A letter to Martin Crilly
Eric Chris has sent TransLink Commissioner, Martin Crilly, a rather pointed letter about diesel buses and the Broadway corridor.
I doubt that Mr. Chris will get a reply, as TransLink and TransLink’s hanger-on’s seldom replies to letters critical of TransLink’s operation. The only thing one hears from TransLink is 10 second sound-bites, unfortunately that do not answer the question.
Question: Why won’t TransLink seriously consider the RftV/Leewood report for reinstating the interurban service from Vancouver to Chilliwack?
Official answer: TransLink will not consider any ‘rail’ transit (except for commuter rail that is) that cannot run at 10 minute headways or less.
Real answer: TransLink will not consider any transit plan that does not come from TransLink’s ponderous bureaucracy.
Mr. Chris raises many valid points and it seems TransLink, as always runs away – afraid of the truth.
What $110 thousand buys you in planning!
Martin Crilly, TransLink Commissioner:Please provide the feasibility study with the cost breakdown of the tram line to UBC and the cost breakdown of the sky train line to UBC.Ai?? Surely COV engineers in collaboration with TransLink did one before they proclaimed sky train to be the ai???best optionai??? for rail transit to UBC.Ai?? Give the current and projected demands for transit to UBC in passengers per hour per direction, also.Last week on behalf of Point Grey residents who asked me to email you, I requested an explanation for all the empty and nearly empty articulated 99 B-Line diesel buses operating as an express and frequent service in parallel to the infrequent trolley buses – during off peak hours.Ai?? You did not reply.If you are working on the reply and have not had sufficient time to reply, fine.Ai?? If you ignored the email last week, and continue to ignore it, the Mayorsai??i?? Council copied will be asked to rid taxpayers of you and your $500,000 annual salary.If TransLink were a logging company, horrendously loud noise disturbances and harmful diesel emissions from its service wreaking havoc on the lives of residents in Point Grey would not be allowed to continue.Ai?? Residents in Point Grey are upset that TransLink is allowed to operate the 99 B-Line service with impunity and want answers from Ian Jarvis and Nancy Olewiler – making the decisions at TransLink.Creative accountingSky train is sold as being fast.Ai?? TransLink contends that savings from its automated sky trains reduce operating costs to make up for the high capital cost of sky train.Ai?? Unfortunately, sky trains would get bogged down if buses operated every 20 minutes to 30 minutes (conventional transit) to get people to the distantly spaced sky train stations.Ai??Ai?? To compensate, TransLink is forced to operate buses on the frequent transit network (FTN) every few minutes.This results in many buses running around empty or nearly empty with massive service hour costs for busing.Ai?? In contrast, trams take buses off the roads to reduce service hours for busing.Ai?? In Metro Vancouver, FTN is analogous to a pail under the faucet being pulled away too quickly before it is full ai??i?? the FTN buses for sky train are operated far to frequently and the FTN buses often depart with few or no passengers on board during off peak hours.In 1999 before TransLink, CMBC running buses for TransLink logged 3.4 million service hours. In 2011 after TransLink expanded sky train, busing service hours increased to 4.7 million.Ai?? Notwithstanding the increase in population and demand for transit which should have been addressed with the sky train service hours which also increased with the Canada Line and Millennium Line (sky train lines built since 1999) – at $115 per service hour for busing, sky trains add about $150 million to the annual operating budget for buses here ai??i??Ai?? to facilitate the operation of sky train.This is the hidden cost of sky train and creative accounting techniques by the accountants at TransLink are concealing it.Ai?? You are the TransLink Commissioner and are being paid big money to be on top of things and you really donai??i??t appear to be.As a result, TransLink uses too many buses on the FTN in Vancouver to avoid delays for passengers taking sky train.Ai?? This means few to no buses for Surrey and Delta.99 B-Line red herringOn West 4th Avenue, the express and frequent No. 84 articulated diesel buses travel about 14 kilometres to UBC, and the No. 84 buses log about 40,000 annual service hours.Ai?? On Broadway, the No. 99 B-Lines travel about 14 kilometres to UBC, too – but log about 120,000 annual service hours (triple the service hours of the No. 84).This is totally intentional and avoidable by TransLink.Ai?? Overcrowding on the 99 B-Lines on Broadway is contrived by TransLink to make the 99 B-Line service one of the busiest in North America while all the supporting bus routes operating in parallel to the 99 B-Line route are typically starved for passengers.If TransLink merely increased service hours on the No. 84 route and reduced service hours on the No 99 route – it would redirect passengers taking the Canada Line and going to UBC onto the No. 84 route on West 4th Avenue to solve the overcrowding on the 99 B-Line buses going to UBC along Broadway.Ai?? Amazingly, solving the overcrowding on the 99 B-Lines is really very easy and inexpensive!Overcrowding on the 99 B-Line route is a red herring to trick the mayors in Metro Vancouver to provide more funding to TransLink.Ai?? We all know that TransLink is essentially insolvent and desperate for cash.Ai?? It canai??i??t manage future sky train costs.Ai?? TransLink is using the expansion of sky train as a ploy to get money to pay for its future sky train losses which it canai??i??t finance with its current funding.Common sense just solved the overcrowding on the supposed busiest route (99 B-Line) in North America.Ai?? How soon can TransLink reduce service hours on the 99 B-Line route and other FTN routes during off peak hours to reduce its cash crunch?RegardsReferencesUrban-LRT in EdmontonTransLink 99 B-Line off peak service increaseU of T research paper on the efficacy of transit – 2009Northwest transportation insightsMetro Vancouver vehicle use from 1999 to 2011Shirocca Consulting transit efficiency review of TransLink – 2012http://translinkcommission.
org/TransLink_Efficiency_ Review_Mar_21-12_FINAL.pdf
