No, It Does Not Make Sense

It is as I predicted, the people in the Fraser Valley are awakening to the realities of TransLink, poor transit and high taxes. Politicians have such poor memories of the 2015 plebiscite. For too long TransLink has done what the City of Vancouver’s wants, continuing the city’s perverse desire to have a gold plated, Edsel [...]

A Must Read – Translink’s 10 Year Plan Finances.

A must read. If you want to understand the financial implications with the Mayor’s Council on Transit 10 year plan as it pertains to the light metro system, our resident expert, Mr. Cow’s comments deserve a post of their own. From what I can deduce from this is that Bombardier has telegraphed to TransLink that [...]

A Stark Choice

The stark choice for the Fraser Valley. Does one want to spend $1.6 billion for seven or eight kilometres of a now obsolete light metro metro system, ending in  Fleetwood, with vague promises of future funding to go to Langley or a Vancouver to Chilliwack, via North Delta, Cloverdale, Abbotsford, Sardis and Chilliwack regional rail [...]

Tax, tax, tax – SkyTrain Needs New And Higher Taxes

From the very beginning, building the SkyTrain network demanded new and higher taxes. As the SkyTrain light-metro network is automatic, it must be grade seperated and grade separation is costly. It is the Achilles heel of light-metro as construction is so costly, compared to other modes, that extending the initial line into areas of low [...]

Mr. Cow Pegs It. Expo Line Extension Will Cost $3.2 billion

I am continually amazed that an area like the lower mainland of BC, an area that claims to be so high tech, yet can’t get its head around the simplicity of a regional rail line using already available track. Yet, will spend billions and you guys will be spending billions ($2.9-$3.2 Billion by current estimates) [...]

The Best Public Transportation Have Trams. Vancouver Does Not. Why?

Ah yes, if we were to believe TransLink and the Mayor’s Council on Transit, Vancouver’s unprogressive mayor, Vancouver is the envy of the transit world with our SkyTrain rapid transit system. A recent news item listed the top fifteen city transportation systems and twelve of the cities have trams or LRT or both, with some [...]

TransLink Doesn’t Want Affordable Transit

TransLink, one of the most dishonest and unaccountable bureaucracies in the province, doesn’t want to reinstate the former interurban service. So powerful is TransLink, so totalitarian in operation, the regional mayors, the Minister of Transportation and the the Premier Horgan are deathly afraid of the bureacracy and cower in the shadows. Such power, so abused! [...]

TransLink And The Mayor’s Council Beg for More Money

  An open  letter to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Premier of BC, Federal and Provincial Ministers of Transportation, Metro Vancouver members of Parliament and the British Columbia Legislature. In the past few weeks TransLink and the mayor’s Council on Transit has been mounting a advertising blitz on Facebook and other social media pleading [...]

TransLink Reannounces A Renouncement, Of A Reannouncement!

Good news everyone, the federal liberals are giving TransLink money to buy new cars and upgrade the Expo Line, yippee. It’s not additional money of course, rather a renouncement of a renouncement. Really, how much mileage can they get for $1.47 billion? A lot if today’s reannouncent is anything to go by. Just to remind [...]

BS Line To Nowhere Or The Big Dig Part 2

Oh, the BS Line, Vancouver’s great vanity project. All world class cities must have a subway, according to the “booster class” who just love mega projects. Last cost estimate for the BS Line is around $3.5 billion, not including cars. Looks like the powers that be are already planning to reduce the scope of the [...]