How dangerous is riding in the GTA? | Page 3 | GTAMotorcycle.com

How dangerous is riding in the GTA?

mimico_polak said:
Cutting the fare by half is NOT the solution to getting more people to use transit. Having transit that is convenient is the solution. What difference does it make if it costs you $1.50 to travel on transit, but takes you 3hrs because you had to take a bus, subway, streetcar to get to your destination. Unless transit is convenient, and reaches your destination, doesn’tmatter how cheap it is because that extra $1.50 is more than enough to make up the time.

I’d love to take transit if I could…but car takes me 20min…and TTC takes me an hour. My 40min is worth more than $1.50.


Anyway that’s a major tangent…OP it’s not that bad if youkeep your wits and head about you. Re-gear is great I’m sure, but I’ve yet tofind something that I actually like there.
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Went to Daytona motorsports, on Steeles and Weston, picked up a Nitek helmet there
 
Roadghost said:
I commute every day from Orangeville to Mississauga. 410 is the most terrifying part of the trip. Mississauga isn't much fun either, but manageable if you have your wits about you. If you ride in rush hour, especially on a Thursday or Friday afternoon, it can be a real challenge to avoid the impatient, inconsiderate psychopaths who will cut you off without warning. Biggest hazards for me:

--Left turners at intersections and boulevards with centre turning lanes.

--Cars pulling out from the right (from commercial parking lots, small sidestreets, gas stations, etc.)

--Cars cutting into my lane without warning. Several cut across two lanes at a time and if you're not aware of this practice you won't live long.

--The abject fear of some ditz slamming into by rear end while texting. It has happened to my friends. Can put you in the hospital real fast. Never stop directly behind someone's bumper, stop sort of to the side.
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Thanks for the detailed response!

I've learned to predict trouble while driving a car, got to do that even more on a bike then.
 
DDean said:
I commuted from the Beach to downtown for 2 years. Put on about 10k km in and around the GTA. I've since moved to Vancouver and only now do I realize how challenging riding downtown TO was. The above poster estimated close calls every second time on the bike. That sounds right to me.

It's MUCH easier in Vancouver. Between the psychotic TO taxis and the crazy aggression on the roads in TO it's not a pleasant experience. Not that you shouldn't anywhere, but if you're not paying attention in TO you'll crash due to people cutting you off, running the red right into you when you're stopping for the yellow, turning left in front of you because they don't want to wait another light cycle. It's a nasty place to ride, but I thought it was fine when I was there. Only now do I realize how unnecessarily stressful it was
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don't forget about the lovely streetcar tracks
 
statsman said:
Believe it or not guys, when you talk about congestion and road rage and the rest, you are not talking about Toronto or the GTA.
You are talking about every major metropolitan area in the world.
It has been anywhere from 30 to 50 years since new expressways have been built or existing ones have been expanded.
Frustration and rage are the result.
Population and the number of cars continue to increase, but the facilities for them to use remain the same.
Add to this the stupidity of not improving the infrastructure as an inducement to get people to use public transit instead of the car.
Want people to get out of their cars and into the bus or subway, cut the fare by 50%.
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Toronto is way worse than anywhere else. Even the notoriously bad LA traffic is better than the **** traffic we have. I still remember when my friend moved to california and was amazed that their "rush hour" didnt involve parking the car on the highway. He had never driven in a city outside toronto and thought the constantly stopping traffic on a highway was normal. But, what can you expect when you have a city that is missing 2 highways, keeps removing lanes from the surface streets, and puts ****ing trains in the middle of the road.
 
I feel safer on a bike in the GTA than in a car. I know precisely where my vehicle is, I have better visibility, I am more alert and less distracted by passengers and the damn radio, I am far more nimble, I have space in my lane to move around in, I can more easily stay out of blind spots, I have more escape routes, and I can get ahead of other traffic more easily. Yes it's dangerous but with training, good gear, and constant focus you will be fine and have fun.

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The only reason I ride in the GTA is to leave it for someplace else.


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bobjohnson said:
Toronto is way worse than anywhere else
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You've never driven in Boston, have you?

Toronto is downright sane compared to the idiocy in that city, hands down.
 
-D- said:
I believe John Tory said it not long ago that we have to stop this 1970's policy of forcing car drivers to take the TTC.
We have more cars now and time to change.
It was Tory that recently got the stop lights to sync so they can create a better traffic flow.

So think about that, since the 70's/80's this was a government policy to shaft the people that were paying the bill.
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That's certainly true, but there were busy shafting the ridership just as badly. I used transit/bicycle until I was 26, so I paid my dues in that respect--and I lived in the burbs. I put up with the filthy buses, streetcars, subways and stations. The few bathrooms available for public use were the stuff of nightmares. Freezing in the winter, stifling in the summer. Hanging on to poles while the drivers lurched their vehicles about. Sick nearly once a month from "stomach flu", whether from stress or actual disease it's hard to say. Infrequent buses on major routes and good luck after the sun went down. Maybe the employees were desensitized by years in such a system but they seemed pretty indifferent to any concept of timely service. More like "THIS TRAIN IS GOING OUT OF SERVICE!" When my commute at the time (36km round trip) doubled in duration from 2 hours to 4 hours, thanks to that idiotic streetcar on Spadina (plus a bonus fare hike), it was the last straw. No price was too much to escape that foolishness.

I used the subway just recently due to my car being in the shop. Just a quick jump to from the garage to work and back. It was eerie, like stepping back in time. NOTHING had changed in 15 years, except the fare. Not sure whether of not I should feel angry towards Andy Byford, or sorry for him. To conclude: never going back. Never. I'd rather walk, which I did frequently anyway since if you missed the bus/subway/streetcar which never ran to schedule, it was another hour before the next ride would show up. At -20C.
 
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PrivatePilot said:
You've never driven in Boston, have you?

Toronto is downright sane compared to the idiocy in that city, hands down.
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Lol
When we were in Boston last month, I was amazed at the amount of honking going on! Crazy? Yes. But it seemed to flow well. Even the bridge that was jammed, we made it in 10 mins. Plus many of the aforementioned one way streets. They do seem to ease congestion imo.

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Flywheel said:
That's certainly true, but there were busy shafting the ridership just as badly. I used transit/bicycle until I was 26, so I paid my dues in that respect--and I lived in the burbs. I put up with the filthy buses, streetcars, subways and stations. The few bathrooms available for public use were the stuff of nightmares. Freezing in the winter, stifling in the summer. Hanging on to poles while the drivers lurched their vehicles about. Sick nearly once a month from "stomach flu", whether from stress or actual disease it's hard to say. Infrequent buses on major routes and good luck after the sun went down. Maybe the employees were desensitized by years in such a system but they seemed pretty indifferent to any concept of timely service. More like "THIS TRAIN IS GOING OUT OF SERVICE!" When my commute at the time (36km round trip) doubled in duration from 2 hours to 4 hours, thanks to that idiotic streetcar on Spadina (plus a bonus fare hike), it was the last straw. No price was too much to escape that foolishness. I used the subway just recently due to my car being in the shop. Just a quick jump to from the garage to work and back. It was eerie, like stepping back in time. NOTHING had changed in 15 years, except the fare. Not sure whether of not I should feel angry towards Andy Byford, or sorry for him. To conclude: never going back. Never. I'd rather walk, which I did frequently anyway since if you missed the bus/subway/streetcar which never ran to schedule, it was another hour before the next ride would show up. At -20C.
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That's part of the issue. "I've paid my dues" . . . therefore, you owe me or I'm entitled now, and I never will or should have to go back. The big issue for Mass transit is time. Transferring from one thing to another takes time. Once you get two or three transfers, that really adds up. I suppose it's all good for those who live and work within a short walking distance of the Subway to some extent. TTC turned my 12 minute (8 km) car/motorcycle commute into over an hour. Of course when the Exhibition was on, the car/motorcycle took over an hour as well; just from the mass stupidity of all that traffic. At one point, I switched to bicycle which took 20-30 minutes when I was in shape. A TTC bus trying to make me part of a tunnel wall, changed my mind about that.
 
Joe Bass said:
Lol When we were in Boston last month, I was amazed at the amount of honking going on! Crazy? Yes. But it seemed to flow well. Even the bridge that was jammed, we made it in 10 mins. Plus many of the aforementioned one way streets. They do seem to ease congestion imo. Sent from my custom Purple Joe Bass mobile on Tapatalk
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Try Manhattan. People honk all night long. I guess the residents must learn to live, and sleep, with all that noise going on.
 
To operate my scooter for one month costs 1/3 the price of a TTC Metropass. Much faster commute, easier & cheaper to park, and minimizes congestion. Scooters are viable transportation in many other parts of the world other than North America. People need to open their minds and be more flexible in their thinking.
 
Toronto was listed as one of the top 10 most dangerous cities in the world to drive in.

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PaisaMed said:
To operate my scooter for one month costs 1/3 the price of a TTC Metropass. Much faster commute, easier & cheaper to park, and minimizes congestion. Scooters are viable transportation in many other parts of the world other than North America. People need to open their minds and be more flexible in their thinking.
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Yes, pretty surprised that scooters are so unpopular here. Especially considering how little it costs to buy/drive them.
 
zheka130 said:
Yes, pretty surprised that scooters are so unpopular here. Especially considering how little it costs to buy/drive them.
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I don't think it's that they're unpopular in the sense of the word, more like impractical. Places in the world where they are commonplace typically have a 12 month riding season, here, not so much, so people don't consider them as vehicle replacements, just an added expense that sits idle 6 months of the year instead. In that scenario (where 2 wheeled transportation is very seasonal) it's more of a sport vs a pure transportation option, hence the lack of scooters vs motorcycles.
 
Living and working downtown would get a lot more then 6 months use of a scooter. Used to get about 10 months riding when I lived downtown. TTC the rest of the time for commuting. Still need a cage for out of town runs, but some ppl just rent as needed.
 
It's not that bad, I work all over the gta and have been commuting my bike for four years, and like everyone says expect that drivers can't see you, don't ride in blind spots and be aggressive. Don't give them a chance to run you over

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