Letters from Rail for the Valley folk

Two letters from people who support, Rail for the Valley and improving transit South of the Fraser Users and taxpayers lose with regional transit plan Delta Optimist June 29, 2016 Editor: The recent $740 million photo-op with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his protAi??gAi?? for the next federal election, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, and B.C.’s premier, […]

The Costly White Elephant In The Room

While Vancouver mayor Pines for a SkyTrain subway under Broadway and Trudeau the Younger smiles at the cameras with promises of transit manna from heaven, no one is addressing the real subway issue: costs! It is now estimated that the Millennium Line subway extension to Arbutus will now cost $3 billion or slightly higher, if […]

The German Transportation Fiasco

If one thinks German transit and transportation is a panacea, think again, as the countries transit infrastructure is beset with costly maintenance issues, the major one being under-funding. We see the same on this side of the pond, with aging transit infrastructure in need of major maintenance, especially in Vancouver. From the Guardian…. Why German […]

Evergreen Line Woes – How Much Over Budget?

The Honolulu light-metro is $1.4 billion over budget. Toronto’s Scarborough subway is already $900 million over budget. Then it should not come as a surprise that the Evergreen Line is over budget. The question is, by how much? Evergreen Line delay costs lead to mediation, B.C. government hiding info on costs, changes and challenges SNC-Lavalin […]

Transit Funding and The Mayor’s Ten Year Plan

There is little need for an introduction as Professor Patrick Condon succinctly lays it on the table. Transit Funding and the Future of Urban Design “Skytrain in Vancouver” by Micheal Chu is licensed by CCBY The connection between public transit and urban sustainability is significant;Ai??public transportation has been shown to reduce air pollution and GHG […]

Trudeau’s Big Announcement: Big Winners – Bombardier and Bureaucrats

Ah, such a photo-op for our new PM; oh, such an announcement, but really, this just a rehash of old news releases tarted up for a photo-op so PM Trudeau can claim that BC has not been left out of the Liberals game plan of shoveling money off a back of a truck. The stumbling […]

Much Ado About Nothing

Photo-op’s are a politician’s best friend, so now we have all three levels of government glad handing for the camera’s on the transit issue. The key sentence is; “…….that would allow the three levels of government to at least get started on parts of the mayorai??i??s ten year plan.“ So no discussion of the $3 […]

TransLink Spies On Media Reports

One can now tell how dysfunctional TransLink is when it blames the messenger and not itself; in fact TransLink is scared of the messenger. Again, instead of spending time and energy in providing a good transit service, TransLink spies on media reports and organizations who disagree with this ossified bureaucracy. It must be getting very […]

Zwei Told You So! Few Fare Cheats On SkyTrain!

So, where is the massive fare evasion that warranted over $200 million spent on the Compass Card and Fare Gates for the SkyTrain light-metro system? No massive amounts of fare evasion you say? Maybe it was all those U-Pass holding students that confused everyone? Who was the lobbyist for Cubit Industries again? So, $63,000 more […]

If Broadway’s Transit Ridership Doesn’t Improve, Cancel the Subway

Memo to TransLink, the city of Vancouver, the Mayor’s Council, and Mr. Factbender, subways need a large mass of ridership to justify construction. Quote: “This is way less than the 15,000 riders used as the benchmark for justifying subway service, and about half the ridership projected when Toronto City Council approved the subway in 2013.” […]