As Predicted – Problems Threatens The U-Pass Program

As predicted some time ago, there are serious problems with the U-Pass program. This news item from the Vancouver Sun is but only a tip of the iceberg. The real problem with the U-Pass is not reselling of the pass, etc. rather U-Pass holders are using it much more than anticipated, causing financial havoc to TransLink.

The problem is that too many U-Pass holders are using it too much, with a major problem that the rush hour buses are full of U-Pass holding students, forcing full fare customers to reconsider using the bus or metro and find other transportation options.

Zwei has long predicted that major problems would arise from the U-Pass program and they have come to pass and Translink blaming it on lost, stolen or resold passes is a mere smokescreen to hide the truth, the massive U-Pass program may be filling the buses, but it is bankrupting the transit system.

The U-Pass is as close as a free lunch one can get and as everyone knows, there is no such thing as a free lunch.

Translink should come clean why the U-pass is such a problem and not blame it on stolen passes or other such nonsense.

Post script:

This post was written on Thursday morning, by Thursday afternoon, TransLink's spin doctors were hard at it claiming that TransLink doesn't want to get rid of the U-Pass and it was over exaggeration on the part of the reporter. Zwei's contacts tell a different story, desperate Liberal politicians forced Translink into make an about face to keep the political hot potato.

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TransLink threatens to cancel U-Pass

By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun – May 26, 2011

http://www.vancouversun.com/TransLink+threatens+cancel+Pass/4840844/story.html

METRO VANCOUVER – TransLink is losing as much as $15 million a year to lost, stolen and resold U-Passes, prompting officials to threaten to cancel the student program if the problem persists.

In a bid to eliminate the online resale of the transit passes, TransLink has asked Craigslist to help crack down on those posting U-Pass resale ads, but has yet to receive any cooperation from the classifieds website.

TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie said the Transit Police sent a letter to Craigslist two weeks ago asking for help in either not allowing U-Pass resale ads or allowing TransLink to flag them so they can be removed from the site.

Craigslist hasn’t yet responded, Hardie said, and as of Wednesday there were 29 transit passes for sale or wanted on the website — up from just two a few weeks ago.

“We’re doing our best but we could use more help from the schools, the student associations and Craigslist,” Hardie said.

About 80,000 U-Passes were provided to students this year at the University of B.C., Emily Carr University, Simon Fraser University, Capilano University, Langara College and Vancouver Community College at a discounted rate of about $30 per month.

The passes, which are non-transferable, can be used throughout the region on buses, SkyTrain and SeaBus. Regular transit users pay $151 for a similar multi-zone monthly pass.

With the U-Pass program set to expand this fall to Douglas College, Kwantlen Polytechnic University and BCIT, the potential loss could rise to $25 million, Hardie estimates.

And the rising losses, he warned, could put the program in jeopardy because if it’s not sustainable, TransLink will consider shutting it down.

TransLink estimates it loses between $7.8 million and $15 million every year from lost, misplaced, stolen or resold U-Passes. In an average year, about 11 per cent of U-Passes are lost, either by students or in the mail, and are replaced. If those passes were used for three-zone travel, the value equates to $9 million a year.

At the same time, about five per cent of students who register for school and receive a U-Pass drop out and do not return the passes, which are potentially worth a total of about $6 million. Another $2.4 million is lost as two per cent of U-Passes sent to schools for distribution are unaccounted for, Hardie said.

The passes are supposed to be used in conjunction with student cards but this isn’t always done.

Transit Police Staff Sgt. Ken Schinkel said those caught with a legitimate card belonging to someone else will be charged $173 for improper use of a fare as well as another $173 for not having a fare.

“It’s not uncommon [for fines to be laid] and it’s not just with a U-Pass,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a legitimate U-Pass that a student doesn’t require any more so they try to make a little money off it or some manufacture them on a computer.”

Those caught could also be charged with fraud although no one has been charged lately with the offence, but investigations are ongoing.

Meanwhile, TransLink is setting up an advisory group with the universities and student associations to monitor U-Passes. A meeting is scheduled next week to also discuss the new Compass Card, a universal electronic fare card that will replace all the transit passes and will allow TransLink to automatically shut down a U-Pass it suspects is being misused.

Gordon Price, director of the City Program at SFU, said TransLink will always likely see some fare cheating on the system. But he noted students themselves have a stake in maintaining the integrity of the U-Pass because they’re getting a good deal.

Hardie said TransLink will also continue to pressure Craigslist for help.

Craigslist didn’t respond Wednesday to an emailed interview request from The Vancouver Sun.

Tensions rise over proposed Simon Fraser University gondola – TransLink Uses RftV estimates!

Portland's aerial tramway intermediate 60 metre tower.

If Portland has one, then TransLink wants one too!, this is called the 'neat' factor.

TransLink just doesn't get it, the organization never has.

The 'consultation' process, including community meetings is a sham, with TransLink any sort of consultation process is a sham. It seems now what is happening is TransLink's 'transit geeks' want a neat looking aerial tramway, because, well golly gee whiz other people have them. Listening to TransLink's Ken Hardie on the radio, spinning his tale of wonderment with the aerial tramway and how cost effective it is, makes one wonder shy TransLink doesn't propose aerial tramways for all major bus routes. Here we have another TransLink farce in the making.

TransLink is now lowering capacity on the SFU aerial tramway to 3,000 persons per hour per direction buy planning for 19 aerial tramway cabins (hey didn't that phrase cabin come from the RftV blog?), with a capacity of 35 persons each, traveling at 40 second headways (40 second headways definitely came from the RftV blog!).

Also interesting, is that the costs for the aerial tramway seem to be rising from $70 million to $120 million – shades of the Canada Line fiasco!

Like the Canada line, it seems the main driver behind the SFU gondola is Simon Fraser University itself and not TransLink. With the Canada line it was Vancouver Airport Authority who demanded a $2.5 billion subway!

Is there a cheaper solution. like a $1000.00 solution? Could not TransLink put chains on the buses, like Seattle does, in snowy weather for the climb to SFU?

I guess chaining buses when snow is predicted is just not neat enough for TransLink and SFU, especially when Valley residents will be paying the shot for another TransLink boondoggle.

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Tensions rise over proposed Simon Fraser University gondola

By Sam Cooper, The Province – May 25, 2011

http://www.theprovince.com/Tensions+rise+over+proposed+Simon+Fraser+University+gondola/4840552/story.html

At a tense town hall meeting Tuesday angry Burnaby Mountain residents accused TransLink planners of railroading a $120-million “Whistler-style freak show” gondola through several quiet neighbourhoods.

Community meetings are part of the second-phase of a feasibility study for a 2.6-kilometre tramline from Production Way-University SkyTrain Station to Simon Fraser University, a route that was deemed to have the least negative impacts of four possible routes.

At Cameron elementary school, TransLink planner Jeff Busby explained to about 50 residents that about 19 cabins would carry 3,000 people per hour up the mountain, with the benefit of reducing bus trips, greenhouse gas emissions, and operating costs.

Cabins carrying 35 people per load would leave the station every 40 seconds, carried on a tramline that would be supported by five 70-metre steel towers.

The gondola would improve service, Busby said, since bus service to the university is interrupted on average 10 days per year in slippery winter weather.

But residents from the Forest Grove neighbourhood and Pine Ridge Housing Co-Op broke into Busby’s presentation, demanding answers.

“This isn’t a consultation, you’ve already picked the route and now you say you want feedback,” Wayne MacConnel told a TransLink planner.

“It completely destroys whatever peaceful feeling of living in the forest we had when you run a Whistler-style freak show over your head every 40 seconds.”

Many residents said they believe TransLink is choosing the path of least resistance.

“My main concern is what it will do to our land value,” Forest Grove resident Karen Taylor told The Province.

“I think they will decide to push this through because we don’t have the numbers (to resist the move.)”

“I think they will build it over the low income housing because those are the people that are easiest to bully,” said Robin, a mother who lives in Pine Ridge Housing Co-Op.

“We moved here because it’s peaceful and quiet for our children, and now we’ll have this beast going over us every forty seconds. It’s horrible.”

The gondola idea is the brainchild of Gordon Harris, CEO of SFU’s Community Trust.

SFU estimated a design based on the Peak-2-Peak gondola in Whistler would cost about $70 million.

Busby said TransLink believes the cost will be twice that, and funding will be sought from three levels of government.

The gondola’s fare would be integrated into TransLink’s system with most of the riders projected to be those who live and work on the mountain, Busby said.

Busby said since TransLink’s first priority is completing the Evergreen Line, if the project was approved, 2014 would be the earliest finish date.

Busby said it’s projected “quantifiable” gondola benefits are estimated to be about four times greater than costs over 25 years.

scooper@theprovince.com

News From Down-Under

What I like about this article from Australia is that the picture gives a clear indication of what a LRT/streetcar line should look like down Broadway or any other city street in the region.

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This is how Broadway could look like with modern Light Rail.

Councils are on line for tram fight

EXCLUSIVE by Vikki Campion

From:The Daily Telegraph

May 25, 2011

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/councils-are-on-line-for-tram-fight/story-e6freuzi-1226062268213

 

Sydney's rail-starved eastern suburbs are pushing for light rail ahead of the CBD's George St, arguing the city heart already has public transport while residents continue to use a conga line of buses.

Randwick Council has earmarked $100,000 in its draft budget to commission a study for light rail – and promised more cash in the future.

City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has announced $180 million in her council's draft budget to build walkways, landscaping and signage for trams along George St.

Randwick Mayor Murray Matson said the Sydney CBD had trains, monorail and ferries while tens of thousands of commuters from the eastern suburbs had no choice but to catch buses.

"You've only got to look at how congested our roads are to know that something needs to be done," he said.

Randwick's study would help fast-track investigations and route planning for the expansion of light rail, examining potential routes from the CBD to Randwick, financial viability, patronage, costings and a consultation strategy.

Three major hospitals, the University of NSW, Centennial Park, Royal Randwick racecourse, Fox Studios, Sydney Cricket Ground and the Sydney Football Stadium are all supported solely by buses.

Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian said a feasibility study into the extension of the network in the CBD to the University of NSW and the University of Sydney would begin soon.

"The study will determine if extending the light rail network from Central to the University of NSW is viable and in the best interests of commuters and taxpayers," she said.

 

 

  

Medical emergency halts SkyTrain

VANCOUVER — SkyTrain service has stopped between Commercial-Broadway and Metrotown stations due to a medical emergency at Joyce-Collingwood station.

Before & after – TOD French Tramway style

Angers: before and after the coming of the Tram

Taken from http://www.lineoz.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=19049&p=317604#p317604

Ai??

The series of images shows the improvements in the urban environment that the introduction of an at-grade tram system can bring.

1. Rue de la RoAi??Ai??Ai??- before

and after

Ai??2. Alsace – before

and after

Finally a link to a `drivers eye’ video

http://www.courrierdelouest.fr/actualite/article-video_-Angers.-Le-tramway-comme-si-vous-le-conduisiezr_25922-102_actualite.Htm

Enjoy!

Solve bus problems: Make TransLink accountable

Sound Transit to invest $2.1M in rail, bus ridership research

Seattle's LRT is grossly overbuilt for what it does.

Seattle has built a grossly over-engineered light rail line which has more in common with Vancouver's SkyTrain light metro than LRT and ridership is flagging. Having failed to meet forecast ridership comes as no surprise as the hybrid light rail/metro is trying to be all things to all people and in the end pleasing none.

What Seattle transit planners probably do not wish to recognize is that what they planned, was doomed for failure and now ($2 billion too late) hiring market research companies to find what the public really wants and how to grow ridership.

In Vancouver, our three light-metro lines just carry enough ridership to fool the mainstream media which spins the story about our 'successful transit system' to the public. Our transit planners just sit back and let high priced spin doctors feed local TV and radio stations with news release after news release, singing hosannas about how successful our SkyTrain and Canada line light-metros are. What is quietly forgotten is the massive subsidies to pay for our three metro lines have truncated the rest of the transit system.

Funny, no one has copied Vancouver's light metro transit model, except Seattle and the city and its transit system are ignored by the international transit community at large.

Back to Seattle; I could save Sound Transit $2.1 million and simply tell them the truth; "Your $2 billion hybrid light rail/metro system is not customer friendly and thus will not attract much new custom".

"You must completely rethink how and why you build LRT!"

I think fixing the problem will mean that Sound Transit must to get rid of a few sacred cows, starting with that $2 billion, three mile subway to the University District , instead plan for classic on-street/at-grade LRT, with stops every 500 to 600 metres (about 1500 feet) apart, what has proven to attract ridership. Transit authorities must completely rethink how and why they build LRT and how they provide transit and it is not going to be easy, for like Vancouver, they keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different and more successful results each time.

I'm afraid the transit clock has run out in Vancouver, with an out of control planning bureaucracy for ever coming up with more expensive subway schemes, but not in Seattle where a usable and customer friendly LRT can be planned for still, instead of politically and bureaucratically prestigious metros and subways. But is there the political will to make change happen?

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Sound Transit to invest $2.1M in rail, bus ridership research

Sound Transit will spend as much as $2.1 million for consultants to conduct market research, in hopes of boosting its rail and bus ridership.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015100696_soundtransit20m1.html

Sound Transit will spend as much as $2.1 million for consultants to conduct market research, in hopes of boosting its rail and bus ridership.

"Finding out what will get people out of their cars and into our services is going to require some deep research and talking to a lot of people in our region," said communications Director Ron Klein.

The board's operating committee voted unanimously Thursday to pay EMC Research up to $1.5 million over five years, and Resource Systems Group up to $630,000 over three years. EMC will analyze public and customer attitudes, while Resource Systems will measure the effects of fares, fuel prices, tolls, congestion and parking on traveler choices.

Meanwhile, neighboring Pierce Transit and Community Transit are cutting buses. King County Metro is considering a $20 car-tab fee to preserve bus service plus the roomier, more frequent RapidRide buses voters approved five years ago.

Sound Transit has announced a long-term $3.9 billion shortfall in its $18 billion, 15-year expansion plan, and the possible scrapping of a future station in Federal Way, but it has ample cash for now.

"If the economy weren't so bad, our partner agencies would want this information as badly as we do," Klein said.

Community Transit Chairman Dave Gossett said there's no way his agency could find $2 million for market research. But it has paid consultants to examine who rides which bus lines — data now being used to make tough decisions, he said.

"Any transit agency is a business, and it's a business that needs to attract customers, just like GM or any other business," Gossett said.

Ridership on Seattle-area Link light rail increased in March to 21,341 average weekday trips, 18 percent above March 2010. That's still below an original goal of more than 26,000 trips. Recession is one factor, and a decision to charge fares downtown likely dissuaded some, a spokesman said.

Sounder commuter trains in March carried an average 8,799 riders a weekday, down more than 4 percent from a year earlier, as mudslides closed the Everett line for a week.

EMC already does annual customer-satisfaction surveys for Sound Transit, but officials say they lack a clear picture of people who don't ride.

That knowledge could help target advertising dollars more effectively, Klein said.

After the Roads and Transit plan lost a regional vote in 2007, an EMC poll indicated a transit-only package might pass. That influenced the agency's decision to try again in 2008 and win.

Sound Transit won't dwell on certain bus lines, such as the 590 from Tacoma to Seattle, that are full, Klein said.

But there's plenty of room on Sounder and Link. "We have trains that are going to run whether they are full or half full," Klein said. "We want them completely full."

Operations-committee members voting yes Thursday were Dave Enslow, mayor of Sumner; Claudia Thomas, of Lakewood; John Marchione, of Redmond; and Paul Roberts, of Everett, who each hold local elected office.

Mike Lindblom:

Aging Pattullo Bridge needs to be replaced – Why Not Build A New Combined Road/Rail Bridge Instead?

Taxpayers Beware – Seattle’s Newest Subway Is Costing $400 Million A Kilometre

This story should be sounding alarm bells everywhere, Seattle's newest subway, a mere 4.8 km long, is set to cost a massive USD $2 billion or about USD $400 million per km to build, making this insane project one of the worlds more expensive subway projects!

'Zwei' never supported Seattle's so-called LRT line because it is really a very expensive hybrid light rail/metro line with many kilometres of route on elevated viaduct or in deep tunnels. It is not classic light rail and only small portions of the line can be considered true light rail. It's paltry daily ridership supports 'Zwei's' contention that the entire line has been over built and built in the wrong location.

What is being built is not light rail at all, rather a super expensive subway operating light rail vehicles instead of heavy rail subway cars. It is LRT in name only.

This new Seattle subway poses several questions; including; "Is the costs for the completed Canada line accurate?"

More importantly: "Is TransLink's estimates for subway construction under Broadway accurate?"

Seattle's hybrid light metro/rail system makes a mockery out of fiscally sound transit planning and this multi billion dollar 5 km. subway looks more like civic penis envy on steroids than sound transit planning.

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Boring to begin Monday on light-rail link to UW

This week, Sound Transit will start drilling a $2 billion, three-mile light-rail tunnel to connect the University of Washington, Capitol Hill and Westlake Center.

By Mike Lindblom

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015064449_railtunnel16m.html

This week, Sound Transit will start drilling a $2 billion, three-mile light-rail tunnel to connect the University of Washington, Capitol Hill and Westlake Center.

Boring machines will work around the clock for more than a year. Trucks will carry away dirt, while others will deliver arc-shaped segments to build the tunnel walls. Then rails will be installed, and stations constructed.

The fruit of all that labor and noise is a direct line joining three of the premier transit hubs in Washington state.

The first machine will be christened Monday in a ceremony outside Husky Stadium by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff and other dignitaries.

That machine will bore the southbound tunnel south toward Capitol Hill.

A second machine will start the parallel northbound tube in June. Also in June, a third machine will start at Capitol Hill and go one mile toward Westlake Center, be retracted from a pit next to the Paramount Theatre, then return and dig the parallel tube.

The route is scheduled to open by September 2016. The new First Hill Streetcar, due in 2013, will link Capitol Hill Station to the existing International District/Chinatown Station.

Voters approved a UW line in a 1996 regional plan, but cost estimates were off by more than $1 billion, forcing delays and alignment changes.

The long-awaited route is estimated to attract 70,000 daily passengers by 2030 — even more if the agency completes three suburban lines to Lynnwood, Overlake and Highline Community College.

"As the system is completed, this is going to be a big deal," said Josh Kavanagh, UW transportation director.

Ridership estimates can go awry, as illustrated by the existing downtown-to-airport line, currently drawing 21,000 boardings a day instead of the targeted 26,000.

On the other hand, the UW campus, Seattle University and Seattle Central Community College are proven transit markets with a combined enrollment of 56,000. Two of every five UW students and employees take transit already, another two-fifths carpool, bike or walk, and only a fifth drive alone.

Coast Mountain buses passed by stops more than 200,000 times in 2010

The following story, “Coast Mountain buses passed by stops more than 200,000 times in 2010“, is one of bad management rather than anything else. What we see is TransLink’s policy of “to hell with the customer“.

What is sad is that there areAi??many politically inspired bus routes, designed specifically to placate civic politicians in the region, that carry very few customers a day and one would question why they are being operated at all.

In South Delta, the 609, C-84Ai??& C-89 buses, which operate an hourly service or better seven days a week, barely altogether carry 20 customers a day! The 620, Bridgeport station to Tsawwassen Ferry terminal, via Ladner exchange, operates almostAi??empty articulated buses, during the slack weekdays, where standard buses should be used instead, freeing up the artics. for more congested routes in Vancouver. If South Delta isAi??indicative of marginal bus operation, then marginal bus operationAi??elsewhere in the region must be rampant.Ai??If we had competent management thenAi??there should be ampleAi??transit resources to eliminate passenger congestion and pass-ups elsewhere on the transit system.

The question is: “Is TransLink and West coast Mountain Bus competently managed?”

Zweisytem is a perfect example on how bad bus service drives customers back to the car.Ai??’Zwei’ used to commute every day from South Delta to downtown Vancouver, but the reliability of the bus service, plus constant pass-ups was such that IAi??began takingAi??the car. What I found was that I was spending about 20% more, byAi??commuting byAi??car, with the commute time being shortened by almost 30 to 45 minutes a day, plusAi??I had the ability to alter my commute to shop or meet the wife.

What this all means is that West Coast Mountain Bus and TransLink do not give a damn about the transit customer and the public without aAi??vehicle to compel TransLink to provide a better transit service, the TransLink’s ossified central bureaucracy will not lift a finger to improve bus services on over crowded routes.

 

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Documents reveal Coast Mountain buses passed by stops more than 200,000 times in 2010

Company says thereai??i??s little they can do to help frustrated riders

By CHAD SKELTON, Vancouver Sun – May 14, 2011

If you want to get Rob Planckeai??i??s blood boiling, just ask him about the #49 bus.

ai???Iai??i??ve run out of adjectives for how bad it is,ai??? he said. ai???Iai??i??m ready to rip up my bus pass.ai???

The 49 has been part of Planckeai??i??s daily commute since he moved to south Vancouver from Kelowna in 2008.

He takes the bus down 49th Avenue to the Canada Line, the Canada Line down to Broadway, and then the 99 B-Line to his job repairing computers in Kitsilano.

When everything runs smoothly, said Plancke, the trip only takes about half an hour.

Unfortunately, things often donai??i??t run smoothly.

Plancke has lost count of the number of times the 49, chock full of passengers, has passed right by his bus stop at Elgin and 49th. He gets passed up at least once a week, he said, and sometimes has bus after bus run right by him.

ai???One day I was standing there for an hour and watched five buses go by,ai??? he said. ai???It became so bad I was getting reprimanded at work for being late three or four times a week.ai???

Unfortunately, Plancke isnai??i??t alone.

Data obtained by The Vancouver Sun reveals the 49 is the worst route in Metro Vancouver for pass-ups, with bus drivers leaving passengers stranded at stops along the route more than 16,000 times last year alone.

And thatai??i??s just a fraction of the more than 200,000 pass-ups that occurred across the region in 2010.

Officials with Coast Mountain Bus Co. say theyai??i??re aware of the pass-up problem and realize the inconvenience it causes customers.

But they also say a combination of factors ai??i?? from financial pressures to route layouts ai??i?? means thereai??i??s very little they can do about it.

ai???For all intents and purposes, we canai??i??t address pass-ups,ai??? said Tom Fink, director of transit service design for Coast Mountain. ai???We would love for everyone who gets to a bus stop to get on a bus. But thatai??i??s just not going to happen.ai???Until recently, the true scale of the pass-up problem in Metro Vancouver was something of a mystery. Bus drivers would occasionally radio in that they were leaving passengers behind, but a precise tally of pass-ups didnai??i??t exist.

Then, in 2008, Coast Mountain began outfitting each of its nearly 1,500 buses with GPS technology.

In addition to keeping track of all the buses in its fleet, and whether theyai??i??re on schedule, the new technology also allowed the company to begin collecting detailed pass-up data for the first time.

A touch-screen device at the front of each bus shows a red ai???Pass Upai??? button that drivers are instructed to press whenever they are full and leave passengers behind at a stop.

Each time the button is pressed, the pass-up is recorded in Coast Mountainai??i??s central computers, detailing the exact time and location it occurred. At the request of The Sun, Coast Mountain released its data for all pass-ups in 2010.

Using that data, The Sun created a series of interactive graphics ai??i?? available at vancouversun.com/passup ai??i?? that illustrates which routes and stops have the biggest problems with pass-ups.

Not surprisingly, the data shows pass-ups are primarily a rush-hour issue. And they are most severe during the height of the morning rush between 8 and 9 a.m., what Coast Mountain calls the ai???peak of the peak.ai???

Another smaller spike occurs during the afternoon rush between 3 and 6 p.m.

September, when students are still figuring out their schedules, is the busiest month of the year for pass-ups. December is the quietest.

Pass-ups are also concentrated among a surprisingly small number of routes. Fully one-quarter of all pass-ups on the entire bus system occur on just four routes: the 49, 99 B-Line, 22 (Knight-MacDonald) and 25 (Brentwood Station-UBC).

Why those four?

You might think routes with the most pass-ups would also be those with the most passengers. But of the four worst pass-up routes, only one ai??i?? the 99 ai??i?? is among Coast Mountainai??i??s five busiest routes.

And route 20 (Victoria-Downtown), the second-busiest route on the whole system after the 99, doesnai??i??t even crack the Top 10 for pass-ups.

Rather than sheer passenger volume, transit officials say what causes pass-ups is actually uneven demand: huge spikes in traffic either at particular times of day or in particular locations.

Katherine McCune, manager of service planning for Coast Mountain, said routes that serve post-secondary institutions are a particular challenge. Thatai??i??s because students who need to get to campus for the start of class all pile on buses within the same half-hour window and then cram on again when the last class ends for the day.

Other routes are busy in certain sections but not others, making it difficult for Coast Mountain to determine how many buses to put on the route. For example, the data shows that while the 49 is extremely crowded between Victoria and Cambie, it experiences virtually no pass-ups west of Cambie on its way to the Dunbar Loop and the University of B.C.

Ray Hamilton, supervisor of service analysis for Coast Mountain, said another problem is bus routes that serve rapid-transit stations.

Because so many passengers get on and off at such stops, drivers often have to wait several minutes to ensure everyone has a chance to get off and on. That can cause the next bus in line to catch up.

This bunching of buses can throw the routeai??i??s schedule badly out of whack, create large gaps between buses, and make the problem of pass-ups even worse.

Hamilton said Coast Mountain is working with bus drivers to address the issue, encouraging them to maintain consistent spacing along their route.

Coast Mountain says pass-ups affect only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of thousands of people who use its buses every day. And it notes pass-ups are most common on routes in Vancouver, where the next bus is usually no more than five or 10 minutes away.

However, Plancke, who usually commutes in the late morning, said it doesnai??i??t take many pass-ups to play havoc with a commuterai??i??s life.

ai???When I get passed up, thereai??i??s 10 minutes out of my day,ai??? he said. ai???If I get passed up by another [bus], Iai??i??ll get to work by the skin of my teeth. I have to double my trip time just to make sure Iai??i??m not late.ai???

Don MacLeod, president of the bus driverai??i??s union, said his members tell him the problem of pass-ups and overcrowding has been getting worse each year.

And itai??i??s making driversai??i?? jobs increasingly unpleasant, as they bear the brunt of passenger complaints.

He also suspects Coast Mountainai??i??s figures likely understate the problem, since many drivers he knows have simply given up recording pass-ups.

ai???A lot of drivers donai??i??t use that button because, month after month … nothing changes,ai??? he said.Solving the problem of pass-ups would seem to be relatively straightforward: add more buses.

But Coast Mountain insists itai??i??s not that simple.

The companyai??i??s budget is dictated by TransLink, which funds a set number of ai???service hoursai??? each year.

Those hours went up about 20 per cent between 2005 and 2009, but havenai??i??t risen since.

That means bus service in Metro is essentially a zero-sum game.

ai???Weai??i??re not holding anything back,ai??? said McCune. ai???If weai??i??re putting more service out, there will be less scheduled service [somewhere else], because the pot stays fixed.ai???

And even if TransLink increased its bus budget tomorrow, Coast Mountain says, there are a series of infrastructure issues that make a quick fix for the problem almost impossible.

For example, one of the easiest ways to increase capacity on a bus route without hiring more drivers is to buy long, articulated buses that can hold many more passengers than a standard bus.

Unfortunately, the approach to many bus stops is too short to handle such buses without sticking out into the road and blocking traffic. And many routes, designed decades ago, have bus loops so tight the long buses canai??i??t make it through.

Coast Mountain said its bus depots are also nearly full, meaning thereai??i??s literally nowhere to park more buses, even if they could afford them.

Given those infrastructure challenges, said Fink, addressing the pass-up problem would require major investments right across the system ai??i?? like building brand-new bus depots ai??i?? and take anywhere from two to five years to roll out.

ai???I donai??i??t think weai??i??ll ever fix routes like the 49 and 99,ai??? he said. ai???Itai??i??s physically impossible. And if it was physically possible it would be hugely expensive.ai???

One glimmer of hope on the horizon is TransLinkai??i??s new Compass smart card, launching in 2013.

The card will make it possible to vary fares throughout the day, such as offering discounts for people who commute in the late morning, after the worst of the rush hour is over.

If those incentives encourage some passengers to leave for work a little bit later, or a little bit earlier, that could help smooth out the peaks in demand on the bus system, thereby reducing pass-ups.

ai???The great thing about the new system is that it provides much greater flexibility for us to make these kinds of changes,ai??? Mike Madill, TransLinkai??i??s vice-president in charge of Compass, explained in an email.

In the meantime, Coast Mountain says itai??i??s doing what it can to address pass-ups.

It has a tiny contingent of reserve buses, called ai???trippers,ai??? that it can deploy in extreme circumstances, such as when an unexpectedly large group of foot passengers arrives at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal.

The company is engaged in a long-term ai???service optimizationai??? program designed to, over time, shift buses from low-performing routes to more popular ones.

And, occasionally, it finds a few extra buses to spare.

After the Olympics, Coast Mountain had 20 surplus articulated buses left over from when the Canada Line replaced the 98 B-Line.

Last fall, it put those buses on routes where it thought theyai??i??d do the most good, said Fink, including eight on the 49, ai???the sorest point of the system.ai???

Plancke said the new buses have made a noticeable difference to his daily commute.

As has his decision to walk an extra few blocks to Knight Street, where, since so many people get on and off, buses donai??i??t seem to pass by quite as often.

ai???Itai??i??s still a crush load. Iai??i??m right in everyoneai??i??s face when I get on that bus,ai??? said Plancke. ai???But I havenai??i??t been late to work in almost a month now.ai???