undergraduate students say no to U-Pass, which would have cost $70 a month and been mandatory

University of Toronto undergraduates have passed on the U-Pass.

A majority – 65.6 per cent – of student voters at the downtown Toronto campus said no to a proposed transit pass that would have come at a larger discount, but would have been mandatory for full-time undergraduates. About 34 per cent of voters were in favour.

About 12,400 students cast a ballot.

The U-Pass would have offered unlimited travel on the TTC for $70 per month, or $280 per semester – 40 per cent less than the cost of a monthly post-secondary TTC pass, currently $116.75.

But there was a catch. The price of a U-Pass would have been added to almost all full-time undergraduates' student fees. The only exception would have been for students whose ability to use transit was limited based on grounds protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code.

The mandatory buy-in was necessary to make the program viable and serve more university student riders, according to the TTC. The transit agency said the U-Pass would have been “revenue and cost neutral.”

The proposal sparked a debate on campus between supporters like the University of Toronto Students’ Union – who negotiated the deal with the TTC – and critics, who said the U-Pass would have been unfair to students who live on campus or nearby.

Ryerson, OCAD University and George Brown College are set to vote on the U-Pass next, though no votes are scheduled before the fall semester.

See the Toronto Star story

U of T students at downtown campus to vote on new discounted TTC pass

geoff.vendeville — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 14:37:56 +0000

U of T students at downtown campus to vote on new discounted TTC pass

geoff.vendeville Wed, 03/21/2018 - 10:37

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Students are scheduled to vote next week on a proposal for a new TTC pass that would cost $70 per month and be mandatory for full-time undergraduate students (photo by Geoffrey Vendeville)

Topic

Subheadline

U-Pass would cost $70, but participation would be mandatory for full-time, undergraduate students

Getting around the city may become a lot cheaper for many undergraduates at the University of Toronto's downtown Toronto campus.

But that all depends on a referendum next week on a proposed TTC pass for university students.

From March 26 to 28, students will be asked to vote online on a $70 per month U-Pass offering unlimited travel for 40 per cent less than the cost of a post-secondary student pass, currently $116.75. The catch is that the U-Pass would be mandatory for all students and folded into student fees.

“I think it will be a game-changer for the campus and for students here,” says Matti Siemiatycki, an associate professor who specializes in transportation policy and has researched students' commuting habits.

About 43 per cent of students at the downtown Toronto campus take public transit to school, according to StudentMoveTO, a recent survey of students' commuting patterns at U of T and three other Toronto universities.

But even those students who don't take the TTC to campus stand to gain from the U-Pass, Siemiatycki says. “The trip to campus is only one trip that students make,” he says. “They are living 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week lives. The key is we want them to feel that they have access to the entire city.”

The cost of living in Toronto means many students have to make trade-offs, either forgoing a transit pass and living near campus or taking the TTC and living farther afield. With deeper discounts, students will be more inclined to explore all the city has to offer, Siemiatycki says.

The U-Pass would also be a boost to the TTC, Siemiatycki added. By encouraging students to take public transit, the TTC may foster a “transit culture” and form habits that will stay with people long after they graduate.

The transit agency, which has seen stagnant ridership, is in talks to offer the U-Pass to students at Ryerson, OCAD University, and George Brown College in addition to U of T St. George. If the U-Pass program was available to all four post-secondary institutions, the TTC expects the pass would lead to a 15 per cent increase in transit trips taken by students. The $70 fee covers the cost of adding service to make room for more riders, the TTC says in a policy paper.

The agency says the program would be “revenue and cost neutral” since every eligible student would be required to opt in. Each university or college would be required to commit to a four-year term.

The TTC notes that the U-Pass would lessen the financial burden on students, whose average income is less than one half the province-wide average.

The TTC board unanimously approved the U-Pass this week.

Mathias Memmel, president of the University of Toronto Students' Union, says a discount program like U-Pass has been a student union priority for nearly a decade. The UTSU conducted a survey of 10,000 U of T students last year, finding that 95 per cent were in favour of the idea. The U of T referendum is the first vote scheduled at the four universities debating the U-Pass.

The UTSU has heard from some students who are opposed to having to opt in, regardless of whether they will use the U-Pass. However, Memmel points out that students would have to make fewer than 12 round trips in a month to break even.

“Even for those who are living on campus this is really a key to the city, a chance to explore and experience what really is an international city,” he says.

See how they voted

U of T researchers find big improvements to TTC commutes on King Street pilot route

Romi Levine — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 17:12:45 +0000

U of T researchers find big improvements to TTC commutes on King Street pilot route

Romi Levine Tue, 12/05/2017 - 12:12

Cutline

U of T research has found a pilot project on King Street has reduced TTC commute times (photo by BillyCabic via Flickr)

Topic

U of T researchers have crunched the numbers from the King Street pilot project’s first two weeks in operation and found big improvements to travel times for TTC commuters along the city’s busiest streetcar routes.

The pilot, which began on November 12, aims to reduce car traffic by only allowing motorists to drive one block on a 2.6 kilometre stretch of King Street before forcing them to turn right, giving priority to streetcars, which transport over 65,000 passengers per day.

Read the CP24 article

“The main result is that travel times have been improved by about four to five minutes during the rush hour period and that’s for trips that start on one side of the pilot project and continue through to the end of the pilot project,” Steven Farber, an assistant professor in the department of human geography at U of T Scarborough told CP24.

Farber is also the co-director of U of T’s Spatial Analysis of Urban Systems lab, which conducted the research on the King Street pilot.

Farber and researchers from the lab analyzed TTC GPS data from before and after the pilot was implemented. Among their findings: Before the pilot, 19 per cent of trips during the evening peak (4-7 pm) took longer than 25 minutes, compared to just 1.3 per cent after the pilot launched.

“From a transit perspective, and an operational perspective, the pilot is achieving, I think, the goal of providing a much faster and reliable transit route to tens of thousands of people daily,” Farber told the Toronto Star.

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Nine tips for getting the most out of your U of T experience

1. Figure out your campus route before school starts

2. Create a list of go-to food spots for any occasion

3. Immerse yourself in the U of T community

4. Check out U of T’s lit(erature) library scene

5. Show your school spirit

6. Take advantage of every student discount you can

7. Take breaks for self-care

8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

9. Stay connected

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Read more about Urban Policy Lab's Council Scorecard

U of T students vote against discounted TTC pass proposal

Read more about the U-Pass in U of T News

See the Toronto Star story

U of T students at downtown campus to vote on new discounted TTC pass

See how they voted

U of T researchers find big improvements to TTC commutes on King Street pilot route

Read the CP24 article

Read the Toronto Star article