Study: not enough demand for rail service to Fraser Valley – News1130
Study: not enough demand for rail service to Fraser Valley
The province will use this information to plan transit projects to the Fraser Valley over the next 25 years
Jesse Johnston Dec 17, 2010 13:24:22 PM
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The province says new research shows there isn’t enough demand for commuter rail service between Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in the short term, but at least some people in the Valley disagree.
The study says people in the Valley make about 800,000 trips every day, one per cent of them are by transit. It also says 80 per cent of people stay close to home when they travel, so at best, rail service is a long term possibility. That’s why the province is suggesting coach bus service instead of rail as the best way to connect the Valley and Metro Vancouver, at least for now.
But John Vissers with the group Rail for the Valley says more people would take transit if it was an option. “The reason numbers are low is because there’s no service. To use low ridership numbers as an argument against a system that doesn’t exist doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
Vissers also says rail service would cost much less than the $70 million a year that the study suggests.
via Study: not enough demand for rail service to Fraser Valley – News1130.
Respectfully I offer my opinion fro consideration-I lived and commuted from Abbotsford for a number of years before retirement.I find it ludicrous that so called Transi authorities have ‘downplayed ‘light rail in order to substantiate thier mode of transportation.
1- What is the carbon footprint on running a locomotive per single trip,as compared to the tremendous ever increasing number of commuter cars polluting each day from Vancouver to Hope?(Hope is starting to attract commuters due to high cost of housing in the Valley etc)
The cost of highway maintenance is horrendous,and everywhere else in the world with ever increasing populations,rail is the mode of public transportation.Look at London,Holland,Europe,India,Far East,where large cities ar involved.
Why is it that Canada seems to think that they know more about transportation,than the rest of the world when it comes to transportation of large numbers of commuters.The powers or so called experts in BC transportation
are ‘trying to reinvent the wheel’.
Talk about stupidity in its finest form
Thanks
The Liberals spoke negatively of the West Coast Express and it was put down as expensive irresponsible and operate at a loss due to low ridership,which has proven to be untrue on all counts.
In fact I believe that if there was more frequent trips by the West Cst.Express,it too would be utilised more often.
The amount of riders on the Light Rail Transportation would be used all along the line,and it is indicative that in this day and age of air pollution,and ever increasing costs of fuel,insurance,public parking,maintenance cost on vehicles would be greatly reduced,if a true high volume light rapid transit serrvice was put into place.
Additionally,buses burn diesel fuel,carry only at most 50 passengers,their cost fuel,(tires,high mileage and frequent maintenance items, which adds to Freeway traffic,
The WCE, utilises 3,200 HP GM F59PHI diesel-electic locomotives. The turbo charged EMD 12-710E3 12 cylinder 2-stroke water cooled diesel engine fitted in the locomotives, consumes fuel at the rate of 81 gallons per hour on 1/2 load to 160 gallons per hour on full load.
Hardly frugal, not very economic & definitely not environmentally sustainable. Annual operating costs would be reduced by over 50% with a Light Rail/Tram-Train system