Free Transit?

[thommyjo]

why not get a book of tickets? $27.75 for a book of 10 will save you about $0.70 per ride.

Still very expensive. And $10 cap is high. If a couple wants to do something, 12+ dollars for a day is a lot (3x2x2).

Id rather see $5 cap max.

I just can't see people ever using transit when they already own a car with these prices. Downtown event parking or daily commuting to DT/uofa is the only sell. Or income level/inability to drive as a forced decision.

To make transit attractive, we either need way more congestion or way more expensive vehicle costs. Cause transit quality and costs are brutal.

 

[EdwardEdm]

Also, I'd have the DT stations, as well as any of the bigger ones (Coliseum, South Gate and Century Park) filled with kiosks and shops, with low lease rates for the space and a stronger security. Think little Starbucks, Tim Hortons kiosks, as well as maybe quick clothing repair shops and things of the sorts. The kind of place people stop by in the morning, or that someone working might need in an "emergency". I've seen this kind of thing alone increase safety and ridership before (Rio and Brasilia).

It's been tried and largely failed. The kiosk at Coliseum was actually the longest operating one for a long time until it closes quite a few years ago.
Clareview, Southgate, and Century Park's kiosks have generally done fine it seems, but they all only operate Monday - Friday AM peak - PM peak.
ETS attempted to recruit vendors Downtown and did build spaces in Central and Corona Stations. The coffee shop in Central and kiosk in Corona have both long since shut down.

 

[EdwardEdm]

Still very expensive. And $10 cap is high. If a couple wants to do something, 12+ dollars for a day is a lot (3x2x2).

Id rather see $5 cap max.

The $10.25 Arc daily cap is the same as a daypass.
The problem is you can't load a daypass on your Arc card in advance I gather. Currently you can use a daypass as a family pass for 1 adult and 4 people under 18 iirc. Hopefully that will be something that is fixed in time, or, that you can purchase a single use daypass from an Arc machine. Until then, there's nothing really special about the fares under Arc for ETS and in fact, the $3 fare is crap under Arc. It is cheaper than a cash fare, but it is more expensive than tickets.

 

[CplKlinger]

It's been tried and largely failed. The kiosk at Coliseum was actually the longest operating one for a long time until it closes quite a few years ago.
Clareview, Southgate, and Century Park's kiosks have generally done fine it seems, but they all only operate Monday - Friday AM peak - PM peak.
ETS attempted to recruit vendors Downtown and did build spaces in Central and Corona Stations. The coffee shop in Central and kiosk in Corona have both long since shut down.

Davies Station also has space for a coffee shop.

 

[David A]

Has an effort really been made, or is this just a bureaucratic we put up a few signs and didn't get the rates we wanted type of "try"?

I regularly go by the space in the Bay Station saying Future Retail Space. I think that sign has been up for two decades. I always thought it might make a good spot for a Not For Profit type gift shop or something like that.

I suspect the city is trying to lease at what they believe are some sort of commercial rates and the market it giving them a message, which as bureaucrats they don't quite get.

 

[ChazYEG]

Has an effort really been made, or is this just a bureaucratic we put up a few signs and didn't get the rates we wanted type of "try"?

I regularly go by the space in the Bay Station saying Future Retail Space. I think that sign has been up for two decades. I always thought it might make a good spot for a Not For Profit type gift shop or something like that.

I suspect the city is trying to lease at what they believe are some sort of commercial rates and the market it giving them a message, which as bureaucrats they don't quite get.

Exactly. If we're thinking about subsidies, these should be leased at a highly discounted rate or even be free for a number o years. The spaces already exist, might as well have someone to maintain and generate some foot traffic (maybe even some slight improvement on ridership, in the short term, as it can improve the feeling of safety).

What kind of business did we have there? Was it the kind of business that goes well with the traffic we get in the station?
Was it useful for the community living/working close by?

Put out a market research, find what station users and area residents want and go offer businesses that match these demands a 5 years free use of space + 5 years discounted rate lease. Be a partner, not a landlord. It's a much smaller subsidy that can make a really positive impact in the whole area, not only the stations themselves.

The one thing I get really mad about in Edmonton is how passive our public agents are, in terms of solving problems. "We put some signs, leased some spafes, it didn't work, oh well... Too bad..." Instead of "Why didn't it work? What can we do to make it work?".

 

[_urbanite]

Has an effort really been made, or is this just a bureaucratic we put up a few signs and didn't get the rates we wanted type of "try"?

I regularly go by the space in the Bay Station saying Future Retail Space. I think that sign has been up for two decades. I always thought it might make a good spot for a Not For Profit type gift shop or something like that.

I suspect the city is trying to lease at what they believe are some sort of commercial rates and the market it giving them a message, which as bureaucrats they don't quite get.

It could be that no one really see a viable opportunity there regardless especially considering what happened to Burrow coffee in Central Station a few years ago (I.E social disorder affecting business).

The Bay retail spots especially though I find challenging. Long, poorly lit hallways that don't quite get as much foot traffic as other CRUs do on the network.

Frankly, I'd be afraid for my safety if I opened up something there

 

[soupcrate]

Exactly. If we're thinking about subsidies, these should be leased at a highly discounted rate or even be free for a number o years. The spaces already exist, might as well have someone to maintain and generate some foot traffic (maybe even some slight improvement on ridership, in the short term, as it can improve the feeling of safety).

What kind of business did we have there? Was it the kind of business that goes well with the traffic we get in the station?
Was it useful for the community living/working close by?

Put out a market research, find what station users and area residents want and go offer businesses that match these demands a 5 years free use of space + 5 years discounted rate lease. Be a partner, not a landlord. It's a much smaller subsidy that can make a really positive impact in the whole area, not only the stations themselves.

The one thing I get really mad about in Edmonton is how passive our public agents are, in terms of solving problems. "We put some signs, leased some spafes, it didn't work, oh well... Too bad..." Instead of "Why didn't it work? What can we do to make it work?".

Councillor Paquette was talking about offering really cheap leases just to fill up the retail spots about a month ago. I hope this idea has legs.