MikeGillis58 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 2 yes I said 2 ticket stations at Lansdowne - WTF is up with that? If those two ticket machines break down, that means your ride is free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 There were HUNDREDS of people on Lansdowne and Aberdeen Station platforms? Wow, these were suppose to be the less busier stations in Richmond. The line is definitely underbuilt, and more and more it seems that they really did grossly underestimate ridership. How many years do you give it before a rebuild becomes necessary? 10 years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirejoe Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) You were warned about the bus changes five years ago, it should come as no surprise. South of Fraser express buses like the 351 are massive money bleeders for Translink, some of the worst revenue generating bus routes in the region. Fare revenues only recover 20% of the cost it takes to operate buses like the 351 (the rest is subsidized), compared to the Vancouver proper average of 60% and the region-wide average of 48%. South of Fraser buses are being re-routed to Bridgeport to reduce that subsidy, and to free up money to operate the Canada Line. Translink is about to enter a $450-million annual deficit here if it continues with its expansion plans, it needs to make some hard choices. It needs about $150-million more per year just to maintain existing transit service levels. The problem we may see now on September 7th is a massive backlog on the Canada Line with all those bus riders being transplanted and transferred into the new train line. A lot more people are riding the Canada Line today than originally expected. Isn't that good? Isn't higher ridership going to equal more income from the line? And, I have made no effort to look, but do you know what the figures they were projecting for ridership? Edited August 23, 2009 by sirejoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Richmond has been underestimated for transit for decades. If Translink was smart they'd keep the 98B-line as a backup for the inevitable breakdowns, and screw ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) How many years do you give it before a rebuild becomes necessary? 10 years? 15-25years. At this point, they just need more trains in the system. First, they will add 20 or so trains to the system. And then eventually, they'll add a third car (the C-cars) to all 40 two-car trains....adding a third-car will require platforms to be extended to 50-metres. Ridership for the past 5 days has averaged a little over 80,000/day, and that's without the bus integration! Granted, a lot are still transit tourists but I think that'll only be marginal decrease once the novelty of the system ends. I mean, before the Canada Line opened my own projections were 60,000-70,000 passengers/day during the first few months in operation and that was WITH bus integration! I never thought that the trains would be this crowded in the first week. For years, and yes I've been harping on the lack of capacity during that period as well, I thought it would take 2-3 years to reach 100,000/day. Then Translink said it themselves a month or two ago, that it would take until 2013 to reach 1000,000, almost as if they'd read my post somewhere. Of course, over the last few days they've backtracked on that with the massive crowds on the Canada Line...we may well reach 100,000 sometime this year, perhaps even in a few weeks. 100,000 is the needed number to break even on operational costs, and that wasn't expected until 2013. Translink was posturing on buying more cars in 2015, but now that could happen a lot earlier. By 2015, we could see crowds at 120,000/day at this rate. But 20 trains ain't gonna do the job. With today's 80,000, you can tell that bus integration has already happened on top with a lot more new transit riders. It appears to me that they've grossly underestimated new ridership on the system. It's going to be a bloody mess when south of Fraser buses start terminating at Bridgeport....it's already quite busy there, without the bus loop in operation, and the platform is absolutely tiny for those bus transfer crowds we will start seeing in a few weeks. We had a lot of people underestimating the Vancouver-Richmond transportation demands, thus underestimating the transit needs of the corridor. Some even thought the Canada Line shouldn't even have been built as Richmond isn't a growth area in the region, being that its soils are prone to liquefaction during an earthquake. But we're seeing a ton of growth, whether or not the Livable Region Strategic Plan likes it or not. These small platforms don't just allow longer trains, but they also don't allow a lot of people to wait on the platform for a train. It doesn't take a lot of time, after something goes wrong, before InTransitBC attendants stop the flow of people from going to the platform because it's too crowded. Edited August 23, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 (edited) Richmond has been underestimated for transit for decades. If Translink was smart they'd keep the 98B-line as a backup for the inevitable breakdowns, and screw ups. How about going back to an idea they had a while ago to supplement existing bus service with premium priced express coach buses that run right into Vancouver during rush hours, to take some of the load off the Canada Line? Set up a GO Bus network, of sorts. Edited August 23, 2009 by Buggernut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobopan Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Took the line today. fracking Love it! The only downside i have is like mentioned before Landsdowne only has two ticket machines?? That's just not going to fly...not to mention the credit/debit does not work on them unless there is some secret....and leaving it in the machine longer does nothing... The seats are amazingly spacious compared to skytrain. There were lot of ppl on just for the sake of making the trip so it will be interesting to see how the number of riders holds up but every train i took was packed. They should have no problem averaging 100k in this first year imo. The richmond stops were fracking packed... More traffic than even Waterfront on this day at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd22_ Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 bah, those very same nay-sayers will now be the people who criticize Translink for not buying enough trains. You know, the type of people you just can't please. AKA Canucks Fans/Vancouverites. You know, they go hand in hand. Canucks are winning but Luongo let in a bad goal. SOB sucks, too many penalties. Daniel sucks for hitting the post. Canucks win 5-2. It's too hot, it's too cold, it's too rainy, why is it so windy, when's summer, when's winter, Vancouver's weather sucks... etc. Ugh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jd22_ Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Also, that Malcom writer is Carole James's brother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltrain Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 btw has anyone noticed? there's no machines/people to check your tickets. what a joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ltrain Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Just remembered something, does anyone else feel their ears pop a little bit when they get out of the tunnel on the Canada line. It was pretty annoying since it happens everytime. Also can they remove it somehow. ya, moreso when you're entering the tunnel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 btw has anyone noticed? there's no machines/people to check your tickets. what a joke It's been like that for SkyTrain for the last 23 years, it's not different. Why are you complaining now? If anything, the Canada Line staff are doing a lot more fare checks than SkyTrain staff - don't risk not paying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawm Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 btw has anyone noticed? there's no machines/people to check your tickets. what a joke There's a bunch of transit people at each station, but they don't bother to check tickets, at least they havent checked mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgcanux Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 There's a bunch of transit people at each station, but they don't bother to check tickets, at least they havent checked mine. Ya it would be hard to check tickets but they could always just check you as you go into the station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuGaRzGiRL Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I took the Canada Line for the first time yesterday and was pleasantly surprised. I have been excited for the Canada Line for a while now. I got on the King Edward station and the person I was with had to do an 'add fare' to their bus ticket and the machine was simple enough to use but within 1 minute, a green shirt came over to see if we were okay and she was very nice about it. We took it to Brighouse and stayed on the same train to go to the Bridgeport station to switch to the airport. While we were waiting for the airport train, someone was going around checking tickets and I showed him my U-Pass. We took it to the airport and got off to take a look around the observation deck, which was a lot smaller than I thought it was going to be. Jumped back on the Canada Line and rode it to Waterfront and then rode it back to King Edward. The whole trip took less than 90 minutes (including my 15-20 minute stop at YVR). I loved how wide the trains are and the seats are actually quite comfortable. Everyone on the trains seemed excited. I must say that the green shirts were quite happy and seemed to be enthusiastic to be working. I also took it to work today and back home but no one was checking tickets for either time. I was surprised that the trains were arriving so close together since as I was walking to the platform at the Broadway-City Hall station, there was a train there already but there was no point for me to run for it since they come so quickly anyways. The ticker said that the next train would come in 1 minute but it was less than that. The train had to stop for a few seconds before the King Edward station because I assume the previous train was still at the platform. One observation I had was that while that ticker inside the trains telling which station was coming up next was nice, the one thing I kept expecting to see on there was the time. Wouldn't it be nice to know what the time is? Also, I was able to send texts out underground with my crappy old cellphone! I knew there was supposed to be coverage but I had to test it out. P.S. I would talk about how short the platforms are but I'm sure that everyone's already beaten that to death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Richmond has been underestimated for transit for decades. If Translink was smart they'd keep the 98B-line as a backup for the inevitable breakdowns, and screw ups. 98's...maybe not. 400-expresses? I will bet my left nut that they will be back by May 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 98's...maybe not. 400-expresses? I will bet my left nut that they will be back by May 2010. 600-expresses and 350-expresses, maybe, at least during rush hour. 400-expresses are kind of pointless, considering the CL runs right into Richmond and it was built primarily for them, no? Reroute the #10 to Bridgeport Station. It'll effectively replace the #98 along Granville, and take a lot of the needless load off of the CL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgcanux Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Does anyone have a good estimate of the ridership when the olympics are in town, just wondering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 600-expresses and 350-expresses, maybe, at least during rush hour. 400-expresses are kind of pointless, considering the CL runs right into Richmond and it was built primarily for them, no? Reroute the #10 to Bridgeport Station. It'll effectively replace the #98 along Granville, and take a lot of the needless load off of the CL. While the RAV runs into Richmond, it's not benefiting those who are living west of Gilbrt and have to (now) use the RAV to get to Vancouver. 1.) There's only one train that you can take from d/t into Richmond, while there are 2 for those living south of the Fraser. 2.) As well, the 600s and 350s are guaranteed a spot on the bus, by virtue of it being the terminus stn, while those transferring at RC might not, as the 401 and 410 do have pretty high passenger numbers at peak hours. 3.) The routing for the 400s is also smaller than if a 600 route were to be reinstated for the full length; this means more buses can be diverted to serve the 400s while leaving optimal travel time for the south-of-Frasers. 4.) To date, I can count the instances where I've watched as a south-of-Fraser bus passes passengers by at 70th Ave stn; in sharp contrast, I've been passed by at least 8 times trying to catch a 491 or 496 there. This, over only 2 years of commuting. I (somewhat) agree with your decision to run the 10 to Bridgeport; instead, I propose that the "modified 98" travel only in Vancouver, taking stops along Marine, 70, 49, 41, KingEd, 16, Broadway, 5, and then its current downtown stops. Keeps the commuters who need to west of Granville happy, while taking load off of the RAV for those who need to get to downtown but can't get onto the train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 23, 2009 Author Share Posted August 23, 2009 I also took it to work today and back home but no one was checking tickets for either time. I was surprised that the trains were arriving so close together since as I was walking to the platform at the Broadway-City Hall station, there was a train there already but there was no point for me to run for it since they come so quickly anyways. The ticker said that the next train would come in 1 minute but it was less than that. The train had to stop for a few seconds before the King Edward station because I assume the previous train was still at the platform. lol, it's normally never one train every minute. That's only when there's problems, huge backlog today due to problems with a train. Usually, at the highest frequencies, it'll be 4-minutes from Waterfront to Bridgeport and 7-8 minutes in Richmond and YVR. One observation I had was that while that ticker inside the trains telling which station was coming up next was nice, the one thing I kept expecting to see on there was the time. Wouldn't it be nice to know what the time is? I don't think I've been on a train anywhere in the world that shows the time inside the car, there's no point to it really. But it's obviously quite useful on the platform. P.S. I would talk about how short the platforms are but I'm sure that everyone's already beaten that to death. Do tell! We love short platform horror stories here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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