AdiA?s Transit Improvements?

A hint of the shape of things to come. TransLink is imploding under its weight of inefficiencies and there is more to come; $30 million must be carved from the TransLink budget to cover the loss of the denied fare increases. Zwei has a few hints where these cuts could come from. Get rid of […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]