The Great BC Carbon Tax Hoax

As Predicted – Evergreen Line faces another yearA?ai??i??ai???s delay and uncertain future

Another prediction from Zwei has come to pass, The Evergreen or locally called Nevergreen SkyTrain line is in serious trouble.

The truth of the matter is that for $1.4 billion dollars, the Evergreen line would attract very few new transit customers and virtually no motorists to the transit system. Every time problems with the Evergreen Line is in the press, Zwei would like like to remind all that American transit expert, Gerald Fox, shredded the Evergreen Line’s business case.

http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2008/12/26/can-translinks-business-cases-be-trusted/

The SkyTrain lobby will wail a great song of discontent, but the reality is and is especially true of the Evergreen Line, the costs of the plannedAi??light metro far outweigh any real benefits the metro would bring to the Tri-City region.

The real solution is of course light rail, but it is not going to happen as far too many politicians, bureaucrats, academics, and media typesAi??have ridden the SkyTrain mini-metro’s coattails for far too long and the embarrassment of admitting that their favourite transit mode and the transportation philosophy that comes with it, had a Ai??foundationAi??of clay. The regionalAi??taxpayer isAi??taxed to the max and unless any increases in transit taxations has a direct inprovementAi??on the local taxpayer and not for gold-plated metros for someone else, I think TransLink will have to make do with what it has.

Real change will only happen, when real democracy happens at TransLink and the people have a real say in how transit is funded and built and until then, the Evergreen line will remain a political promise only.

 

AdiA?s, the Nevergreen line? As of now it is on life-support.

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Evergreen Line faces another yearai??i??s delay and uncertain future

It could be canceled outright because of a funding dispute between the province and Metro Vancouver mayors

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Evergreen+Line+faces+another+year+delay+uncertain+future/4870990/story.html#ixzz1O1xpExZU

By KELLY SINOSKI AND JONATHAN FOWLIE, Vancouver SunJune 1, 2011

METRO VANCOUVER – The long-awaited Evergreen Line will be delayed another year and could be scrubbed altogether unless Metro Vancouver mayors come up with a plan to pay for it, B.C. Transportation Minister Blair Lekstrom has warned.

Lekstrom said this week that the 11-kilometre SkyTrain line linking Burnaby and Coquitlam could not be up and running before late 2015 ai??i?? at the earliest ai??i?? because the mayors have not yet proposed alternative funding sources to cover TransLinkai??i??s $400-million share of the $1.4-billion project.

Former premier Gordon Campbell promised before the 2009 election campaign that the line would be operational by 2014.

ai???The reality is the federal money is there, the provincial money is there, so we are waiting for the mayorsai??i?? council to determine how they are going to raise their $400 million,ai??? Lekstrom said Tuesday.

ai???Without that I think the project would be in jeopardy,ai??? he added. ai???Thatai??i??s the reality.ai???

The announcement prompted everything from resignation to disappointment and anger among the regionai??i??s mayors, who have waited years for the rapid transit line, and signed an agreement with the province last November to look at alternative sources of funding ai??i?? such as road pricing, congestion charges and vehicle levies ai??i?? to pay for it.

A rift also appears to be developing among regional mayors, many of whom are divided on potential options to fund the transit projects ai??i?? with some opposed to road pricing or bridge tolls depending on where they live. Others say not everyone is willing to work with the province to get the Evergreen Line built.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart said the mayors have an obligation to pay for a third of the costs of the line, yet some of those in transit-rich cities are ai???somewhat less supportiveai??? of the project.

But Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan argued mayors have just had enough. He said the provincial government scrapped the mayorsai??i?? plans for the initial line, which was planned as a light rail project, to build a more costly SkyTrain. Even with the province, feds and TransLink paying a third of the costs, he said, there will be a shortfall of $200 million that will still have to be covered.

ai???The project has been one where the province has interfered and is then pointing fingers and blaming municipalities for the failure,ai??? he said. ai???I donai??i??t feel any obligation to get on board this train and I donai??i??t think anyone in the region does … at some point the municipal governments have to stand their ground, at this point the rubber hit the ground with the Evergreen Line.

ai???Weai??i??re not going to taxpayers again to pay for a project well over budget and essentially a pet project for the provincial and federal government. We got burned on the Canada Line and weai??i??re not going to do it again.ai???

But North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton, chairman of the mayorsai??i?? council on regional transportation who will meet with Lekstrom on Friday, said he doesnai??i??t see the latest announcement as ai???a breach of faith.ai???

He noted the negotiations with the province have been slow to progress because of ai???political distractions in Victoria,ai??? including a new premier and transportation minister ai??i?? Lekstrom replaced former minister Shirley Bond ai??i?? but heai??i??s optimistic a deal can be reached in the next few months.

Stewart also said he will head to Victoria himself to lobby for the project, noting Coquitlam has built density and a transit-oriented communities along the proposed line.

ai???Iai??i??m very disappointed if it gets delayed again … we should get this one underway so we can start talking about Broadway and about Surrey and Langley. Transit options have to be improved.ai???

Both Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie and Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs agreed the Evergreen Line is integral to a regional transit plan. Meggs said he was surprised at Lekstromai??i??s comments, noting it was the province that stuck municipalities with the high cost of the SkyTrain line.

Lekstrom said Tuesday he is optimistic the mayors will be able to find a solution to the funding issue, but insisted the delay has nothing to do with the senior levels of government.

ai???That [project] is not delayed by the federal government; it is not delayed by the provincial government. It is delayed as the mayorsai??i?? council works through their options.ai???

Premier Christy Clark also said Tuesday she wants the Evergreen Line to be built. Last month, she also said she would be willing to look at using the carbon tax revenue to fund transit projects.

Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender said the mayors were heartened by Clarkai??i??s comments, and he expects a decision will likely include a combination of options such as road pricing and tolls.

The cost of dithering: Bellevue rail delayed to 2023 – Is This Deja Vu?

Just like TransLink and the METRO region, Seattle’s transit authority is dithering on transit planning, which in the end, delays implementation and drives up the costs of new transit schemes.

The problem in Seattle is almost the same as in Vancouver and this is no coincidence as Seattle’s planners have used Vancouver as a model for urban redevelopment and transit planning. The result is telling, as Seattle has built a multi billion hybrid light metro/rail line which is doing very poorly in attracting new ridership. What Seattle’s planners have ignored or did not understand that 80% of SkyTrain’s ridership is forced onto the metro byAi??compelling bus riders to transfer from bus to metro to complete their journey. The SkyTrain metro itself has done a very poor job in attracting new ridership, especially when one considersAi??over $8 billion has been spent on Vancouver’s three metro lines!

Like Vancouver, Seattle’s powers that be refuse to rethink their transit planning and continue on with their costly ‘metro madness’ planning and like Vancouver, dithering on new transit lines will hobbleAi??transit expansion in both regions. In Vancouver, highway expansion is happening at an ever growing pace, while in Seattle, a multi billion dollar highwayAi??tunnel is replacing a rather decrepit elevated highway. In both cases much cheaper light rail was never considered due to the high cost of both cities light metro lines.

The result of this metro madness is very expensive metro lines, high taxes and a growing reliance on the car as the transit system becomes non-user friendly as money earmarked for future transit lines is spent on a few politically and bureaucratically prestigious mini-metro lines..

When light rail is grade separated, either on viaduct or in a subway

it becomes a light metro, loosing much of the advantages of light rail.

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The cost of dithering: Bellevue rail delayed to 2023

Posted by Mike Lindblom

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politicsnorthwest/2015167978_the_cost_of_dithering_bellevue.html

Sound Transit executives broke the bad news Thursday the agency has already lost a year delivering the East Link rail line to Bellevue and Overlake — so the trains won’t arrive until at least 2022, or even 2023 if the route includes a tunnel in downtown Bellevue.

When voters approved a 15-year suburban rail construction plan in 2008, the agency planned to reach Bellevue in 2020 and reach Overlake, near the Microsoft world headquarters, a year later.

But the regional transit agency and the Bellevue city government have failed to agree yet on two crucial issues:

* Bellevue wants a tunnel from about Main Street to Northeast Sixth Street, so trains don’t cross busy east-west streets and worsen the traffic congestion. A tunnel costs about $276 million more than a surface line, raising the total to $2.8 billion ($2010). Sound Transit offered to pay $100 million while Bellevue supposedly would raise $158 million, nearly closing the gap.

* A slim 4-3 City Council majority has wanted the trackway to run along I-405 south of downtown, instead of a shorter route alongside the Surrey Downs neighborhood. Sound Transit engineers think the freeway route would add at least $150 million, mainly because it requires more spans of elevated trackway.

Ric Ilgenfritz, Sound Transit project development director, said talks are productive about tunnel cost-sharing, except that Bellevue won’t finish a deal unless the sides agree on the southern approach route.

To some extent, government officials brought this problem on themselves. Intent on winning the 2008 election, the transit board under then-Chairman Greg Nickels avoided a public, bare-knuckle debate about the downtown and southern routes. Sound Transit staff clearly said thenthat cost estimates assumed an elevated line, so tunneling would require more funds.

From The Local News………………

From the Vancouver Sun and the Vancouver Province

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Opinion: TransLink's math on U-Pass fraud is questionable

One in six students would have to resell their transit pass each year to cause $15 million in losses

By Stephen Hume, Vancouver Sun – May 27, 2011

http://www.vancouversun.com/opinion/editorials/TransLink+math+Pass+fraud+questionable/4847913/story.html

Forgive my doubting nature, but I'm not ready to buy the claim that students reselling transit passes forced upon them as a condition of enrolling at many universities and colleges is really costing TransLink $15 million a year.

To begin with, by my arithmetic -admittedly imprecise, but then so is the evidence supporting claims of significant student transit fraud -one in six students would have to resell his or her non-transferable U-Pass each academic year for TransLink to lose that much.

Secondly, extrapolating lost revenue on the basis of passes that have simply disappeared -lost in the mail, left in a jeans pocket at the laundry, buried at the bottom of a handbag, used as a bookmark and forgotten, mishandled by institutions -is really an imaginary cost that may not even be occurring.

TransLink says investigators found 29 U-Passes either listed for sale or sought by prospective buyers on Craigslist, up from two postings on the website several weeks earlier. This may represent a trend -or it may not. Whatever it is, it's a tiny sample.

While even a small black market in discounted transit passes certainly deserves concern, 29 U-Passes amounts to about two per cent of the more than 1,500 a month that would have to be sold during the academic year for TransLink to lose what it claims.

One of TransLink's complaints is students who "receive" a U-Pass "provided" by their college or university but then use it after they've dropped studies. But students must pay up to $200 per term in non-refundable U-Pass fees under levies from which they can't opt out, whether they need the pass or not.

Forcing students to pay for the pass, refusing a refund when their enrolment status changes and complaining that they use what they've paid for while it's still valid seems more than a tad unjust.

TransLink was quoted Thursday as saying it might have to cancel the student pass program if the problem persists but was soon distancing itself from what seems to be an overthe-top response. A spokesman later said that "in the fullness of time," TransLink might have to reconsider should the U-Pass program prove unsustainable due to student fraud.

Talk about getting out the elephant gun to hunt fleas.

TransLink itself says there are solutions to this. Meetings are already scheduled to discuss a universal electronic fare card that could replace transit passes and permit TransLink to cancel any U-Pass it believes misused. And how about a lowtech solution like asking students to present their college ID along with the U-Pass?

Some anti-fraud organizations estimate that up to 15 per cent of insurance claims are either exaggerated or fraudulent.

So, anybody in favour of ending auto insurance and shutting down ICBC because clients are seven times more likely to precipitate a fraudulent act than the evidence indicates is the incidence of buying or selling non-refundable student transit passes on Craigslist?

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Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/Pass+woes/4858425/story.html#ixzz1NrK0w6CQ

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As a resident of the Forest Grove community, I deeply disagree with the Burnaby Mountain gondola project.

TransLink has been completely unethical with the entire consultation process. There have been no open dialogues between residents and TransLink officials. They have concealed the stakeholder's involvement in this project and fast-tracked its approval.

We are not a resort community or tourist attraction. We enjoy our conservation land, hiking trails, salmon-spawning streams, wildlife habitat and elementary school just the way they are.

We'd receive no benefit from having 3,000 people whisked above our heads all day long, but the luxury SFU development of UniverCity can now add another sexy selling feature to its list!

Julie Ponsford, Burnaby

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