The transit providers in York Region and Toronto has not changed much in the last two decades. As a child, if I wanted to travel to downtown by myself, I would ride the YRT (now YRT/Viva) and transfer to the TTC. Back then, I did not know that the Go Train existed. In fact, whenever I saw the Go Train I thought they were there to transport pigs, I mean, cargo, or something. I had no idea that it was a commuter train with a set schedule.
As a student, volunteer and evening worker, I would get dropped off at the nearest TTC bus station with no extra fare and ride the TTC all the way to the downtown Toronto core.
Compared to Go Transit, the TTC was/is much cheaper but the travel time was/is longer; however, since the Go runs on a set stringent schedule, the longer travel time is sometimes mitigated by the wait time for the next available Go Train or Go bus.
I rarely use the Viva because it just feels so expensive and most of the bus lines no longer travel in a straight line. If you would like a bus tour that goes round and round to all pick-up areas, Go ahead and ride the Viva. They also did a lot of never ending constructions to ruin one of my favourite roads. Hopefully, when they are FINALLY done with their constructions to build the perfect pathways for all of their bus lines, everyone will be happy. The original YRT (prior to the introduction to Viva) used to go in a straight line.
There are also changes being made to fare collection. Fare collection has been a big problem for the TTC because, well, there are a lot of cheaters who do not pay the fare. Counterfeit bus passes and all. Lots of work was created just to combat these problems of people who do not want to pay transit fare and are rude to drivers. TTC had to put in surveillance cameras to protect their precious employees and riders.
I digress. Go Transit has already been using the Presto fare system for a while now. Basically, you have a fare card that you "tap on" as soon as you board. It's going to be a bit confusing transitioning the Presto system to all other transit systems in the GTA. The tap on and off can be very confusing for riders if it's done inconsistently across different transit systems. It's more confusing, growing up at this time because kids under twelve don't have to pay. Maybe kids should start practicing tapping a kid's practice Presto card so they know about the tap on (and off) and it's not a hop on and off.
The Presto fare system has some glitches though, for example, the machine that you tap on freezes up in the winter outdoors. That is a problem for Go Train riders.
A major difference between tapping on for a train and a bus is that the "tap on" machine is outside of the vehicle for the former and inside the vehicle for the latter. It's actually quite interesting to board the train during the evening rush hour, especially if you are like me. Please keep in mind that I no longer have to commute to the downtown core.
Here is the scenario. My train comes to the same platform every day at 5:20 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. I can never make the 5:20 p.m. train because my work ends at 5:30 p.m. If I walk slowly to the train, 30 minutes is more than enough time to get there. I usually end up leaving the office at 5:50 p.m. when the streets, roads, platforms and station are still extremely congested! Sometimes, I leave the office at 5:55 p.m. The train leaves exactly at 6:00 p.m.
I have illustrated the potential routes I took. I prefer the indoor route because I don't have to worry about cars and lights and I can take a sniff of food court smell along the way to regain energy. Many time people in the food court saw me running across the food court. At least once a week, I would miss the train at exactly 6:00 p.m. I literally climb a flight of stairs at the highest speed possible only to see the door closing as I step out of the stairs or I make it on the Train and huff and puff for about two minutes. Once I board the train, I have to sit or stand there for 40 minutes or so. The Go Bus during non-rush hour is actually faster than the Go train. By the way, my walk/run to the station during the evening rush hour got confusing when they decided to change platform.
Obviously, this post is just my humble opinion and from my simple rider knowledge. I did not do no research whatsoever.
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