Yes, TransLink does Need An Overhaul!

Common sense at last. Ever since Gordon Campbell and Kevin Falcon and had a hissy fit over the then TransLink Board (made up of local mayors) rejecting the Canada Line metro due to cost concerns, and gutted public oversight for the ponderous bureaucracy and insteadAi??creatingAi??the so called Board of Experts, TransLink has been, to be […]

SkyTrain on the fritz again.

A switching problem may happen on a LRT/streetcar Ai??line but would never cause the chaos that happens whenAi??switch fails on a driverless SkyTrain line. The simple design of an at-grade/on-street tram/light rail switch means it can be operated safely manually if need be. SkyTrain delays this morning were due to switching problem near Nanaimo station […]

As predicted! TransLink is in the red.

As predicted, TransLink has some finacial problems and they are not going to be getting better any time soon. As gas taxes rise, cheaper gas in the USA becomes more attractice to a larger ever larger radius ofAi??audience; as bus fares rise, fewer full revenue passengers will use the transit system; as more cheap fares […]

TransLink’s Executives Slurpin’ At The Public Trough

I don’t know why Transportation Minister BlairAi??Leckstrom is so upset aboutAi??TransLink executives getting expensive bonusesAi??as it was his own government thatAi??laid the foundation forAi??TransLink as it is today. The TransLink of old had mediocre public oversight at best with regional mayors, many of whom with little or no knowledge of public transit, running the show. […]

A bad week for Clarkai??i??s fading B.C. Liberals

Another Canadian politico, deep in the doodoo the sad fact is SkyTrain, the Canada Line and now the the Evergreen SkyTrain Line are big contributors to TransLink’s financial woes. building more SkyTrain only exacerbates the situation. by Gary Mason – Globe & Mail It should have been so simple and straightforward ai??i?? a premier announcing […]

TTC chief: Subway expansion for downtown relief line has to be discussed ai???right nowai??i??

National Post http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/23/subway-or-lrt-downtown-toronto-needs-a-relief-line-ttc-chief-andy-byford/ The real issue for Ford isn’t subways, it’s keeping the roads LRT-free for cars. He’d rather have no transit whatsoever than build light-rail. This mayor is all about catering to the single-occupant motorist. All that SUBWAAAYS bluster was fake. This man has ZERO respect for the decision of our ELECTED City Council, […]

Torontoai??i??s Mayor Ford vows to ai???lead the chargeai??i?? in halting light-rail transit

Mayor Rob Ford is pledging to do ai???everything in his powerai??? to stop light-rail lines from running at street level on Eglinton and Sheppard Avenues in Scarborough. One day after losing the fight to save his subway plan at council, the mayor said he is prepared to ai???lead the charge,ai??? for the taxpayers he says […]

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 […]