GO Transit struggling to meet on-time targets

Thestar.com
February 14, 2019
Ben Spurr

GO Transit has failed to meet the on-time performance target for its network in each of the past six months, according to figures provided by Metrolinx, the provincial agency that oversees the regional rail service.

GO aims to have 94 per cent of its trains arrive within five minutes of their scheduled time. But in the six months between August and January, the closest it came was in December, when 93.9 per cent of trains across its seven rail corridors hit the target.

Although GO Transit hasn’t met its on-time performance target in each of the past six months, rider Michael McHugh says he’s generally pleased with the service on the Lakeshore East line. “The performance is significantly better than 10 years ago,” he said.

In other months, the agency didn’t fare nearly as well. Between August and November, on-time performance hovered between 90.5 and 91.3 per cent, while preliminary data show just 89.6 per cent of trips were on time in January.

Those numbers exclude delays caused by factors Metrolinx considers out of its control, such as extreme weather, police investigations, track fatalities or increased traffic on rail corridors GO shares with freight and passenger operators.

Riders experience those delays just as keenly as those within Metrolinx’s control however, and if they’re factored in, GO’s on-time performance was significantly worse in the past six months, ranging from a low point of 86.3 per cent across the network in September, to a high of 92.2 per cent in December.

In a statement, Metrolinx chief operating officer Greg Percy acknowledged the agency isn’t meeting expectations.

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“We know our customers have been disappointed with our recent on time performance, and quite frankly, so are we,” he said.

Although the recent blast of wintry weather has affected GO service, on-time performance was actually lowest in warmer months, falling below 87 per cent in both August and September.

While frigid conditions can cause delays such as when ice jams up switches, hot weather presents its own set of problems. GO often issues slow orders for its trains during heat waves because tracks can warp when the temperature exceeds 30 C, a phenomenon known as “sun kinks.”

Metrolinx’s numbers show some lines are harder hit by delays than others. Trains on the Lakeshore West line, which is the busiest on the network, were on time for an average of 89 per cent of trips over the six-month period.

The best performing line was Richmond Hill, which is GO’s least-used corridor and had a monthly average of 95 per cent on-time trips. The worst performing was Lakeshore East, which had an average of 85.5 per cent. Those numbers include delays Metrolinx considers beyond its control.

While noting many causes of delays are out of Metrolinx’s hands, “regardless of the reason, we know we can do better for our customers,” Percy said.

“This is a top priority for Metrolinx and we have teams from every part of our business working on addressing these concerns.”

Top causes of delays that the agency considers within its control are problems like failing signals and switches, and construction it’s performing to upgrade the GO network.

To tackle delays, Metrolinx has implemented an “on-time performance improvement program” that Percy said “includes heavily investing in our rail infrastructure.” The agency has also set an ambitious “stretch target” of 95 per cent on-time performance in 2019.

Work the agency is doing to achieve that goal includes employing crews to “continuously” inspect and replace switches.

Misfiring train doors, which can stop service if they’re unable to properly close, are also being addressed through motor upgrades, and Metrolinx has a communications campaign to remind riders not to pull train alarms or emergency brakes unless they absolutely need to.

The recent delays have come as GO has ramped up service and attracted more riders. In the last quarter of 2018, GO completed 18 per cent more train trips than the same period the year before, and ridership was up seven per cent.

The rail network carries almost 60 million riders a year, and GO operates nearly 1,900 train trips every week day.

A Metrolinx spokesperson said the agency doesn’t believe having to manage more trips and passengers has contributed to the poor performance.

Since 2012, GO has had a policy that says if a train is late by 15 minutes or more, the agency will credit customers what they paid for the trip. Between August and January, the agency received more than 122,400 claims under the policy, and paid out roughly $703,000 in credits.

As she exited her train at Union Station Wednesday, Patricia Lackie, 58, said she would give GO a passing grade for its on-time performance, even though it falls short on occasion.

She’s been riding what’s now the Kitchener line for 23 years, since it only went as far as Georgetown, and said it’s “gotten a lot busier” over the years.

In the past six months, the Kitchener line has averaged an on-time performance of 85.7 per cent.

Even though GO consistently misses its own targets for the corridor, “I look at it as still being better than the TTC,” Lackie said.

Lackie has noticed recent problems however, and wasn’t letting GO off the hook for some major delays she encountered last month.

“It took me four hours to get to work two weeks ago,” she said.

Her message to GO: “In this day and age they need to be better,” Lackie said. “They need to add more trains and better communication.”

Not everyone is disappointed with GO service.

When shown the delay numbers while waiting for his train from Ajax to Union, Michael McHugh, 58, said he was surprised.

“The performance is significantly better than 10 years ago,” he said.

McHugh has been riding the Lakeshore East line for more than 20 years and using GO services since the 1970s.

“It’s heading in the right direction,” he said. “There has been some delays but they don’t seem to be as frequent.”

Kyle Scott, 32, provided some perspective as a rider who has used both the Milton and Lakeshore West lines.

“Near the end of my time using the Milton line, there seem to be quite a few delays, and other people that take it echo that point still,” he said.

Milton averaged an on-time performance of 86.2 per cent over six months.

Scott now frequently uses the Lakeshore West route, which performed better.

“The majority of the time things run smoothly,” he said.