Metrolinx has been actively looking for many years for a vendor to supply connectivity and IT support for Wi-Fi service on trains and buses. A Toronto Star report reveals a company has come forward to test the service on GO's system. Metrolinx has not identified which trains will be part of the testing, or which buses.
Since Barrie was the first corridor to pilot the Quiet Zone, I am pretty sure they'll be part of the Wi-Fi testing.
I have enough data with my plan that this news does not excite me, but I do know that a lot of passengers have requested Wi-Fi connectivity. I imagine this news will make a lot of people happy. But, don't pull out the Consumers Distributing catalogue just yet. Testing does not mean it'll happen!
Most of my non-GO colleagues are shocked to learn that we don't already have wifi on the trains. I think this move is about 5 years later than it should have been but progress is progress.
ReplyDeleteMind you, my experience with free public wifi has not been great. You get a few passengers simultaneously streaming Netflix and suddenly even trying to load a simple web page is nearly impossible. Half the time I switch back to my cell data.
Well, that's six fewer buses than the WiFi experiment of 2015, which turned out to be, if I may quote Jimmy Carter, an "incomplete success".
ReplyDeleteVIA Rail was one of the first railways in North America to have onboard WiFi. Surprised it's taken GO this long. WiFi has already been implemented on commuter systems around the world such as the MBTA in Boston.
ReplyDeleteIf people can afford 20$ a day to commute, don't they have data plans?
ReplyDeleteThat's a really great point, Anon. But one could just as easily argue that since we're paying $20/day, isn't free wifi the very least we should expect?
ReplyDeleteI'm with @G. And as for being able to "afford" $20/day to commute, I think that term should be used VERY loosely. If you live somewhere that requires a commute from the 905/289 to downtown Toronto to get to your job, and GO is your only option (perhaps you can't afford a car!) then it's not about being able to afford it - it's about having no other way to get to work.
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