Update: Human Error Blamed for Skytrain/Millenium Line System Shut Down - Union Protest Suspension

[Ghostsof1915]

Blame Social Credit for putting in this system in the first place. We could have had a conventional light rail system. But oh no....we had to take a system that is finicky. A lower tech solution would have been better.

Even a system with a conventional driver would be preferable.

[DonLever]

Blame Social Credit for putting in this system in the first place. We could have had a conventional light rail system. But oh no....we had to take a system that is finicky. A lower tech solution would have been better.

Even a system with a conventional driver would be preferable.

But the NDP built the Millennium Line! They had the option of Light Rail but they chose the Skytrain system.

[jbrizzy]

Blame Social Credit for putting in this system in the first place. We could have had a conventional light rail system. But oh no....we had to take a system that is finicky. A lower tech solution would have been better.

Even a system with a conventional driver would be preferable.

Lol pls. Malcolm Johnston is that you ?

[soshified]

I don't get it, they have maintenance every night and yet, they have break downs like this. Not only this, but at least provide more bus and ones that'll take you from Van/Burnaby to Surrey. And at least make an announcement!

Can they use our money to like install a newly operating system already?

[Apple Juice]

I got off the skytrain like about a half hour earlier before it completely shut down to go to SFU. Thank God that happened. Otherwise I would've been screwed

[tbone909]

I wonder if the Transit board who BTW each make a minimum of $300,000 or the Transit Pigs who pull in $100,000 would like to take a pay cut ?

This is only the beginning folks and until some major upgrades are made this will happen more and more.

Most People are reactive instead of proactive we never fix things until too late ,just a fact,

[-DLC-]

There is no such thing as accountability anymore it seems. On any other job, constant breakdowns and glitches would mean heads would roll and people would be looked to for answers. Everywhere but Translink that is. Just a money sucking machine with far too many collecting far more than they're worth or have actually earned.

[ronthecivil]

I know a lot of people are upset at this but that's kind of what happens when you have an old system that has been running for 19 hours a day for almost 30 years now. It's obviously not the best system but it has been running very well for a while.

That being said, it is extremely disappointing that a city like Vancouver (that is supposed to be world-class) is having so many problems related to transit issues. Not only with the Millenium/Expo line but also with the Compass card that Translink will likely never be fully integrated into the transit system.

I would have been glad if BC gave MTR the rights to run the Canada Line and the rest of the Skytrain network. Before the Olympics I was so excited to hear that MTR (the corporation that runs Hong Kong, London and Beijing transit) was bidding against Translink to take control of the Canada Line. Too bad it never happened....

Privatisation!?! You monster!

Don't forget where you are.....

[ronthecivil]

I guess Skytrain was pretty bad today because the buses were completely packed too. Had to wait a while for my 49 bus, as a bunch were packed and couldn't take any more passengers; took forever to get home.

But man, what's wrong with Translink, there's always something wrong every week. I wonder if other transit systems suffer these kind of problems...because I know that systems back in Korea and Japan don't act up like this, and they have 10 times the workload.

Just wait until the referendum fails and they are really scrambling for money. That's when your really going to see things go crazy and people reaching for their torches and pitchforks. Short translink.....

[-DLC-]

I have the inside scoop from someone who was once hired as a consultant at Translink to help work out some issues. It is the most asinine, dysfunctional group of individuals. More concerned about keeping everyone with a job (even if there is no job for them to do) than addressing issues. Shutdowns, compass card delays, etc. It's time for them to get people in place who fix problems, not just report on them.

[inane]

There is no such thing as accountability anymore it seems. On any other job, constant breakdowns and glitches would mean heads would roll and people would be looked to for answers. Everywhere but Translink that is. Just a money sucking machine with far too many collecting far more than they're worth or have actually earned.

Define constant? Aside from this week, when did this last happen?

Translink isn't perfect, but let's not blow this out of proportion.

[aGENT]

I also wonder what tourists think of Vancouver's transportation system? As a tourist, skytain, subways, transit railway systems are the most convenient ways of getting around a city, it is easier than trying to find different bus routes and having to time the bus schedules. Until translink improves their system, I think of Vancouver as a "world-class tourist city wannabe" compared to the likes of London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York etc.

Anyhoo, rant over

FWIW I have some very well traveled (throughout Europe/Asia) Irish friends who lived here for a year and raved about our transit system. Particularly given the size of area it covers and the terrain/bodies of water it crosses.

[Papayas]

Define constant? Aside from this week, when did this last happen?

Translink isn't perfect, but let's not blow this out of proportion.

you dont take the public transit that much do you?

1. the skytrain does constantly has problem, maybe not as serious as the one we had yesterday, but it happens constantly. Ever take a skytrain at night after work trying to catch a bus that comes every one hour, just to see the skytrain stopped in between the stations for 10 mins that makes you miss your bus? That STILL happens almost in a daily basis especially after 9 pm.

2. they decrease the frequency of the skytrain during rush hour in the morning that makes people impossible to squeeze into the train especially on stations such as nanaimo or 29th.

3. Ever been to the commerical skytrain station and look at the line up for the 99 bus in the morning? Their system just can't handle that amount of passengers during rush hour.

4. trains will almost always has problem in winter when it snows, then you got those epic line of people lining from the commerical platform all the way to vcc. It happens every year.

5. They keep cancelling bus route or decreasing the frequency of buses on an annual basis. Take 104 for example, they used to have a 104 every half an hour after 7:30 pm. Now it's an hour. AN HOUR! The constantly ill timed bus drivers won't help either. They constantly arrive the in between stop 5-10 mins earlier. Missed it and it will take an hour to get on the second one.

6. Bus constantly got cancel for no reason and without any notice or personel coming to the stop and tell the passenger what happened. You think one hour of waiting time is bad? try having one shift got cancel and you need another hour to get on.

I can go on forever. The transit system in vancouver is one of the worst in the world. It's ridiculously outdated and unprofessional, and shit like this still goes on today.

[inane]

you dont take the public transit that much do you?

1. the skytrain does constantly has problem, maybe not as serious as the one we had yesterday, but it happens constantly. Ever take a skytrain at night after work trying to catch a bus that comes every one hour, just to see the skytrain stopped in between the stations for 10 mins that makes you miss your bus? That STILL happens almost in a daily basis especially after 9 pm.

2. they decrease the frequency of the skytrain during rush hour in the morning that makes people impossible to squeeze into the train especially on stations such as nanaimo or 29th.

3. Ever been to the commerical skytrain station and look at the line up for the 99 bus in the morning? Their system just can't handle that amount of passengers during rush hour.

4. trains will almost always has problem in winter when it snows, then you got those epic line of people lining from the commerical platform all the way to vcc. It happens every year.

5. They keep cancelling bus route or decreasing the frequency of buses on an annual basis. Take 104 for example, they used to have a 104 every half an hour after 7:30 pm. Now it's an hour. AN HOUR! The constantly ill timed bus drivers won't help either. They constantly arrive the in between stop 5-10 mins earlier. Missed it and it will take an hour to get on the second one.

6. Bus constantly got cancel for no reason and without any notice or personel coming to the stop and tell the passenger what happened. You think one hour of waiting time is bad? try having one shift got cancel and you need another hour to get on.

I can go on forever. The transit system in vancouver is one of the worst in the world. It's ridiculously outdated and unprofessional, and crap like this still goes on today.

I take the bus and skytrain every day to work.

You complain about lines, frequency issues etc and then I'm sure you complain about spending more money on transit.

All the rest of your issues are the same with cars, bikes, whatever. Transportation issues are transportation issues.

You've clearly never traveled anywhere. Vancouver is not the best but it is absolutely not one of the worst.

[aGENT]

Sure is a lot of entitled whining going on in here...

[hockeyville88]

CTV Vancouver ‏@CTVVancouver 17m

#Breaking: TransLink says "human error" caused Monday's shutdown of Expo and Millennium SkyTrain lines.

Technician was installing new circuit breaker and accidentally tripped the main breaker feeding critical systems, TransLink says.

TransLink says it's offering riders a free day of transit on BC Day to make up for recent outages.

[Denguin]

you dont take the public transit that much do you?

1. the skytrain does constantly has problem, maybe not as serious as the one we had yesterday, but it happens constantly. Ever take a skytrain at night after work trying to catch a bus that comes every one hour, just to see the skytrain stopped in between the stations for 10 mins that makes you miss your bus? That STILL happens almost in a daily basis especially after 9 pm.

2. they decrease the frequency of the skytrain during rush hour in the morning that makes people impossible to squeeze into the train especially on stations such as nanaimo or 29th.

3. Ever been to the commerical skytrain station and look at the line up for the 99 bus in the morning? Their system just can't handle that amount of passengers during rush hour.

4. trains will almost always has problem in winter when it snows, then you got those epic line of people lining from the commerical platform all the way to vcc. It happens every year.

5. They keep cancelling bus route or decreasing the frequency of buses on an annual basis. Take 104 for example, they used to have a 104 every half an hour after 7:30 pm. Now it's an hour. AN HOUR! The constantly ill timed bus drivers won't help either. They constantly arrive the in between stop 5-10 mins earlier. Missed it and it will take an hour to get on the second one.

6. Bus constantly got cancel for no reason and without any notice or personel coming to the stop and tell the passenger what happened. You think one hour of waiting time is bad? try having one shift got cancel and you need another hour to get on.

I can go on forever. The transit system in vancouver is one of the worst in the world. It's ridiculously outdated and unprofessional, and crap like this still goes on today.

It all comes down to money. If you don't want to invest more in the system, this is what you end up with.

Who's going to pay for that person to drive around the city to notify you of a bus cancellation? Keep in mind that there are hundreds of cancellations or short-turns a day. Who's going to pay for a rail system along the Broadway corridor? Who's going to pay for upgrading for the trains?

It's an aging system, but it is still a very good one. Clearly you live in a low-ridership area if your bus wait is an hour. I use to live in an area where it was a 1 hour, one way only route on PEAK HOURS. It was simply just a product of where I lived, not Translink's downfall.

[Denguin]

Sneaky move to give free transit on a stat holiday on already reduced fares/frequency.

[aGENT]

Sneaky move to give free transit on a stat holiday on already reduced fares/frequency.

They could have just stuck with an apology.

[Denguin]

They could have just stuck with an apology.

I think they should have. People are assholes and will never be pleased. There is no clause that says Translink has to provide 100% reliability. Likewise, your cars aren't 100% reliable either.

Nice gesture, but there will be tons of complaining, I can guarantee.