Common sense Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 It is for natural ventilation purposes and it's also done for the Millennium Line stations, but the difference with the M-Line is that there's quite a bit of roof overhang to block out any rain from entering the station......the Canada Line stations on the other hand are quite flawed in this respect, and not choosing to go all the way up seems more like a strange way to save money - resulting in cheap looking stations or extremely feminine stations. The take home message is this: be prepared to get wet, along with 400 other passengers who are all cramming into one train. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 It's mostly what Translink is planning with a few add-ons by people with fantasies. Ok. That makes sense, just because some of those plans seem pretty undoable, like the Richmond - Steveston Line and the extension of the M-line into UBC residental areas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtzfan Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Until I see it, I'm probably not going to believe any of that. Despite the fact that 491 and 496 have a tendency to be full before they're even halfway down Granville (I've seen it full leaving downtown, and it's often full leaving Broadway), there have been no improvements to the frequencies of those routes. The only improvement I can recall is the addition of one or two morning trips. Nothing has been done for afternoon/evening trips southbound, for at least 5 years. 410 has had better frequency, but mostly to benefit the part between Richmond Center and 22nd Street Station, and not along Railway or Granville Avenue. 401 has had no increase in frequency for at least 5 years, despite the fact that it's full leaving Richmond Center (going to No. 1 Road) during 2:00pm-2:30pm or so. My 401 towards Richmond Center in the morning, around 9:00am or so, also has a tendency to fill up around Gilbert. (401 has a 20 min/bus frequency right now, for most of the day; otherwise, it's 30 mins/bus.) It's normally close to full by the time it reaches Minoru Blvd. For Richmond, capacity is a huge issue. The population and ridership have exploded, but the bus service has stayed the same. Although my primary concern still has to do with the fate of 491/496. I really don't want to see my commute time increased by 20-30 minutes due to the discontinuation of those routes just because TransLink sees the Canada Line as a blanket "solution" to all the bus problems in Richmond. I agree what BuckyHermit said. Richmond is now one of the fastest developing cities. We need more cities in Richmond. My friend just shared his experience with me this morning. He said he came home from UBC last night. (He lives in Richmond.) He was stunned that the 98 b line was still full when it was around 10pm. _________________ Yes, We need more express buses. Translink hasn't increased more buses for those 49X/ 48X buses. I have been taking those express buses for 2 years. Although I could get into the buses, I could not have a seat to sit. (496) I usually take the 496 around 3:45pm. _________ last night, I took 491 around 7:30. I got off around 7:45 at Richmond hospital bus stop. I was planning to transfer to take 407, but it would not come until 8:02pm. I didn't want to wait for 407 for 15mins long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronthecivil Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Ok. That makes sense, just because some of those plans seem pretty undoable, like the Richmond - Steveston Line and the extension of the M-line into UBC residental areas. An extension to UBC through those residential areas makes more sense from a planning and ridership perspective than say a line to Richmond or Coquitlam. UBC=regions second biggest transit destination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 Ok. That makes sense, just because some of those plans seem pretty undoable, like the Richmond - Steveston Line and the extension of the M-line into UBC residental areas. The UBC extension is VERY doable. In fact, it has been planned for more than a decade and was to be completed by 2004. However, it was shelved by Campbell in favour of the Canada Line. And most recently, the Premier and his government have brought back the project from the dead. You should consider that UBC is the third largest employment centre after Downtown and Central Broadway. 100,000 bus boardings are recorded each day along the Broadway corridor from Commerical to UBC and 60,000 of those boardings are from the 99 B-Line itself. And that's just the Broadway bus routes, does not include bus ridership on 41st, 49th, etc. There is definitely a demand for rapid transit to UBC. Compare those figures with SkyTrain ridership....the M-Line is at 75,000+ daily and the Expo Line is nearing 200,000 daily. Not to mention that before the U-Pass was ever thought of, City of Vancouver studies showed that the ridership of a Millennium Line extension to Arbutus followed by rapid bus from Arbutus to UBC would rake in 130,000-140,000 riders per day. That is astronomical....now consider the post-U-Pass transit climate, rising gas prices, the whole green initiative and it makes the extension quite worthy. As well, the UBC extension would be one of the last few rapid transit extensions to complete our regional SkyTrain network. SkyTrain is the regional transit backbone. Once the UBC, Evergreen, and Surrey extensions are done we're basically done with SkyTrain and can move on to looking at expanding rapid transit to corridors requiring lower demand with LRT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimCanucksFan Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 (edited) Olympics >>> UBC. That UBC line probably won't start construction till after the Olypmics. Oh yeah, heard that Translink (I think) is losing $ and it may either raise fares (again) or tax people? Please confirm. I heard this on CKWX News 1130 as I was waking up from dreamland so I wouldn't know what I really heard. Edited October 31, 2008 by SlimCanucksFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted October 31, 2008 Author Share Posted October 31, 2008 Olympics >>> UBC. That UBC line probably won't start construction till after the Olypmics. More like 2015. The SkyTrain Evergreen Line on the other hand will start construction right after the circus leaves town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtzfan Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 nitronuts, Fare gates were not in Canada line's platform. Will there be fare gates at the UBC line/ Evergreen line? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 nitronuts, Fare gates were not in Canada line's platform. Will there be fare gates at the UBC line/ Evergreen line? Fare gates were never part of the Canada Line deal, however the Canada Line (like the M-Line) station concourses were designed in mind for the ease of future fare gate installation. The Evergreen Line is 5 years away and the UBC extension 12 years.....odds are that sometime after 2010, the two SkyTrain lines and the Canada Line will be outfitted with fare gates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 The UBC extension is VERY doable. In fact, it has been planned for more than a decade and was to be completed by 2004. However, it was shelved by Campbell in favour of the Canada Line. And most recently, the Premier and his government have brought back the project from the dead. You should consider that UBC is the third largest employment centre after Downtown and Central Broadway. 100,000 bus boardings are recorded each day along the Broadway corridor from Commerical to UBC and 60,000 of those boardings are from the 99 B-Line itself. And that's just the Broadway bus routes, does not include bus ridership on 41st, 49th, etc. There is definitely a demand for rapid transit to UBC. Compare those figures with SkyTrain ridership....the M-Line is at 75,000+ daily and the Expo Line is nearing 200,000 daily. Not to mention that before the U-Pass was ever thought of, City of Vancouver studies showed that the ridership of a Millennium Line extension to Arbutus followed by rapid bus from Arbutus to UBC would rake in 130,000-140,000 riders per day. That is astronomical....now consider the post-U-Pass transit climate, rising gas prices, the whole green initiative and it makes the extension quite worthy. As well, the UBC extension would be one of the last few rapid transit extensions to complete our regional SkyTrain network. SkyTrain is the regional transit backbone. Once the UBC, Evergreen, and Surrey extensions are done we're basically done with SkyTrain and can move on to looking at expanding rapid transit to corridors requiring lower demand with LRT. Only to the loop, not the proposed "Chancellor" stop though. Imagine digging up Main Mall on UBC just to make a M-line extension and the construction in UBC... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted November 1, 2008 Author Share Posted November 1, 2008 Only to the loop, not the proposed "Chancellor" stop though. Imagine digging up Main Mall on UBC just to make a M-line extension and the construction in UBC... oh that, yea definitely agreed.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 oh that, yea definitely agreed.... Plus, too many people would abuse that part of the M-line (myself included, had it been built today ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BieksaRocks Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Yes, We need more express buses. Translink hasn't increased more buses for those 49X/ 48X buses. I have been taking those express buses for 2 years. Although I could get into the buses, I could not have a seat to sit. (496) thats what this is for right? think it'll actually work? More Buses Now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckyHermit Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 3 hours. 4 buses. That's what it took for me to get home from UBC today, because 1) all buses to Richmond were full and 2) there was no 98 B-Line for about 25 minutes. The crowd at 49th/Granville was so large that it stretched from Granville Street to around the corner to 49th Avenue itself. And this was all before 5pm too. Where was I heading, from UBC? Some faraway land like White Rock? Maybe Langley? No -- I was heading to West Richmond. Normally a 1-hour ride, or a 35-minute drive. This is a complete joke. Just when my friends were calling BS on the above commute, it happened again today -- second straight day. And here's the kicker: I tried to catch 491 at Burrard Station. No dice. What the effing hell is going on with the effing system... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's What She Said Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Bucky were you by any chance on the 490 today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckyHermit Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Yes, We need more express buses. Translink hasn't increased more buses for those 49X/ 48X buses. I have been taking those express buses for 2 years. Although I could get into the buses, I could not have a seat to sit. (496) I usually take the 496 around 3:45pm. Just be thankful you can even get on. I haven't had that luck for 3 days this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckyHermit Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Bucky were you by any chance on the 490 today? Why yes, I was that guy watching Smallville on his laptop as the bus crawled along Granville and No. 4... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vancity_Nucks Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Eh, Somewhat transit related I guess. Found a wallet on the Bus today, 700$ cash and a future shop gift card worth 200$. $900 for riding the bus... not too shabby if you ask me. Well -3.75 for a 2 zone pass. $896.25 Profit :D Oh, and if this is your wallet & you're reading this, LOL @ you, It's mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That's What She Said Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 Why yes, I was that guy watching Smallville on his laptop as the bus crawled along Granville and No. 4... Haha I totally thought that was you, decked out in your Ducks gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckyHermit Posted November 1, 2008 Share Posted November 1, 2008 (edited) Haha I totally thought that was you, decked out in your Ducks gear. Yeah... lol. Team autographed jersey and all. Trying to contain my frustration as it was my 3rd out of 4 buses of the afternoon... Edited November 1, 2008 by BuckyHermit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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