Zwei Replies……………………

  The following has been posted on Facebook and other transit blogs with some unfavorable comments about RftV. First off, the article is by Alon Levy, a chap I have never heard of before, who has been described as an expert. An expert, well I think not, but neither is good ole Zwei for that […]

SkyTrain Really Isn’t A Regional Distance Based, Rapid Transit System.

Something to think about. What Zwie has tried to convey for decades, that the driverless light-metro is a money hog and building more, will only see more tax money sucked into this heavily subsidized black hole. Part of the problem is that the mainstream media and TransLink’s lil darlin, the Hive do not report on […]

Political Documents Masquerading As Technical Documents

In BC, Business Cases are a dime a dozen and are merely politcal documents masquerading as technical ones. It is photo-op silly season and with premier Horgan desperately trying to find a legacy project, the Expo Line extension to Langley is his current baby. NDP leadership hopefuls where also there vying for their 10 second […]

The $1.47 Billion Solution

The following news release came to Zwei via Montreal and Germany and answered one very important question, which TransLink is ashamed to reveal locally. The cost of the signalling rehab is $1.47 billion! This is not chump change, but serious coin, which must come from somewhere. Well, I can guess: a little from the Ministry […]

A Prediction: Huge property Tax Increases In 2023

For several years now, Mr. Cow and Zwei have been reminding people that there needs to be a $3 billion or so, rehab done to the Expo and Millennium Lines before any expansion can take place. There was no budget for this. Nonsense! Screamed the SkyTrain lobby. Fake news ranted the SkyTrain boosters. Well, not […]

When Politicians Think They Know Better – Watch Out!

When a new transit line is built, months of testing must take place before commissioning the line for public service. This did not happen in Ottawa. Many people do not realize that the Ottawa LRT operation is automatic, just like Vancouver’s light metro system and the new line suffers the same ills that plague Automatic […]

Of Photo-ops And 10 Second Sound Bites – The Mayor’s Council Pre Election Grift

How can one tell it is civic election time. Hint: Regional mayors, with little knowledge about transit, are promising everything, but without a mention of raising taxes to fund those gold plated pre election goodies! I have one question: Funding? It all sounds good, bike lanes here, a gondola there, a UBC subway (strange, no […]

TransLink Does Something Right – Who Knew!

Zwei has been long advocating for bus services dedicated to cyclists on important routes and the new 900 bus from Bridgeport Station to the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal, via the Ladner Loop, certainly fits the bill. Well done! TransLink launches new summer bike bus in Tsawwassen The Bike Bus will follow the existing 620 route, with […]

Australia’s Gold Coast Tram

As the Horgan government seems to be on snooze control, transit issues, except for the E&N (more on that in a future post) which continues to rot away, a look at Australia’s Gold Coast tram is in order. A modern tramway that defies the current dated thinking in BC and metro Vancouver. Stage 1 In […]

And Now – Here Is The Real Story

  With my long association with the LRTA, I have made many contacts with professionals in the transit industry, who have guided me and given me much information on modern public transport. The following questions deserve an answer. Is current regional transit planning viable in the post Covid world? Is the current light-metro only planning […]