Vehicle registration fee eyed to generate cash for transit services

They just don’t get it. The lower mainland’s regional mayors just haven’t a clue about transit and just keeps the money pumping into the bloated TransLink bureaucracy, which has achieved very little since its inception over a decade ago, except that is, for giving Vancouver the hugely expensive Canada line subway, because Vancouver’s politicians did […]

Kirkland city manager stumps for trail project along old rail line

Interesting news from just South of the border, a city manager actually eying a former disused intact railway for future transit use. Such thinking is so hard to imagine on our side of the 49th, where politicos and bureaucrats, mostly run and hide at the thought of using existing infrastructure. Here is the difference, in […]

How the TTC sullied the reputation of LRT (Part II)

How the TTC sullied the reputation of LRT (PartAi?? II) Ai??March 16,Ai?? 2012 In Part I of my look at howAi?? the TTC has sullied the reputation of LRT, I focused on the TTC’s communicationsAi?? on surface rail, where “LRT” somehow meant “Streetcar Rapid Transit” but “SRT”Ai?? meant “Scarborough… RT”? Plus, while there were 75 […]

How the TTC sullied the reputation of LRT (Part I)

Larry Green, a contributor to the “blog TO” site says Toronto Transit Commission [TTC] tarnished the reputation of light rail, possibly explaining why subways have drawn interest. Below is two parts of this feature story: http://www.blogto.com/city/\ 2012/03/how_the_ttc_sullied_the_reputation_of_lrt_part_i/ “How the TTC sullied the reputation of LRT (Part I) March 15, 2012 Will Toronto’s transit imbroglio never […]

Bogota’s Vaunted Bus Rapid Transit System ai??i?? in Distress

This comes as no surprise as the shine of bus rapid transit is beginning to wane. In South America, the rise of BRT was mainly due to the World Bank’s aversion to fund any type of rail project, but would shovel piles of money off the back of a truck to fund new highway construction. […]

Surrey’s mayor renews call for light rail

Surrey mayor, Dianne Watts is renewing her call for LRT and well she should as the province is now leaning towards a SkyTrain subway under Broadway. Surrey and the south Fraser region is grossly shortchanged by TransLink and public transit is just a few steps up the ladder from dismal. The real problem is TransLink’s […]

The Karlsruhe model of a dual-mode railway system

Karlsruhe: The Karlsruhe model of a dual-mode railway system Country: Germany Type: Policies Area: Entire City, Region Actors: Local Gov. Funding: Local Gov., Regional Gov., National Gov., Private Topics: Built environment Consultancy Mobility Objectives: Increase non-motorised mobility Increase use of public transport Reduce car mobility Reduce energy consumption Instruments: A coupled set of GT-8’s in […]

The 1986 LRTA Study: Bus ai??i?? LRT ai??i?? Metro Comparison – Reprinted

I thought I would reprint this post from May 20, 2010 as it may clear up some major misconceptions about LRT capacity. There is an ongoing debate today that LRTAi??can only carry a limited number of riders and that the magic number for a subway is about 100,000 riders a day on a transit line. […]

Who is driving TransLink?

Who is driving TransLink, you ask? The real answer, if a Mr. Ferry cared to investigate, is the provincial government and the Premier’s office. What is making TransLink so expensive, demanding all sorts of taxes and levies? The provincial demand for light-metro, mostly in the guise of SkyTrain, has increased the the cost of a […]

Why Is Victoria’s Proposed LRT So Expensive?

Why is Victoria’s proposed light rail so expensive? Our friendsAi??at Bring Back Our Trams in Victoria, like the Rail for the Valley folks on this side of the pond, are beginning to wonder aloud, why the proposed Victoria LRT isAi??very close to beingAi??the most expensive LRT in the world, on a per kilometre basis. What […]