The SkyTrain Subsidy Revisited
The SkyTrain and Canada Line light-metro are bleeding over
$350 million from TransLink’s $1.2 billion budget!
In 1993, the GVRD (now Metro) and Transport 2021, published the study, “The Cost of Transporting People in the BC Lower Mainland” and for the first time the annual SkyTrain subsidy was mentioned. In 1991, SkyTrain was subsidized to the tune of$157.6 million, more than half of the total subsidy paid for public transit in the Lower Mainland. BC Transit then, as TransLink does today, ignores this vast sum of taxpayer’s dollars subsidizing the metro and make erroneous statements that SkyTrain pays its operating costs, etc.
The portion of the SkyTrain subsidy is thus:
Gas taxAi?? – Ai??Ai?? $17.8 mil. out of $47.4 mil. collected
Hydro LevyAi?? -Ai?? $4.7 mil. out of $12.6 mil. collected
Commercial Property TaxAi?? -Ai?? $9 mil. out of $24 mil. collected
Residential Property TaxAi?? -Ai?? $5.2 mil. out of $14 mil collected
Provincial GovernmentAi?? -Ai?? $120.9 mil. out of $196.8 mil. paid
TotalAi?? –Ai?? $157.6 out of $294.8 paid
With the opening of the Millennium Line, SkyTrain’s annual subsidy increased past $200 million and with the Canada Line metro, the subsidy has again increased. In 2012 TransLink paid the consortium which operates the Canada Line $145 million which is two to three times more than would have been paid to comparable light rail operations.
What is interesting to note, just two years worth of SkyTrain’s annual subsidy could fund a basic Vancouver to Chilliwack Interurban demonstration service; four years worth of SkyTrain’s annual subsidy could fund the full build Leewood/RftV interurban!
For the likes of Daryl, Rico, or the rest of the SkyTrain Lobby, who think that SkyTrain operates for free, think again. Skytrain is very expensive for the job it does and to ignore the correlation between TransLink’s financial mess and continued light-metro construction, is sheer folly.
There is a good reason why no one builds with SkyTrain and for TransLink to even contemplate building more, especially a Skytrain subway under Broadway, clearly demonstrates the organizations total disregard towards its finances.
Horse manure from Vision(less) Vancouver and the N.P.A.
Wow, such BS from Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and mayor wannabeAi??Kirk LaPointe, saying he is going to build an affordable subway is laughable.
Robertson has no proof to back up his claim that a subway will be; “taking 50,000 cars off the road”. One should remember the empty claim that the Canada line would take 200,000 car journeys of the road a day, which it never did and today, there are more cars on the road than ever!
The NPA’s Kirk LaPointe promises of counter-flow lanes and a affordable subway are so bizarre, one wonders if he is a left over from the X-files.
The royal fool, Geoff Meggs, is also in on the act and it is all so embarrassing as neither Vision(less) Vancouver or the NPA have a clue about transit and transit mode and if either party gains control of city hall, Municipalities and cities south of the Fraser should seriously consider leaving TransLink and forming a south Fraser Transit Authority and let Vancouver bankrupt TransLink with subway mania.
Traffic flows along Broadway do not warrant a subway; in fact
they barely warrant a streetcar line!
Mayor Gregor Robertson and Kirk LaPointe trade barbs over transit plan
Mayor Gregor Robertson addressed reporters at the VCC-Clark SkyTrain station to reinforce their commitment to improving the cityai??i??s transit system.
His party’s transit system plan involves upgrading bus stops, sustaining enhanced transportation services for seniors and supporting the 10-year TransLink plan in the referendum. This will include the new B-Line services, more night buses and the early stages of the Broadway subway to Arbutus.
ai???That subway is the single best thing that you can do for our economy and environment, taking 50,000 cars off the road,ai??? said Robertson.
ai???We will also advocate strongly in support of the referendum. We will not waiver on that one bit, because winning a transit referendum isnai??i??t just about the Broadway subway; itai??i??s about massive improvements to transit across the region.ai???
Phase one of the Broadway Corridor Rapid Transit Project would be a 5.1 km extension of the Millenium Line SkyTrain from VCC-Clark to Arbutus with a projected cost of $2 billion. The line will eventually route to UBC in the future second phase.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe announced that he would deliver an ai???affordable, underground Broadway subwayai??? to UBC in addition to creating counterflow lanes on major roads and adding capacity to the 99 B-Line bus route.
Robertson responded by saying NPAai??i??s ai???lack of understanding when it comes to major issues like transitai??? puts the city at risk. LaPointe is always ai???evolvingai??? and changing his mind on the Broadway subway, and he is proposing drastic changes but is weary with the details, added Vision city councillor Geoff Meggs.
ai???Mr. LaPointeai??i??s plan seems to be to make our main streets more like freeways,ai??? Meggs said in a press release.
The lanes should not be viewed as creating a freeway within the cityai??i??s boundaries, LaPointe acknowledged at his news conference, but rather an opportunity to ease congestion during rush hours.
ai???Gregor Robertson has jacked up parking rates, heai??i??s taken away car lanes and heai??i??s shown no respect for drivers, at all,ai??? LaPointe said. ai???He doesnai??i??t get the fact that sometimes ai??i?? sometimes ai??i?? a car is the only option that works.ai???
During Vancouverai??i??s first mayoral debate of the election season yesterday, LaPointe also called out Robertson lack of leadership suggesting that he had nothing to show for six years of commitment to the transit plan.
ai???I could grab your pen and do a sketch on paper and thatai??i??s as far as we have gone,ai??? said LaPointe. ai???You are not doing your job as mayor,ai??? LaPointe told Robertson. ai???Youai??i??ve had six years to get the job done. This was your No. 1 transit priority from day one. Howai??i??s priority number 11 going?ai???
In Toronto – A $3 Billion Subway Carries Fewer Customers Than A Streetcar Line!
Those who promote a Broadway subway had better beware, subways are not the magic elixir in attracting ridership.
A Toronto CBC news story giving mayoralty hopeful Doug Ford (brother of the discredited Rob Ford) an “F” for his subway plans contains an interesting item:
“The Sheppard subway is a classic example,” said Bedford. “It cost $3Ai??billion to build and only carries 50 toAi??55,000 riders a day. The King streetcar alone carries over 60,000 riders a day.Ai??ai??ZWe need to learn from this and not repeat these mistakes all over the city.”
And that is 60,000 customers a day using the now vintage four axle CLRV’s, not more modern articulated stock.
A Broadway Skytrain subway is not guaranteed to attracted more customers than an at-grade/on-street light rail/streetcar system, in fact, the inconvenience of a subway, with widely spaced stations needing an expensive shadow bus service, maybe the final financial straw that may break TransLink’s back!
All Quiet on the Transit Front?
With civic elections only weeks away, there has been a lull with transit issues and stories.
The city of Vancouver, which considers itself the centre of the universe, provides us with some mirth as the elections draw near.
The left leaning C.O.P.E. political party is proposing that all Vancouver residents should have universal transit for a $1.00 a day. No plan on how to fund this proposal or getting regional mayors approval or increasing transit services, none the less C.O.P.E. continues to bang the drum for very heavily subsidized universal transit passes for Vancouver citizens.
Vision(less) Vancouver and the N.P.A. right of centre political parties, still champion a Broadway subway and like C.O.P.E. have no plan to pay for it except having regional taxpayers foot the bill.
From Quebec, it has been revealed that Bombardier and SNC Lavalin are heavily funding a citizens group to demand politicians build a ART SkyTrain across the new Champlain Bridge. What is bizarre is that Bombardier and SNC are claiming both that ART (SkyTrain) is more cost effective and can carry more people than LRT and that ART is cost effective at carrying less people than what LRT can carry. An obvious case of having your cake and eating it too!
As Ottawa has shown, modern light rail has the edge over SkyTrain in capacity and that it is cheaper to build.
There is a persistent rumor is that corporate managers in Europe want Bombardier, in essence a German Company, to scrap its ART Skytrain program to save money and concentrate on airport people movers and light rail. What is happening in Montreal could be seen as SkyTrain’s last kick at the can, so to speak, as the Skytrain gravy train may run out of track.
There is also evidence of this in Vancouver, where the SkyTrain Lobby are desperately trying to get Skytrain on track again in the metro Vancouver area.
It will not be until after the November election, when transit issues will be sensibly debated.
Aubagne Tram – The Economy Tram
Light Rail can be built cheaply, if there is the political and bureaucratic will is there to ensure LRT is built economically.
At first glance the Aubagne tramway is very expensive, costing ai??i??166 million or CAD $235 million to build, but only for 2.7 km., which works out to an expensive $87 million/km. to build. The original length of the Aubagne tramway was to be 14 km. long, but politics, Conservative politicians greatly reduced the scope of construction.
Sound familiar, a la the Canada Line?
If one extrapolated the cost over a full 14 km. of line, including the cost of new track and overhead at CAD $15 million/km. ;CAD $109 million and the addition of eight more cars at a cost ofAi?? USD $18.3 million or CAD $20.54 million, the cost of a $14 km. line could be as low as $364.5 million or $26 million/km.; a very reasonable and affordable cost indeed!
Affordable LRT, something that TransLink in Vancouver or BC Transit in Victoria does not want the public to know.
Addendum:
The Citadis cars mentioned in the article are modular cars and capacity can be increased by adding more modules, which is cheaper than buying new cars.
FRANCE: The Aubagne tramway entered commercial service on September 1.
The 2Ai??7 km (1.67 mile) line runs from Le Charrel to the main railway station with seven stops.
Aubagne is the first city to use Alstoms Citadis Compact tram.
According to the manufacturer, this is specially designed to meet the needs of medium-sized networks in cities of 50 000 to 100 000, and
secondary lines.
The 22 m (72.1 foot) long vehicles have a capacity of 146 passengers.
The Pays dAubagne et de lEtoile region ordered a fleet of eight trams, with an option for five to 10 more, for 14m (USD $18.3 million) in October
2011.
The original plan was for a 14-kilometre (8.69 mile) network but the victory of conservative elements in the March 2014 city election resulted in everything besides the starter lien being shelved. Here is the “international railway journal” story:
http://tinyurl.com/qd2d6we <http://tinyurl.com/qd2d6weTuesday, September 02, 2014
Aubagne opens zero-fare tramway Written by Keith Barrow
http://www.railjournal.com/index.php/blog/Keith-Barrow.htmlAUBAGNE, a town of 46,000 inhabitants situated east of Marseille, inaugurated its first light rail line on September 1.
Like the town’s bus network, no fares are charged for travel on the tram line, making it the first free-to-use light rail system in France and one of the first in Europe.
The 2.7km (1.67 mile) line has seven stations and links the main line station in Aubagne with Charrel. Construction began in early 2013 and the project had a budget of ai??i??166m (CAD $235 million) including rolling stock.Zwei notes: This works out to CAD $87 million/km to build, including rolling stock, engineering and service depot. A longer line would incrementally cost less.
Services operate at 10-minute intervals using a fleet of 10 Citadis Compact low-floor LRVs.
The 22m-long (72.1 foot)) three-section vehicles accommodate up to 125 passengers.
The Urban Community of Pays d’Aubagne et de l’Etoile decided in April that it would not proceed with construction of the second or third phase of the network, although the community’s president Mrs Sylvia BarthAi??lAi??my announced at the opening ceremony that the municipal government will study the reopening of the 14km (8.69 mile) Valdonne railway north of Aubagne as a light rail line.
The proposed line would serve an area with a population of 60,000, linking Aubagne with Roquevaire, Auriol, La Destrouse, and La Bouilladisse.
At present there are around 18,000 car journeys a day on the road between Aubagne and La Bouilladisse, and 110,000 vehicles per day use the motorway linking the area with Marseille.
Light Rail In Victoria Before Vancouver?
Interesting news from Victoria, BC Transit is recommending LRT for Greater Victoria.
Though BC Transit doesn’t have much competence with modern LRT, the organization certainly has more experience than TransLink, with the historic LRT planning for the Broadway-Lougheed Rapid Transit project before the provincial NDP did their infamous flip-flopAi?? to SkyTrain.
Zwei also questions the $950 million price tag for LRT, as there are many examples of economy LRT being built in Europe.
Then there is TramTrain and the E&N; has BC Transit factored in TramTrain using the E&N’s tracks? I doubt it; I doubt that BC Transit’s planners have ever heard of TramTrain.
Wouldn’t it be delightful that Victoria was the first city in North America to build a true TramTrain service, combining economy operation and track sharing, draggingAi?? BC’s transit planning kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
B.C. Transit recommends light rail for Capital Region
Electric light-rail rapid transit is B.C. Transit’s recommended choice for the future of moving people between Victoria and the West Shore.
Construction of a fully built light-rail system would cost about $950 million, including the right-of-way, track and electrical systems, stations and vehicles.
Total cost for the life of the system, including capital and operating expenses,Ai??is estimated at $1.2 billion.
Depending on if and how the price tag can be shared between the municipalities, the province and the federal government, Greater Victoria residential property owners could be required to pay an additional $130 to $265 for the new system each year. They currently pay $92.50 for transit, though that will increase to $120.50Ai??starting May 15.
Business owners would face a sharper increase of between $1,300 and $2,650, depending on the funding formula. They currently pay $356 annually for transit, though that is also going to jump by $28.
Transit is currently covered by fares, the province, property taxes, fuel taxes and advertising. However, the transit company is not ruling out exploring other methods to offset project costs.
Transit officials say theAi??two other regional transit options that were considered – bus rapid transit and maintaining the status quo – would also be expensive. Bus rapid transit start-up costs are estimated at $520 million, and $250 million would be needed to maintain the current transit system.
A new bus rapid transit system would be cheaper in the short term, say transit officials, but anticipate it would be at capacity after 10 to 15 years and require replacement with light rail.
B.C. Transit’s recommendation, kept under tight wraps until Tuesday afternoon, is an important next step in bringing rapid transit to the traffic-burdened region. Last October key municipalities along the rapid-transit corridor endorsed the right-of-way route, including Victoria, Saanich, View Royal, Colwood and Langford.
There would be stations in downtown Victoria and at Uptown in Saanich. The electric trainAi??would run along a track next to the Trans-Canada Highway to the 6 Mile/Colwood interchange, along Island Highway in View Royal to Colwood, continue along Goldstream Avenue before reaching its final Station Avenue stop in Langford.
There is still a check list of things to do before B.C. Transit’s rapid transit business case is completed.
To solicit community feedback, the plan will be presented in detail during two public open houses May 4 and 5.
The light-rail transit plan isAi??expected to go before the B.C. Transit board of directors and the Victoria Regional Transit Commission in May. If approved, the business case would be submitted in June for the province’s consideration.
– more to come
emccracken@vicnews.com
Politics of Fear – Vancouver Earmarks $400K to Dismantantle the Olympic Line!
Vision Vancouver has earmarked $400,000 in their next capital plan to dismantle the False Creek heritage railway, commonly known as the Olympic Line.
This should come as no surprise, as Vision Vancouver is afraid of the Olympic Line, because they are afraid of LRT. Vision is afraid of LRT because having an operating light rail line will expose their disingenuous demand for a Broadway Subway.
Vision Vancouver needs the Broadway subway because the political party’s developer backers have assembled lands at proposed subway stations along Broadway and they want to see massive profits on their investments by Vision Vancouver majority on council up-zoning the land to higher densities.
Vision(less) Vancouver’s politics of fear, they are afraid of LRT; they are afraid their deceptions will unravel.
Oh what tangled webs we weave, when Vision Vancouver practices to deceive.
Apologies to Mr. Burns
You Just Got to Be Kidding!
I am speechless! Is this the best that TransLink can do?
SkyTrain delays good time to support the economy:
TransLink Spokesperson says grab a coffee or a bite to eat while waiting
Ai??Anita Bathe
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) ai??i?? TransLink is trying to turn a negative into a positive.
It says lengthy SkyTrain shutdowns are a good way for passengers to spend money throughout the Lower Mainland.
ai???Maybe itai??i??s a good opportunity to stop and have a coffee or a bite to eat, support the local economy until trains resume again,ai??? says TransLinkai??i??s Cheryl Ziola.
When News1130 asked if customers should expect long delays Ziola said absolutely. ai???Delays are very common place on any major transit system.ai???
On Tuesday, passengers were delayed for hours because of a modem problem and thatai??i??s the fourth shutdown in just three months. Many have raised questions about contingency planning.
ai???People very commonly throw out the notion of a backup system but when you look at thatai??i??are we talking about a completely redundant train system? If weai??i??re talking about that youai??i??re looking at billions of dollars in infrastructure costs.ai???
Ziola says 95 per cent of the time the system is reliable and she understands that people are frustrated but they canai??i??t control some things.
Nathan Woods with the Bus Driverai??i??s Union feels that was ai???not a well thought-out statement.ai???
He says if you look at the overall picture, the fourth SkyTrain breakdown of the year is a major inconvenience to people.
ai???Having a cavalier attitude toward it isnai??i??t creating a favourable impression toward TransLink,ai??? Woods says.
Response to Ziolaai??i??s comments on Twitter has been explosive with most people in shock.
SkyTrain fizzles Once Again
What can I say, Skytrain grinds to a halt again!
Until the SkyTrain Lobby stops claiming that SkyTrain almost never stops due to unforeseen problems, Zwei will keep posting when SkyTrain does stop due to a mechanical failure to prove otherwise.
Portland’s LRT has come to grief several times this summer, but at least Tri-Met is honest with its customers as they admitted that the many operating problems this summer were due to over $75 million in deferred maintenance, done as an economy measure. I wonder if deferred maintenance is the real culprit here as well?
Switch problem leads to more SkyTrain delays
By Matthew Robinson, Vancouver Sun September 30, 2014TransLink’s SkyTrain is down yet again, subjecting Lower Mainland commuters to the latest round of packed stations, delayed trips and long waits.
The transit authority first reported the system outage ai??i?? the second of the day – on its Twitter account just after 6 p.m. Staff then updated TransLink’s followers every few minutes in keeping with its new push to better communicate with passengers during system outages.
“Expo and Millennium Line delays due to an issue at Metrotown Stn/Royal Oak Stn area, “read a tweet around 6:15 p.m. “Canada Line not affected.”
Not long after that, TransLink found the culprit. It was a problem switch.
Reporting that its tech staff was en route, TransLink sent buses out to transfer passengers between problem stations.
By 7 p.m., SkyTrains were running between Waterfront Station and Nanaimo Station and from Edmonds Station to King George Station on the Expo line, according to TransLink, and Millennium Line trains were running from Columbia Station and VCC Clark Station.
But despite the best efforts of TransLinkai??i??s communications staff, stations soon crowded with commuters, and they and others took to social media to air their own thoughts about the problem.
“You could take a ferry to Nanaimo, then to Vancouver before you could skytrain to Vancouver,ai??? tweeted user BrowntoBure.
Sukhreet Chahal had perhaps the saddest thing to say about the system outage, tweeting ai???I was so happy that my class ended early but now theres a problem with the sky train service.ai???
Some outside the Lower Mainland commiserated with the delayed commuters.
“Hell, I don’t even live in Vancouver & I’m sick of hearing about these #Skytrain delays. Pity the users,ai??? tweeted Victoria resident Louise Alexander.
And speculating as to why the delay was taking so long to fix, Aiden tweeted, “I bet the tech support is taking SkyTrain too lmao.”
Itai??i??s been nearly four weeks since the last major system-wide delays hit the SkyTrain. That shutdown was caused by a technical problem near Surreyai??i??s Gateway Station, but prolonged when passengers opened the train doors and walked to the nearest station exited two trains on the guideway.
Transit police have warned passengers in the past not to force open SkyTrain doors during a system shutdown, saying they could face fines if they do so.
The earlier September shutdown follows two other lengthy system outages in July. TransLink brass ordered an independent review after those shutdowns that is ongoing. Gary McNeil, an industry expert, has until the end of October to report on TransLinkai??i??s response to major system outages and determine what can be done to prevent them from happening.
A Letter in the Courier
A letter in the Vancouver Courier.
Letter: Transit planners are on the wrong track
Re: ai???Mayorsai??i?? Council may expect Vancouver to fund Broadway line,ai??? Sept. 24.
September 30, 2014 11:28 AM
To the editor:
Re: ai???Mayorsai??i?? Council may expect Vancouver to fund Broadway line,ai??? Sept. 24.
Mr. Gellerai??i??s articleAi?? illustrates a very important point, the region does not have experts in ai???railai??? for rail-based transit systems. Our universities, unlike Europe, do not have faculties of Urban Transport; there are no graduate courses in urban transportation nor is the history of public transportation taught. Currently we have mere amateurs planning our regional rapid transit and TransLinkai??i??s operation certainly reflects this.
The first mistake of an amateur transit planner is believing that a transit system only gets better by throwing more money at it. The success of a public transit system is dependent on how user-friendly the transit system is and our current transit system is far from user friendly evidenced from events this summer when SkyTrain stopped working and thousands of customers abandoned SkyTrain like rats leaving a sinking ship.
TransLinkai??i??s current financial ill-health can be traced back directly to the SkyTrain mini-metro system, which despite local hype and hoopla, is more expensive to build and operate than its chief competitor: modern light rail transit (LRT). For added insult, modern LRT also has and always had a higher capacity than SkyTrain and, combined with higher construction and operation costs, is the main reason only seven such systems have been built in the past 36 years!
Putting SkyTrain (which was first designed to mitigate the high cost of subway construction) in a subway will only increase construction and operation costs but will not increase efficiency. Increase operating costs, which combined with the fact that subway are very poor in attracting new ridership, will make a Broadway subway a very heavy finical millstone around TransLinkai??i??s neck.
The City of Vancouver by demanding a SkyTrain subway may be putting its taxpayers at risk as the cost difference between subway construction could be as much as 10 times more than on-street/at-grade LRT.
Instead of Vancouver taxpayerai??i??s anteing up $500 million (a figure presented by amateur transit planners), they could be on the hook for billions of dollars more!
It should be of interest that despite SkyTrain being in operation in metro Vancouver since 1985, no city in North America and Europe has copied Vancouverai??i??s transit planning, nor have they copied using the proprietary SkyTrain mini-metro.
But then, our amateur transit planners tend to gloss over that singular fact when campaigning for a SkyTrain subway under Broadway.
Malcolm Johnston,
Delta
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