Things I've changed my mind about - LCD Screens, Fare Gates, Integrated Transfers
I've been studying and following transport for a long time - and some of my opinions have changed a lot!
One of the most important things I think anyone can do when they spend a lot of time talking about any topic is constantly reassess their views. I like to consider myself a person of science, and of course a fundamental principle in science is that when new information becomes available, things should change.
Now, since so much of my writing and my videos on YouTube are about my opinions on difficult-to-quantify issues in transit, I think it’s really valuable to discuss where my opinions have changed, so, let’s do it! I imagine this may be a running series in the future, but that’s to be determined!
The first thing I have definitely changed my mind about is in-vehicle and in-station LCD screens.
One of the things I’d argue I have gotten the most pushback on over the years is my slight obsession with LCD screens for digital wayfinding in stations and at stops. To be fair, my rationale for liking LCD wayfinding was a trip to Japan and South Korea where it is very common and often also very well implemented (London and Paris also have excellent use).
That said, LCD wayfinding can potentially have some really big problems. The first big one I can think of is that LCD wayfinding opens up a lot more potential for implementation issues. This is really well-evidenced on Toronto’s buses, where we’ve had LCD screens for over a year and it wasn’t until recently that a reasonable design for the screen was even tested. The vast majority of buses with the screens still have a really awkward design that might actually be a step backwards as I mentioned in a previous post.
The fact that this would be an issue for the TTC, an organization for which buses are the bread and butter should raise eyebrows, and the LCD screens provided in subway trains for over a decade still play a mostly unchanged and not helpful slideshow. The TTC is also a pretty big transit agency, so this is a bit concerning: If an agency had fewer resources than the TTC it could lead to even worse outcomes. The additional capabilities of LCD0style screens probably also mean additional responsibility and designs that need to be implemented.
The other big issue with LCDs is that they really appear to be more fragile and potentially failure prone (even with tougher models) than regular LED dot screens. This means that just as with design, there is a potential upside but probably more upfront investment, and more careful upkeep is needed.
All in all, I still think LCD screens have a ton of value, but I am less entirely enthusiastic about them these days than I have been in the past. Nice LCD displays can provide a lot of value, but in some cases like low use stations or where resources are slim, they might not actually provide the best experience for users, especially since a dead LCD is a lot worse than a single dead LED dot on an alternative display. And LED dot displays have gotten a lot better!
The second thing I’ve changed my feelings about is how I feel about faregates.
I used to feel that faregates were something that any serious high-capacity transit system should have, again thanks in part to experiences in places like Japan, but also London and New York. That said, my opinion on this has definitely shifted — and for a couple of reasons.
The first big thing that has influenced my thinking is issues faced with the cost of building transit. To be fair, bringing cost into consideration has definitely changed my view on a lot of different things, which I will address in the future. There is a real case to be made that having fare gates is pricey — for one, you need the physical infrastructure of the gates, and you also need to maintain them, and in many cases the design of a station needs to be larger to provide circulation space before and after faregates as well as a space of adequate width to accommodate them, which can especially make underground stations more expensive. Seeing the simple underground stations of the Copenhagen Metro, which just have tap points for cards, it’s pretty attractive to consider this option. I have mentioned in the past that gates can be a good way of forcing agencies to put fare payment in an obvious location so it’s hard to forget, but clearly that’s not optimal in the first place and only really a band aid.
The simplicity offered by not having to have fare gates is really nice too: it’s more accessible to not have to deal with gates, including for families, those with mobility issues, and anyone carrying a lot of stuff such as travellers. Not having gates also desegregates station space, allowing for more natural use of a transport facility. The simplicity of proof-of-payment systems are especially nice in transit-oriented or -friendly societies such as German-speaking nations where many people have monthly passes (which are usually really affordable by North American standards) and can simply walk right into stations. This also helps a LOT for making older stations accessible, since there does not need to be separate elevators to the intermediate fare payment levels which inevitably exist at so many stations which have gates. Not having gates to interface with also makes digitally-enabled ticketing — which still does not exist in a shockingly large number of cities — much easier.
Of course, without gates, fare checks are much more important, but that’s probably okay especially in a world where having more official transit agency presence in a system is a helpful thing. As systems become more complicated, accessibility becomes a bigger concern, and customer centricity becomes a bigger focus, having representatives of a transit agency in the system is helpful.
I think what’s interesting is that faregates ultimately is just another case of the tradeoff between service and infrastructure. It can be easy to be attracted to faregates because they add a certain element to a transit system that iconic systems have, and because sometimes technology for technologies sake can feel nice. But as transit increasingly is seen as a public utility, it probably also makes less sense. If customer service is the number one priority in a transport system and gateless facilities can help improve that, then it may be an even better idea than it initially appears.
The last thing I’ll discuss changing my mind about are integrated transfers with grade separation.
One fairly unique element of Toronto’s transit system that often gets a lot of attention from local transit enthusiasts are the free-body transfers: this refers to the ability to transfer between multiple vehicles in a station within the fare paid zone, essentially eliminating the need to go through fare gates or having to pay when boarding a bus or tram. At the same time, unlike a lot of transit systems out there, it is seen as unacceptable to have a passenger cross a bus or tram roadway within a terminal (except for a few unusual cases), which means passengers get full grade separation from vehicles within stations (odd to think of grade separation in the context of passengers isn’t it?). This should be a really good thing, right? Especially given my evolving feelings about faregates…
The first issue I have really comes straight out of that last point: free body transfers matter a lot less when you don’t have faregates (though Toronto first started using them when it had turnstiles, which can be more annoying to use than faregates). Even modern faregates aren’t nearly as annoying thanks to fairly fast tap card opening, larger sizes, and the ability to have easy automatically-recognized timed transfers.
Now, free-body makes sense for some facilities, but for others where you have a gate line right next to the bus facility, it feels… unnecessary. Not only is the gate line not really stopping fare evaders, but since everyone has to go through it, it may well also mean a longer than necessary walk every time you need to use the station. It also restricts the design of stations, making open plazas where lots of people can easily congregate whether they are waiting for friends, the bus, or a ride harder to implement, especially at smaller stations and where you want to avoid intermediate levels. A good example of where the problems with this approach make themselves obvious is Finch Station in Northern Toronto. Finch is a very busy bus terminal and the TTC does not want to allow people to walk across the bus driveway (the orange dots), but it’s totally ok with people crossing the bus driveways that connect the terminal to Finch Ave E and Bishop Ave where almost as much traffic is present. This means that if you want to get a bus at Finch (or just to wait in the nicer bus terminal) you need to go down a level and up again, especially unpleasant if you have a mobility impairment, or if you’re carrying a big object!
Of course, my point here is not necessarily that free body transfer don’t ever make sense, but clearly, they can create problems, especially at less busy locations where they add cost and complexity in engineering (arguably to make things a little more uniform for passengers). General policies are good, but they should adapt to local contexts — for efficiency, because passengers can deal with it without issue with high-quality wayfinding, and because a one-size-fits-all approach rarely fits all very well.
Anyways, that’s my first go on some topics I’ve changed my mind about, make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss future editions. And as always, when new information becomes available — reconsider your positions!
Not a fan of fare gates, maybe because I grew up without them and know from decades of experience that you can run transit just fine without them. They need a _ton_ of space in station concourses, they slow down everything down, they are a nightmare for people with children, baggage, strollers or bikes. Or wheelchairs. Let's get just get rid of them.
Bart-Muni along market is probably the most ridiculous non-integration I've seen. Both high use, highly transfered station that you have to escalator to grade (while watching the other mode pass by the escalator, back into fare area, and the back down to the other station that you've already passed.