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nitronuts

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There are far too many bus stops...the system revolves entirely around seniors and the handicapped. Not saying that we shouldn't accommodate them, we definitely should, but lets give it a bit more balance...we could do without a lot of the bus stops.

It's unreliable because of the high number of bus stops but also because of the enormous amount of traffic lights we have - and this is made even worst if the bus route, like the 25, is long. Then, there's the process of loading in baby strollers and wheelchairs....everything adds up to making the bus system extremely unreliable.

I wouldn't say too many busstops is the ONLY reason they are loosing money and service sucks, but it seems overkill to have a stop on every damn block. Who can't walk a block to a bus, especially if said bus now becomes much faster as a result? The longer the route (like the 25) the more true this becomes.

Now, one should be able to factor in baby strollers and wheel chairs....

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Had a little chuckle on the Canada Line yesterday.

Was at the middle of a car and looked down and the sign on the floor said "Don't Stand in Gangway". But then in pen someone had modified it to say "Don't Stand in A Gangway". There was a transit cop standing there and his partner saw what I was looking at and says to him "Dude, take your touque off! You are looking far too gang member".

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Canada Line delivers 15,000 extra visitors a week to River Rock casino

By Brian Morton, Vancouver Sun

November 19, 2009

METRO VANCOUVER — The River Rock Casino Resort is making it much easier for gamblers to spend their money.

As part of a $30-million renovation, gamblers and other visitors can now get off at the Canada Line's Bridgeport Station and walk directly to the casino via a new covered walkway (called the Starwalk) to the resort's third floor. The Starwalk is also linked to the adjoining parkade and bus loop.

Once in the resort, customers hop on a first-of-its-kind-in-Canada spiral escalator that drops them on the doorstep of dozens of slot machines and gaming tables.

It appears to be a smart business move, with up to 15,000 extra customers heading to the casino each week following the opening of the Canada Line in August.

"We've seen a 15-per-cent increase in guests since [the Canada Line] opened," Howard Blank, River Rock's vice-president of media, entertainment and responsible gaming, said in an interview Thursday. "And we think this will grow with this renovation. There's a lot of older folks from Oakridge, Kerrisdale and Yaletown who didn't want to drive here. And there's also a lot of the [younger] hip crowd coming here [via the Canada Line] so they can drink and not have to drive.

"The majority of our guests now come from the Canada Line."

The 18-month renovation included not only the Starwalk — which incorporates an autowalk (a flat, moving escalator) and voice recordings from stars who have played there — but four private VIP suites (each holding up to 20 guests, with one dedicated to Vancouver musician Dal Richards) at the River Rock Show Theatre. There are also restaurant upgrades and a new lounge.

A tour of the facility by The Vancouver Sun Thursday featured two escalators which, unlike traditional escalators, traverse two floors in a 180-degree circular span — a major change from the stairs that preceded them — and required seven months to assemble, install and test. The spirals were delivered from Japan in seven separate truss sections and installed by Mitsubishi.

"The escalators were very important," added Blank, who noted that there are no other spiral escalators in Canada. "It gives us a grand atrium [and] it opens up our lobby and allows us to expand our ballroom. We thought it was important to separate us from other hotels and casinos. We've seen them in Macau and we're one of the very few in North America."

As well, the expansion includes a number of retail areas and community and transit policing offices. Also recently opened was a 1,512-vehicle parkade, a joint venture between the Canada Line and River Rock.

Meanwhile, Blank said that so far there haven't been any problems at River Rock related to petty criminals or drug dealers who often utilize a rapid transit line to commit crimes.

"People of ill repute won't come here," he said. "We haven't had any problem here at all. There's a community policing station opening shortly [and] we have a huge security presence. And we also have so many security cameras here."

bmorton@vancouversun.com

© Copyright © The Vancouver Sun

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Canada Line delivers 15,000 extra visitors a week to River Rock casino

Is that a stat to be proud of?

Like I have said many times in the past, government should not be profiting from people's bad habits and addictions, and 100% of its casino revenue should go to gambling rehab.

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Is that a stat to be proud of?

Like I have said many times in the past, government should not be profiting from people's bad habits and addictions, and 100% of its casino revenue should go to gambling rehab.

I don't really think that's the point of the article. The point is the effect that rapid transit can have on business, and how many people will use it.

BTW, that place has a show lounge, restaurants, and what not. And being adults, if they want to gamble, that's there perogative. There are even hot line numbers that are hard to miss that give you a resouce line to call if you have a gambling problem.

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Howard Blank said...

"The majority of our guests now come from the Canada Line."

Well in that case perhaps we can allot more of those parking spots to park and ride type people. They already have some sort of arrangement like that anyways don't they? If not they should get one stat.

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I don't really think that's the point of the article. The point is the effect that rapid transit can have on business, and how many people will use it.

BTW, that place has a show lounge, restaurants, and what not. And being adults, if they want to gamble, that's there perogative. There are even hot line numbers that are hard to miss that give you a resouce line to call if you have a gambling problem.

There are also pamphlets at the cashier's cage in several languages and several people to help throughout the casino. If you have a problem gambling, then it should be up to the individual to stop themselves. I personally know many people who have perma-banned themselves from all BC casinos because they know they can't handle their addiction on their own. Adults should stop blaming companies for their vises. Do people blame alcohol companies for alcoholics?

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Is that a stat to be proud of?

Like I have said many times in the past, government should not be profiting from people's bad habits and addictions, and 100% of its casino revenue should go to gambling rehab.

I've been there a few times to watch bands, eat dinner etc and NEVER gambled. Besides that they're adults, it's called freedom of choice. I suppose their shouldn't be government run liquor stores either?

Personally I'm quite happy to see another method for stupid people to effectively pay more taxes. Just like I have zero problems with consumer gas taxes. You want to drive a large gas guzzling vehicle, you pay more taxes. You want to do something stupid with your money by gambling...

Edited by J.R.
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There are also pamphlets at the cashier's cage in several languages and several people to help throughout the casino. If you have a problem gambling, then it should be up to the individual to stop themselves. I personally know many people who have perma-banned themselves from all BC casinos because they know they can't handle their addiction on their own. Adults should stop blaming companies for their vises. Do people blame alcohol companies for alcoholics?

Nope, but they do tax the hell out of booze!

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I've been there a few times to watch bands, eat dinner etc and NEVER gambled. Besides that they're adults, it's called freedom of choice. I suppose their shouldn't be government run liquor stores either?

Personally I'm quite happy to see another method for stupid people to effectively pay more taxes. Just like I have zero problems with consumer gas taxes. You want to drive a large gas guzzling vehicle, you pay more taxes. You want to do something stupid with your money by gambling...

That is quite a vulturous way to collect taxes by sucking the vulnerable out of their money for the benefit of everyone else.

If anything, all that money should go to rehab, as critics will tell you only gets a pittance and is severely lacking compared to what the government rakes in from the casinos. But that would be too counterproductive, wouldn't it?

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That is quite a vulturous way to collect taxes by sucking the vulnerable out of their money for the benefit of everyone else.

If anything, all that money should go to rehab, as critics will tell you only gets a pittance and is severely lacking compared to what the government rakes in from the casinos. But that would be too counterproductive, wouldn't it?

It's like financial natural selection.

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All that extra revenue from it should go to cover the social costs related to alcohol (policing, medical, rehab, etc.), and should not be a way to siphon drinkers' money for the benefit of teetotallers.

Ya, well, that's not how it works. Booze and cigarettes get taxed to the billions more than their incremental cost increases to policing or medical teatment. Almost nothing has it's taxes related to what it's actual costs are.

If you want to use all the money from gambling to go towards gambling addiction, it's easier to just ban gambling, as there would be no gambling in that situation. You would have to up the taxes on booze and ciggies though.

And odd that you would use 100% of the profits for the minority of people that have the problem.

But most importantly, if you want to have a gambling thread, or a booze taxes thread, start one. This is the transit thread.

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Howard Blank said...

Well in that case perhaps we can allot more of those parking spots to park and ride type people. They already have some sort of arrangement like that anyways don't they? If not they should get one stat.

Yes they do and it rocks! $2 for 24hrs (from start of service to 7pm). Pick your spot carefully and you walk straight to a bank of parking machines, then straight to ticket machines then up to the platform. You can be from parking to in a train in 3mins.

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In other news, the sky is blue.

---

http://www.news1130.com/news/more.jsp?content=20091123_092334_6000&page=1

ICBC: Transit fines not being collected

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - It seems people busted for not paying transit fares aren't likely to pay their fines either. We're along the B-Line in Vancouver with word millions of dollars in transit fines are not being paid.

Numbers from ICBC listed in the Province newspaper suggest as little as 10 per cent of the thousands of tickets levied against non-paying transit riders in any given year are paid. In 2008 alone, close to $2 million in transit fines went uncollected and unpaid to the provincial government. TransLink itself says fare evasion costs it five to nine million dollars annually, mostly on SkyTrain.

Along the B-Line, or what is often called the "Free-Line", riders think more people would pay up if more enforcement showed up, "I've never seen the transit police giving any sort of tickets." Another transit user we spoke with thanked us for the information, saying with such poor record of collection he'll be sure NOT to pay any future fines.

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