The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland – Revisited

A repost from 2013. In 1992, the region woke up to a GVRD study that exposed the deceit of many politicians of the day who claimed that SkyTrain operated without subsidy. The truth was just the Expo line to New Westminster was heavily subsidized, more than the combined diesel and trolley buses! I add this […]

The Grand Broadway Subway Photo-Op Begins

It has all been said before the many issues that plague the Broadway subway but never keep a politician from a grand photo-op to show the public how politicians squander money. Liberal and NDP cabinet members, with the federal Liberals election ready, will attend, eager for the public too see how they squander taxpayer’s money […]

The Paths to Public Transport Enlightenment

  In light of former MP Denise Savoei’s grossly ill-informed letter in the Victoria’s Times Colonist about the E&N railway and public transport in general, the following maybe of some help for those advocating for affordable and user friendly transit in BC. The following from London Reconnections. The Paths to Public Transport Enlightenment By Long […]

Why We Build With Light Rail

From December 2008, Zwei’s first post!   What is Light Rail Transit or more commonly known as LRT? According to the Light Rail Transit Association (www.lrta.org) Light rail is a mode that can deal economically with traffic flows of between 2,000 and 20,000 passengers per hour per direction, thus effectively bridging the gap between the […]

How To Build Light Rail In Our Cities Without Emptying The Public Purse

As urban sprawl and strip development is now engulfing the lower mainland, with associated traffic congestion and pollution, Rail for the Valley’s concept of TramTrain makes sense. We cannot afford to extend SkyTrain at over $200 million/km and certainly there is absolutely no real economic or business case for a subway under Broadway for a […]

The $100 Question – Will Transit Ridership Return?

The Covid-19 pandemic has transit planners worrying about future operations, especially in Vancouver. Despite TransLink’s claims that…… “The agency is projecting ridership to be at 80 to 90 per cent of pre-pandemic capacity by next year” ………. privately, some insiders are predicting that transit may reach pre-covid levels in ridership in a decade! Why so. […]

If the UK is Reinstating former Passenger Routes, Why Can’t We?

Really, $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of light-metro is an awful lot of money for so small increase in a rail route; 5.8 km to extend the Millennium Line in Vancouver and 7 km in Surrey. By comparison, $1.5 billion would provide a 130 km Vancouver to Chilliwack service, with three trains per hour […]

Zwei’s Road Trip To The Future

  During this Covid-19 emergency, getting housebound is just collateral damage, so Zwei fired up the family chariot and went on a road trip through south Surrey, Langley, Huntington, Yarrow, Vedder Crossing, and Chillwack/Rosedale and was astounded by the mass of development, especially in the Vedder, Promontory areas. Any politician today, who states or claims […]

German Tram Redoux

In the 1970’s, German trams were on the decline. Two decades of subway mania fragmented tram lines and tram routes and on the whole, ridership on German public transport was declining. Despite eager promises from planners and politicians of futuristic rapid transit, the new subways were not attracting predicted ridership and car use increased dramatically, […]

Spanish Trams On The Rise

From Wikipedia: Valencia was the first Spanish city to reintroduce the tram, in 1994. The success of the modern tramway network in Valencia led to the extension of its lines on three occasions. After Valencia came Bilbao (2002), Alicante (2003), Barcelona (2004) and, in October 2006, the inauguration of the 4.7 km long Vélez-Málaga Tram (which […]