The Official Transit Thread

[inane]

That's what I meant. There's way more buses on that route now than there were when I was a student.

Perhaps, and there's probably more buses than when I went to school. But there's still line ups. Demand is there. This month long experiment has shown that given a good alternative, people will take transit.

[ahzdeen]

Perhaps, and there's probably more buses than when I went to school. But there's still line ups. Demand is there. This month long experiment has shown that given a good alternative, people will take transit.

It has currently shown that people will take transit in the short term. It has yet to prove that they are taking transit because it is a good alternative (although I'm hoping it is).

[inane]

It has currently shown that people will take transit in the short term. It has yet to prove that they are taking transit because it is a good alternative (although I'm hoping it is).

Well, it doesn't really matter anyway because come March 1st we're back to basic service and people getting back in their cars.

[ahzdeen]

Well, it doesn't really matter anyway because come March 1st we're back to basic service and people getting back in their cars.

I'm sure there will be some people who will make the switch permanent. But you're right, a vast majority will get back in their cars.

[inane]

http://pricetags.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/let-the-debate-begin/

Yesterday, prompted by a release from the Mayor Gregor Robertson’s office, the media discovered the transportation story. It’s the dog that, up to now, hasn’t barked: no major screw-ups.

Rather, the City’s plan – 30 percent reduction in traffic, 50 percent reduction in capacity to downtown, no venue parking – has worked spectacularly well. And TransLink has performed with remarkable flexibility and stretched itself to the limit.

So now what?

“You now have a public that sees the possibility,” said (SFU City Program director Gordon Price).

“We just conducted the greatest controlled traffic experiment in North America.”

But despite the optimism now, TransLink is about to return to barely adequate service and a probable new round of bickering between cities and the province over how to fund the system.

“Here’s the embarrassment – now they cut it all back,” Price said.

“They dock the third SeaBus. They can’t proceed with the frequent transit network. They can’t do what they say they want to do that we could do and that we know works.

“Maybe now a new political consensus will emerge that not only can we do it, we must do it.”

As BC Local News reporter Jeff Nagle notes, “the genie is out of the bottle.”

Mayor’s Council Chair, Peter Fassbender of Langley: “I’d like to believe we’ve developed a transit spirit that says this system can work and it can deliver so let’s find a way to move it forward on the foundation we’ve built in this short period of time.”

But Transportation Minister Shirley Bond is sticking to her marching orders: ”She’s ‘pretty comfortable’ with the existing set of property, fuel and other taxes plus fares to fund TransLink…. The debate, Bond said, will be about ‘how much should taxpayers, who are actually served by transit, contribute.’ ” – i.e. let the mayors squeeze the property taxpayer ’cause there ain’t gonna be no move on vehicle levies or road pricing from us.

The only person more missing in action is Gordon Campbell, who as ex-Vancouver Mayor and GVRD Chair, would have been front and centre on this issue. As Premier, it will be up to him if there is to be any real legacy from the spectacular transportation success of the Olympic experience.

Otherwise, the only debate we’ll be having is how much we’re cutting back.

[silverpig]

http://pricetags.wor...e-debate-begin/

This. We've just been given a transit gift in the experience of a vastly expanded transit system. If we just go back to what we had without learning anything, then it will be spoiled. Hopefully we can get things changed and for the better.

[inane]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/robertson-sees-momentum-for-transit-funding/article1480540/

More and more talk... Will there be any action? Call me skeptical at best...

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson is seizing on the soaring use of transit during the Olympics to lay down a marker for securing more funding once the Games are over.

Among the projects deserving of support, Mr. Robertson said, is the Canada streetcar line between the Olympic Village station and Granville Island. He said yesterday he wants the provincial government and TransLink, the regional transit agency, to support and sustain the current line and its expansion.

“It's critical that we keep the transit issue on the table. When we have had such a big success, we need to place that marker and say, ‘With a provincial budget coming, with TransLink looking at its medium term, we're got to consider significant investments in the transit system,'” Mr. Robertson said in an interview.

“This is the best validation possible for making more investments.”

His comments added shading to a statement issued earlier yesterday. In that release, the mayor touted the Olympic transportation plan to move tens of thousands during the Games as “a clear winner for Vancouver,” and said it has created “long-term sustainable transportation legacies.”

On the Canada Line, for example, the peak increase in usage is three times higher than pre-Games levels, and the two-station Olympic Line streetcar system is busier than networks in Portland and Seattle.

“Vancouver residents and businesses want to be greener and lead more sustainable lives. We've shown that if you build it, they will come,” the mayor said.

Two days after the Games end, the B.C. government is set to bring in a tough provincial budget as it struggles to deal with a $2.8-billion deficit – a reversal from a Liberal commitment during last spring's provincial election to a deficit of no more than $495-million.

Olympic organizers contributed $17-million to provide enhanced transit service, but those funds will be gone with the Games. That will leave the regional transit provider, TransLink, to figure out how to proceed after failing in a bid to win provincial support for system and service expansion funded by fees on carbon emission or road use.

Mr. Robertson acknowledged challenges on the money front.

“TransLink funding is a huge concern going forward. The provincial government, which controls TransLink, needs to step up and deliver on funding that enables them to grow transit across the region,” Mr. Robertson said.

“The increased service gets rolled back due to funding shortages, but that doesn't prevent people from using transit. There's no question the existing system can carry more passengers, and hopefully the positive experiences of many people riding transit for the first time during the Games is continued.”

On the streetcar system, he said the city needs the province and TransLink to build a network in Vancouver. “As it exists, it's not viable for the city to run. It needs to be part of the larger transit system and funded by TransLink and ultimately the province.” he said.

TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie forecast a compelling debate once the Olympic flame is dimmed. “The experience we have had sets up a really interesting and productive discussion that's going to take place after the Games are over,” he said. There's no way to sustain Olympic levels of service but lessons from the experience will be “really useful” in transit planning.

Gordon Price, a former city councillor now director of the city program at Simon Fraser University, said among the key issues are whether it is possible to galvanize support for a new TransLink funding model, and how to pay for an ongoing streetcar system.

Suzanne Anton, of the minority Non-Partisan Association on council, estimated an ongoing streetcar system would require $90-million in capital costs. “It would take real determination by the mayor to make that happen,” she said. “It is a slam-dunk except that it takes money.”

Transport Minister Shirley Bond issued a statement last night, but did not respond to call for more funding.

“As a user of public transit before and during the Games, I can speak firsthand to how effectively the transportation plan worked,” she said.

“The success of the transportation plan also demonstrates how all of our provincial funding is paying dividends. The province has committed more than $700-million to transit in Metro Vancouver since announcing our Provincial Transportation Plan two years ago. ... These investments will continue to benefit transit users for decades, just like the original Expo line continues to serve as a legacy of Expo 86.”

[Common sense]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/robertson-sees-momentum-for-transit-funding/article1480540/

More and more talk... Will there be any action? Call me skeptical at best...

On the Olympic streetcar:

I honestly don't know what purpose the Olympic streetcar will serve once it's all said and done. Unless there's rapid development on False Creek south (between Granville Island and the RAV stn), it's just a shuttle system that takes people from A to B; and let's face it, tourism dies down right after October.

[silverpig]

On the Olympic streetcar:

I honestly don't know what purpose the Olympic streetcar will serve once it's all said and done. Unless there's rapid development on False Creek south (between Granville Island and the RAV stn), it's just a shuttle system that takes people from A to B; and let's face it, tourism dies down right after October.

I'm in the same boat. It'd be great to keep if there was a huge False Creek South development and people needed to get around the creek.

Really though, with what Expo86 did for the area, maybe this isn't outlandish with what the Olympics are sure to bring in coming years.

[nitronuts]

The streetcar being expanded would be a great thing, but I think that in many ways our trolley bus network fulfills much of what a streetcar would do. Nevertheless, anything on rails will always be more attractive to ride than anything on wheels and unlike the bus the streetcar also has the potential to cause redevelopment. And of course, streetcar vehicles have a much higher capacity than the articulated buses...however, if a train breaks down the entire line is also down for potentially hours while a trolley bus could simply detach from the wires and go on battery power for a few minutes and go around the broken trolley bus.

The streetcar isn't absolutely necessary at this point, I'd rather see the money go towards extending SkyTrain and then revisit the idea of a streetcar network in 15 years.

[Buggernut]

I took the streetcar from Cambie to Granville Island, and I was more than happy to take the #50 back the other way. The bus was faster, practically empty and there was no block long lineup for it.

[Common sense]

Special all-night Canada Line service will help move post-Olympics airport passengers from Vancouver

TransLink and Vancouver Airport Authority have arranged for the Canada Line to maintain service from downtown Vancouver to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) throughout the night of February 28th into March 1st. The special all-night service will help move the record number of passengers expected to pass through the airport in the 24 hours following the end of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

All Canada Line stations will remain open between Waterfront and YVR, however the Richmond Stations south of Bridgeport will close as usual overnight. Ten trains, with the capacity to move over 3,300 passengers per hour, will run at six minute intervals.

TransLink will work with the hospitality industry to ensure visitors are aware of the additional rapid transit service to the airport.

March 1 is predicted to be the busiest day in YVR’s history, with up to 39,000 travellers and 77,000 pieces of baggage expected to depart the airport. The Airport Authority has implemented a number of programs to ensure smooth travel through the terminal including increased customer service presence, offsite check-in facilities at the Athlete Villages and an auxiliary terminal on Sea Island. Air travellers are encouraged to check www.yvr.ca for the latest flight information before departing for the airport.

TransLink CEO Ian Jarvis says “All rail rapid transit services are normally shut down for daily maintenance, which is why they do not run 24/7. This is a very special circumstance; with so many people planning to fly out of Vancouver immediately after the games we will leave ten of Canada Line’s trains running while the other ten are prepared for regular service on March 1st,” he says.

Jarvis says the entire transit system, staff and equipment alike, has performed at unprecedented levels during the Games, moving record numbers of passengers. “Maintenance staff has done outstanding work to keep the bus, rail and marine fleets in service, complementing the efforts of bus operators, SkyTrain and SeaBus attendants, Transit Police and volunteers to keep all our customers moving safely and efficiently over the Olympic period.

“The whole transit system has demonstrated great efficiency, flexibility and resiliency throughout the Games, and people across the region have responded in a tremendously positive way to all the TravelSmart options, demonstrating patience and hospitality along the way. Together all of these factors have helped our road and transit system contribute positively to the overall Games-time experience,” he says.

Wouldn't that be...*gasp* breaking the contract!??!?!?

:frantic:

[Common sense]

I took the streetcar from Cambie to Granville Island, and I was more than happy to take the #50 back the other way. The bus was faster, practically empty and there was no block long lineup for it.

If the streetcar does become a permanent fixture to Vancouver, say goodbye to the 50. That's just my hunch on it though.

[Columbo]

Just wanted to say bravo and congrats to Translink on the absolutely incredible job they did over the past 2 weeks. I have to admit I was a bit worried at the outset. But I have never in my life found it easier to get around this city than during the Olympics. Not even the slightest of problems, it was truly outstanding - a job exceptionally well done.

[Common sense]

Just wanted to say bravo and congrats to Translink on the absolutely incredible job they did over the past 2 weeks. I have to admit I was a bit worried at the outset. But I have never in my life found it easier to get around this city than during the Olympics. Not even the slightest of problems, it was truly outstanding - a job exceptionally well done.

I find it amazing considering there was a period of time today where the Granville and Cambie bridges were both shut down; buses were either rerouted or stopped before downtown.

Props to them for moving about 2.5M people everyday without major glitches.

[nitronuts]

Just wanted to say bravo and congrats to Translink on the absolutely incredible job they did over the past 2 weeks. I have to admit I was a bit worried at the outset. But I have never in my life found it easier to get around this city than during the Olympics. Not even the slightest of problems, it was truly outstanding - a job exceptionally well done.

I couldn't agree more...a job well done, Translink.

[Canuck_4_Life]

Among my many trips between Burnaby, Richmond and downtown during the Games, I found service to be impeccable. Kudos to Translink, InTransitBC and VANOC for having their employees, especially those directing traffic at Vancouver City Centre Station and at Waterfront Station (both sides).

While the presence of Transit Authorities was visible, most non-police had a smile on their face.

[Buggernut]

Just wanted to say bravo and congrats to Translink on the absolutely incredible job they did over the past 2 weeks. I have to admit I was a bit worried at the outset. But I have never in my life found it easier to get around this city than during the Olympics. Not even the slightest of problems, it was truly outstanding - a job exceptionally well done.

Can they now keep up this level of service after the Olympics are over, not necessarily in terms of frequency and capacity, but at least reliability?

Edited March 1, 2010 by Buggernut

[inane]

More talk talk talk.

It could well turn out to be an unexpected Olympic legacy, since surprisingly high ridership on the Lower Mainland's public transit during the Games proves, unequivocally, that people on the move will indeed park their cars.

They've done it because driving and parking in downtown Vancouver these past several weeks has been severely restricted and, more importantly, because expanded public transit alternatives were available.

The challenge now, however, is for the region's major transit players -- TransLink, the municipalities and B.C.'s government -- to apply this Olympic experience to transit planning from this point forward.

That's particularly important south of the Fraser River where, quite frankly, the imbalance between transit taxes paid and transit services received is seriously out of whack.

"This Olympic experience with public transit is something we should not let get away from us," says Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender, who chairs TransLink's mayors' council on regional transportation.

"It's shown all of us that when we work together in an integrated fashion, we can deliver a [transit] system that people will use. This should give us more reason to put our shoulders to the wheel and find solutions for all parts of the region," he adds.

Certainly it was the SkyTrain and Canada Line that did most of the heavy lifting for the Games. Roughly 600,000 more people per day than expected used the system, which carried about 1.6 million daily.

However, it's a tiny 1.8-kilometre Olympic streetcar demonstration project between Granville Island and the Olympic Village that may prove to be the key transit legacy -- especially south of the Fraser.

The False Creek service also drew more riders than expected and, from day one, it's been very much "a streetcar named desire" for those in the Valley who call for just such a service on the former Inter-urban rail corridor from Surrey to Chilliwack.

Valley communities including Surrey and Langley Township are now planning an Inter-urban demonstration project of their own, which will run rail cars between Scott Road Station in Surrey and Cloverdale.

"A lower-tech option to SkyTrain like the Olympic streetcar is much cheaper, so it's easier to justify in a lower density region like ours," says Langley Township Mayor Rick Green, head of the south of Fraser task force advocating community rail service.

Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts also favours ground-level light rail over SkyTrain for the planned extension of the Expo line further into Surrey.

And transportation minister Shirley Bond seems to be more open to looking at cheaper technologies for the extension than her predecessor.

"I was very impressed with the [streetcar] demonstration project and I think it's absolutely critical that we look at all technologies for south of the Fraser and the UBC corridor," she says.

[Denguin]

Just a quick thought from me (not sure if someone has already brought it up). I'd like to hear your thoughts.

In the future, maybe we could have TransLink incorporate the free transit on the day of the game for anybody with a ticket (add a possible time restriction? i.e. +/- 4 hours of the game). Now, obviously TransLink would need to gain some much needed revenue from all the lost fares due to these tickets, and the only thing I've come up with is to work out a deal with the Canucks organization (or Ticketmaster) to add a charge of 3-5 dollars onto each ticket that is purchased. This would encourage people to take transit, and hopefully we'd become more environmentally friendly (no, I'm not an environmentalist). It seemed to work well in the Olympics, and maybe it could work on an almost daily basis here.

The Olympics have shown that our transit system is capable of handling volume (after the first few days of disorganization, of course). Not only that, but people that had never used transit before are planning to use it more often.

Anyway, enough talk from me. I'd like to here your thoughts on this. Like/Dislike? Why?

Also, how realistic do you think this idea is?

Edited March 1, 2010 by Denguin