-Vintage Canuck- Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 TransLink spent over $500,000 on faulty SkyTrain info screens, says CTF http://theprov.in/KfTewM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoreanHockeyFan Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Is the Bus Schedules page on the Translink website working for anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronthecivil Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Is the Bus Schedules page on the Translink website working for anyone? What bugs me more is their route planner is nutty - it would tell you to wait for a bus to get somewhere you can walk in five minutes. They really need to add a "what if I am willing to walk 15 minutes instead to get somewhere instead of waiting 15 minutes just to get on a bus" option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denguin Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 What bugs me more is their route planner is nutty - it would tell you to wait for a bus to get somewhere you can walk in five minutes. They really need to add a "what if I am willing to walk 15 minutes instead to get somewhere instead of waiting 15 minutes just to get on a bus" option. Why are you using the route planner in the first place then? If you're looking on their site, obviously you are planning to take the bus, so it's going to give you a bus route... Makes perfect sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenMittons Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Just thought I'd mention that yesterday on the 99 B-Line cops were checking tickets. Maybe they're trying to crack down on fare evaders because this is the first time in years I've had this happen on a bus. So yeah, pay your fares! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opmac Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Just thought I'd mention that yesterday on the 99 B-Line cops were checking tickets. Maybe they're trying to crack down on fare evaders because this is the first time in years I've had this happen on a bus. So yeah, pay your fares! A few months ago I had my fare checked on the #20 at Broadway and Commercial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbo Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Why are you using the route planner in the first place then? If you're looking on their site, obviously you are planning to take the bus, so it's going to give you a bus route... Makes perfect sense to me. Haha. No but seriously, if you need to make a connection that involves a 5 minute walk, their trip planner will sooner suggest 3 buses and take you on a 15km detour instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duodenum Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Haha. No but seriously, if you need to make a connection that involves a 5 minute walk, their trip planner will sooner suggest 3 buses and take you on a 15km detour instead. Just change the setting to "allow more walking". It's near the bottom of the trip planner page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoreanHockeyFan Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Just thought I'd mention that yesterday on the 99 B-Line cops were checking tickets. Maybe they're trying to crack down on fare evaders because this is the first time in years I've had this happen on a bus. So yeah, pay your fares! They always do, I've gotten checked for my fare (U-Pass) and even my Student Card close to ten times during the school year. And there's always police checking during non-rush hours at SkyTrain stations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahzdeen Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 They always do, I've gotten checked for my fare (U-Pass) and even my Student Card close to ten times during the school year. And there's always police checking during non-rush hours at SkyTrain stations. I've noticed them checking at Graville station during rush hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KittenMittons Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 They always do, I've gotten checked for my fare (U-Pass) and even my Student Card close to ten times during the school year. And there's always police checking during non-rush hours at SkyTrain stations. Oh yeah they definitely check at skytrain stations, but I rarely, if ever, see them on B-Lines. Maybe i've just been lucky! Even though I always have my upass on me, I still get nervous around those guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronthecivil Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Why are you using the route planner in the first place then? If you're looking on their site, obviously you are planning to take the bus, so it's going to give you a bus route... Makes perfect sense to me. One end of the trip I know the transit lines. The other end I don't. If it doesn't give me a proper route on the one end I know then how's my confidence on the other going to be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opmac Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Vancouver’s summer streetcar railway shuts down for lack of funds Vancouver’s inner city railway will not be running this Canada Day. Downtown Historic Railway officials said Thursday the city of Vancouver has ceased funding the service this summer. Railway president Dale Laird said the city’s budgeting decision was reached in April, but the announcement is only coming out now because people are used to seeing the historic cars on July 1. “It’s a shame. I get emails from all over the world from people wanting to take a ride,” he said. Laird complained that there seems to be money at City Hall but only for the right projects. “So much money has been spent on the bike lanes and there’s nothing to keep the train running. What about people who like to go by streetcar?” he said. The railway was $100,000 short of the money needed to keep it running. Components needed safety tests and preventive maintenance was required to get the most out of the 100-year-old parts. “It’s not fair to run an old streetcar into the ground. They are tough but they have their limits,” said Laird. The 1.2-km line runs from Granville Island to Olympic Station on the Canada Line. It ran on summer weekends and holidays for 11 out of the last 15 years. The cost was $2 per trip for the electrically-driven passenger cars. Laird hasn’t given up hope for the future, but he said funding will have to be found. The railway’s website is trams.bc.ca. Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/Vancouver+summer+streetcar+railway+shuts+down+lack+funds/6856717/story.html#ixzz1z9cBOV7b Shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opmac Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 New hybrid buses bound for Metro Vancouver streets METRO VANCOUVER -- TransLink has signed a $26-million contract to replace older buses in two municipalities with at least 42 diesel-electric hybrid vehicles within a year, spokesman Drew Snider said Thursday. Destined for Richmond and West Vancouver, the new buses have a complex but efficient engine, he said, adding the hybrid vehicles would counter high fuel costs as well as produce fewer carbon emissions. The new vehicles will replace aging buses, the majority of which are diesel-powered and date back to the mid- to late 1990s. Each one has clocked roughly one million kilometres, Snider said. “Replacing these buses ensures that our system stays in a state of good repair,” he said. “That’s always the number 1 priority of a transportation network, to be sure that what we’ve got is running properly.” The new hybrids use a regenerative braking system, which transfers braking energy to the battery, powering it in a circulatory process. “It’s great for the stop-and-go city traffic,” Snider said, also pointing out the relative quiet of the buses. “It’s got the diesel engine for the quick pickup and the electric [propulsion system] for the cruising.” The new buses are 90 per cent funded by the federal gas tax, with the remainder coming from TransLink’s capital expenditures budget, Snider said. The federal gas tax revenue fund was created by the Canadian Urban Transit Association and the federal government in 2005, with $921 million committed to TransLink to 2014. “Any time you see buses that are painted up in the blue and grey ... that’s been paid for out of this fund,” Snider said. “So any time people ask why are we paying this gas tax, there it is right there on the roads. It’s there to keep the transit system going and keep congestion down.” The contract with Winnipeg-based bus manufacturer New Flyer Industries could ultimately include as many as 87 buses, some of which will be contracted out to West Vancouver’s Blue Bus service. Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/cars/hybrid+buses+bound+Metro+Vancouver+streets/6959338/story.html#ixzz21BGpXxR7 TransLink to spend $28m on bus deal Bus manufacturer New Flyer Industries Inc. says it has secured a $28-million contract to provide buses for Vancouver's TransLink with the possibility of future orders as the transit provider works to accommodate an influx of ridership. Winnipeg-based New Flyer said Wednesday it has received an initial order of 42 buses from Vancouver's South Coast B.C. Transportation and the contract provides for up to 87 buses. The buses, which will be delivered to operators West Vancouver Transit and Richmond Tran-sit, will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2012 and first half of 2013. "TransLink has done an out-standing job of promoting and growing transit services for the residents of Metro Vancouver," said Paul Soubry, New Flyer's president and chief executive officer. "TransLink and New Flyer have a long working relationship, with over 70 per cent of TransLink's fleet consisting of New Flyer buses. This is our first order from Vancouver since 2008, and we are extremely proud to once again be selected to support TransLink." New Flyer says the buses ordered have more forward-facing seats, bright interior LED lighting and low interior noise levels. New Flyer has delivered more than 31,000 heavy-duty transit buses in Canada and the U.S. The company employs some 2,200 people at three manufacturing facilities- Winnipeg, along with St. Cloud and Crookston, Minnesota - as well as several parts-fabrication facilities across North America. Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/TransLink+spend+deal/6957121/story.html#ixzz21BKlUNpz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronthecivil Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Any of those buses running express to White Rock/South Surrey from the North Surrey skytrains? Wake me up when do. P.S. Only six months until the tolls come in and the inevitable war vs. the south commences! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Vintage Canuck- Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 SkyTrain’s first fare gate unveiled at Marine Drive Station: For the first time since SkyTrain began operating in 1986, an actual fare gate appeared Monday on the Lower Mainland rapid transit system. The metal and plastic gate was unveiled at the Canada Line’s Marine Drive Station by provincial Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom, Conservative MP Wai Young [Vancouver South] and TransLink chief operating officer Doug Kelsey, the former longtime head of the transportation authority’s rapid transit division. The fare gates are part of a $170-million project funded by the province, the federal government and TransLink. Preliminary work began on the fare gate project in 2011 but the system is not supposed to be operational until 2013. It will work in conjunction with the Compass card, a “smart” card that the system will read to allow entry and charge fares. Critics have long complained about the proof-of-payment system on SkyTrain, which depends on the honesty of riders and is enforced by transit police that can hand out $173 fines to cheaters. Until recently, those fines went to provincial coffers and there was little pursuit of those who failed to pay the fines. Fines are now going to TransLink, which intends to go after the money. Fare gates are still likely to be beaten by persistent cheaters, as happens on many other systems. Kelsey admitted Monday there will continue to be cheating even with fare gates. “People will still find ways to compromise the system,” he said. “To go to zero [fare evasion], no.” But fare gates provide a measure of security and satisfaction to riders by forcing people who normally strolled onto SkyTrain to pay for their ride. The big concern is whether the extra revenue will pay for the cost of the gates’ upkeep. TransLink did audits in 2004 and 2008 that showed annual losses to fare evasion on the rapid transit system were between $5 million and $9 million. But another TransLink report from 2005 showed that yearly operations and installation costs for the system amortized over 20 years would be $30 million annually. And eventually, the entire system would have to be replaced. Kelsey was optimistic about the benefits of the system. “We anticipate we’ll save somewhere between $7 million and $10 million a year,” he said. “It’s really about public trust. We’re optimistic this will pay for itself.” Because of design issues, two of the busiest stations on the line — Metrotown in Burnaby and Main Street in Vancouver — will not have the fare gates when the system is completed next year. Those two stations will require extensive renovations first. NDP Transportation critic Harry Bains (Surrey-Newton) remains skeptical about the government’s rationale. “No one knows when they will be completed,” he said. “That does not make sense. “I think there’s some budgetary issues,” added Bains. There will be fare gates on the $1.4-billion Evergreen Line SkyTrain extension when it is completed in 2016 but the cost is outside the $170 million of the existing fare gate/smart card project and the line’s stated cost. “Those are being negotiated right now between the province and TransLink,” said Kelsey. Also not being released is the cost of the new Lincoln Station station on the Evergreen Line to Coquitlam through Port Moody. The station, which will be located at Lincoln Avenue and Pinetree Way, is being built as a public-private partnership between the City of Coquitlam and the owners of the Coquitlam Centre Mall, with help from the federal government’s P3 Canada fund. The federal fund is donating up to $7 million for the station but a final cost can’t be released because it is part of the propriety information of the different bidders on the Evergreen project. When the City of Vancouver added a station to the Canada Line at the Olympic Village, the cost was in excess of $20 million. Initial plans for Evergreen did not have the rapid transit line stopping at the Coquitlam mall on the way to its terminus at Coquitlam Town Centre. The line is scheduled to be completed in mid-2016. http://www.theprovince.com/news/SkyTrain+first+fare+gate+unveiled/7083378/story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I♥Wellwood Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 (edited) ^ good. I hate how people dont pay for their skytrain tickets. We need to improve our transit.. not downgrade it by not paying for it Edited August 14, 2012 by I♥Wellwood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opmac Posted August 14, 2012 Share Posted August 14, 2012 SkyTrain’s first fare gate unveiled at Marine Drive Station: http://www.theprovin..._medium=twitter Hmm, so is the Lincoln Station going to be inside the Coquitlam Centre parking lot? And some pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opmac Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Here's some information on how the Compass Card will work on the bus: Counting exact change or jamming a crumpled bus ticket into a card reader — banes of the busy bus passenger’s life — are set to become faded memories this spring when the new electronic fare card system launches. Instead, it will take less than a second for riders to validate Compass cards after tapping them against card readers set to roll out the same time as SkyTrain fare gates, according to the project’s implementation manager Norm Fraser. But the purportedly swift-acting Compass card system has at least one sluggish drawback — passengers must also swipe the card to get off the bus. “Initially, there will be growing pains,” Fraser admitted while previewing the new technology for 24 hours. Mobile validator devices will automatically deduct a three-zone fare from the stored-value cards when passengers get on the bus. Riders must then line up behind other departing passengers to swipe when exiting to receive money back if they travel fewer than three zones. This means validators subtract $5 from the cards when single-zone riders get on the bus, but will reimburse them $2.50 when they get off. If someone exits without swiping, they pay the full three-zone fare. But Fraser said validators can handle 30 to 35 swipes a minute, which should keep congestion to a minimum as people leave. Despite the cards’ Big Brother undertone — they come complete with microchips and antennae so they can be reloaded with money and track passengers’ movements through the system — Fraser said passengers and taxpayers will benefit greatly. TransLink will be able to determine when and where people are getting on and off buses as they swipe, allowing the transit authority to adjust services. Fraser, a former bus driver himself, said drivers still have the final say about who gets on the bus. “Nothing from this project takes discretion away from our drivers. They’re still the captains of their ship.” http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/local/2012/09/10/20185856.html I imagine this being a mess on the express routes and major transfer points when you have 20 some people getting off at once. Still wondering how the Compass will work for U-Pass and monthly pass holders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 UPass will be re-designed and have the Compass embedded in their UBC IDs, IIRC. In any case, 30-35 a minute is still a joke and a major choke point for any of the major routes, especially while school is in session (ie. 99, 44, 43, 480, etc) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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