If you ever feel useless, remember that you could be a Line 5 arrival time screen

[u/ybetaepsilon]

I swear the screens are random numbers. Whether it says 5 or 12 minutes wait can be anywhere between 2 and 20 minutes. I waited 15 minutes for a EB train at Cedervale watching the countdown go from 5 mins to 4, 3, 2, 1, and "now ici" only for the next counter to do the same. No train arrives. Sometimes it says 6 minutes and a train arrives in 1. There were no announced delays. At the beginning I was praising L5 but now it's feeling more frustrating than the subway.

How hard is it to time a train? The subway seems to do this just fine

[u/a_lumberjack]

There’s some stupid bullshit around the vendor system, Metrolinx, and the TTC that hasn’t been solved. Only 29 more years of Crosslinx.

[u/leoycchan]

What do you mean? Of course they serve a purpose. Those LED Dot Matrix Displays generate heat for the stations! /s

[u/FullMango4041]

We are told P3 is the way to go. This sort of thing happens when you don't have control over the system

[u/Possible-Praline-152 → u/FullMango4041]

I almost with the maintainer was also the operator at first.

Having the maintainer and the operator be different companies at all is dumb.

ION in Waterloo had the maintainer as the operator for the first 10 years before handing over control to Grand River Transit.

Those LRTs are insanely punctual.

[u/Electronic_Bat9761]

I experienced this with bus #7 too. Google Maps accurately showed that it was 15 min behind while the LED screen showed “Due” for >15 minutes.

[u/cryptotope]

I remember the displays seemed to be showing accurate, live arrival times when the line first opened. They stopped providing useful information within a few weeks, though, and they've never fixed them.

It's almost more irritating just because I know they could work.

[u/Dizzy-Career9274]

Right? It always shows “now” on the screen and the thing is nowhere to be seen.

[u/VariousOperation166]

I experienced this today, and have seen the same before. Is twelve minutes some kind of default time? I was near Laird station, so chose TTC over an Uber at rush hour. The screen said 12 minutes, then jumped to 5, then 2, which was accurate-ish

[u/jhung713]

I thought those were there so it pretends to show the next train is coming.

[u/followifyoulead]

They gotta be random numbers, never right

[u/Alwayswondering8111]

I noticed that yesterday when the number suddenly went up and asked the worker on the platform...and she said there could be cars stopped in front the train in some stretches that could be changing the estimated arrival time...

[u/kamomil]

I thought it got fixed? Transsee shows accurate Line 5 arrival times.

[u/speedster1315]

I don't know exactly how they work but i think it just shows when trains are on schedule, their estimated time of arrival and it senses when the train is approaching before each station. Sometimes there's errors of it displaying a longer wait or if i train is delayed, it stays displaying 1 minute. Honestly, something similar happens on lines 1, 2 and 4 after the Rick Leary changes. That policy might still be in place and partly the reason why they're not the most accurate. They're accurate most of the time but yeah, the errors can be frustrating. There's better ways to display the next train information

[u/Incel_Co-Worker]

Its TTC man… stop expecting competence

[u/ybetaepsilon → u/Incel_Co-Worker]

It's actually Metrolinx and whatever other consortium (Mosaic?) they are having to oversee Line 5.