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Is it the public purse? Or is it unions? Or maybe something down the chain? The TTC/Subway in Toronto has 'change collectors' - people at every station who do

Is it the public purse? Or is it unions? Or maybe something down the chain? The TTC/Subway in Toronto has 'change collectors' - people at every station who do change, they earn over $100K if they work a lot of overtime. There are effectively no automatic change booths at the stations, and no automated way to just 'buy a token and get on'. Can you imagine why it's so inefficient? Why they can't just get machines for that? My cousin is senior at a contracting agency that's building out the new stations - everyone from top to bottom is charging huge for government work. CGI, a Canadian consulting firm billed the US Gov. more than a $ 1 Billion for healthcare.gov - something that Google had to 'come in and fix'. Governments are much bigger and more powerful than ever before, individual litigation is on the rise, 'special rights and concerns' are at the forefront, and there are a million legal tangles to any major project. Many of these things, on their own are 'good things', but on the whole, it really creates a tangle. The reason very little gets done is that we are caught up in our own efficient bureaucracies, public and private.

SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago
Your comment reminds me of a very recent hilarity in Austin: the city has set aside $100k to put up a 10 foot fence to prevent crime in a popular shady alleyway: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/01/city-hopes-10-foot-fence-will-deter-crime-on-red-river/ https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/01/city-hopes-10-... It has all the hallmarks of the things you bring up in your comment. Contractor was going to build it, but fire department demanded a special lock in case of emergency, screwdriver for a nail problem, etc.
- hopler 8y ago
  How can you run a fire department and think you need or even have any use for a special key for every fence in the city, when you already have master bolt cutters.
JacobJans 8y ago
> Why they can't just get machines for that? That's actually what they do in Toronto now. It's all "Presto Card" automated.
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  No, you cannot 'just buy' a 'presto card'. Astonishingly, the 'change collectors', who only sell tokens don't sell Presto cards. Yet another mind-blowing bit of incompetence. In Montreal, not only can you buy temporary cards (with money or visa), but you can also put rides on them in a fully automated way. I will admit that the situation in Toronto may be temporary, but it's still utterly ridiculous.
  - sonnyblarney 8y ago
    I'd encourage anyone down-voting this to suggest why the TTC Subway 'change collectors' who sell tokens to enter the subway (essentially their only function) - do not also sell 'presto cards'. And why you have to line up, pay, enter the station, and buy 'presto card' passes ... from the newstand in most cases ? ... It's utter dysfunction. [1] http://getpres.to/en/gateway-newstands/ http://getpres.to/en/gateway-newstands/
  - JacobJans 8y ago
    Actually, you can now buy a Presto Card from machines. There are no more change collectors! And there are absolutely no more tokens. They just transitioned.

SOLAR_FIELDS 8y ago

Your comment reminds me of a very recent hilarity in Austin: the city has set aside $100k to put up a 10 foot fence to prevent crime in a popular shady alleyway: https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/01/city-hopes-10-foot-fence-will-deter-crime-on-red-river/ https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/01/city-hopes-10-... It has all the hallmarks of the things you bring up in your comment. Contractor was going to build it, but fire department demanded a special lock in case of emergency, screwdriver for a nail problem, etc.

hopler 8y ago
How can you run a fire department and think you need or even have any use for a special key for every fence in the city, when you already have master bolt cutters.

JacobJans 8y ago

> Why they can't just get machines for that? That's actually what they do in Toronto now. It's all "Presto Card" automated.

sonnyblarney 8y ago
No, you cannot 'just buy' a 'presto card'. Astonishingly, the 'change collectors', who only sell tokens don't sell Presto cards. Yet another mind-blowing bit of incompetence. In Montreal, not only can you buy temporary cards (with money or visa), but you can also put rides on them in a fully automated way. I will admit that the situation in Toronto may be temporary, but it's still utterly ridiculous.
- sonnyblarney 8y ago
  I'd encourage anyone down-voting this to suggest why the TTC Subway 'change collectors' who sell tokens to enter the subway (essentially their only function) - do not also sell 'presto cards'. And why you have to line up, pay, enter the station, and buy 'presto card' passes ... from the newstand in most cases ? ... It's utter dysfunction. [1] http://getpres.to/en/gateway-newstands/ http://getpres.to/en/gateway-newstands/
- JacobJans 8y ago
  Actually, you can now buy a Presto Card from machines. There are no more change collectors! And there are absolutely no more tokens. They just transitioned.