GO TRANSIT: A NEW APPROACH TO URBAN TRANSPORTATION

The three-phase introduction of GO transit in the Toronto metropolitan region ("GO" stands for government of Ontario) provisions of the Railway Labor Act, as amended. Out of this experience have come three observations with respect to labor relations in the railroad industry: first, the collective bargaining relationships are unusually complex; second, the popular belief that collective bargaining relationships have been mature and responsible is erroneous; third, in the past decade a number of serious strikes or threatened strikes have occurred. The last two observations naturally called for an explanation. The first observation made the answer only more difficult. service in 1965. Canadian National Railways runs the day-to-day operations, while the government specified the type of service, fares, schedules, and other policies; supplies the capital; pays the operating costs; and receives receives the revenues. Phase I service began in May 1967 with 54 streamlined aluminum coaches, 9 self-propelled commuter cars, and 8,3000-hp diesel-electric locomotives. The 85-foot long cars seat 94 passengers. An extensive promotional campagin was largely responsible for the immediate success of the system, which in less than a year exceeded its estimate daily patronage of 15,000 passengers by 5000. The 12 stations have 4400 free parking spaces, which quickly became overcrowded, leading to Phase II, in which an experimental dial-a-ride feeder bus service was inaugurated in a well-defined community with no previous bus service. The many-to-one system began in July 1970, with arrival and departure patterns geared to the daily, Sunday peak, and off-peak schedules of the rail line. A many-to-many service was initiated in February 1971.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1972/415/415-001.pdf
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309020875
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by Committee on Transportation Systems Design. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • HOWARD, W T
• Conference:
  • 51st Annual Meeting of the Highway Research Board
  • Location: Washington District of Columbia, United States
  • Date: 1972-1-17 to 1972-1-21
• Publication Date: 1972

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: pp 1-3
• Monograph Title: Mass transportation: application of current technology
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 415
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Commuter service; Passenger service
• Identifier Terms: GO Transit
• Geographic Terms: Toronto (Canada)
• Subject Areas: Operations and Traffic Management; Passenger Transportation; Railroads;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00050898
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309020875
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 15 1974 12:00AM