
Should We Convert The Canada Line to Light Rail?
Updated for 2024 With Covid-19, this becomes more important than ever. Right now we have a Hobson’s choice for regional rail transit, extend the Millennium and Expo Lines and continue using the proprietary Movia Automatic Light Metro or nothing. This must change and change soon, or the hugely expensive SkyTrain light metro system will become […]

Of Photo-ops And 10 Second Sound Bites – The Mayor’s Council Pre Election Grift
How can one tell it is civic election time. Hint: Regional mayors, with little knowledge about transit, are promising everything, but without a mention of raising taxes to fund those gold plated pre election goodies! I have one question: Funding? It all sounds good, bike lanes here, a gondola there, a UBC subway (strange, no […]

A Tale of Three Letters
Malcolm Johnston, local transit advocate and long time thorn in the side of TransLink, is offering his views of the pre civic election hype regarding the oten announced Massey Tunnel replacement. The one issue that puzzles Zwei is the idea that a bridge will carry more traffic than a tunnel, if both have equal traffic […]
REM
The following article also aptly describes metro Vancouver’s transit planning, which is mostly dictated by the premier’s office and camouflaged in layers of bureaucracy. The result is very expensive, politically inspired rapid transit lines that soon become financial anchors. As a final note, the then Gordon Campbell BC government rejected LRT from the start, dropping […]

Should We Convert The Canada Line to Light Rail?
Updated for 2020 With Covid-19, this becomes more important than ever. Right now we have a Hobson’s choice for regional rail transit, extend the Millennium and Expo Lines and continue using the proprietary Movia Automatic Light Metro or nothing. This must change and change soon, or the hugely expensive SkyTrain light metro system will become […]

Oh Where, Oh Where Has Our Customers Gone………………..
TransLink must soon face a very unpleasant truth, Metro Vancouver’s transit system is crap; it is strictly a commuters transit system, with, except for the core of City of Vancouver, there is little off-peak usage. The transit system is designed to feed the light-metro system and because of this, TransLink, as BC Transit before. has […]

Disappearing Act
The following Google screenshot was made on Wednesday, August 9, 2020, at 7:50 AM. All major crossings in metro Vancouver show little or no congestion. Pre Covir-19, there would be bright red at the tunnel, Oak Street, Knight Street, Alex Fraser, Patullo, Iron workers, and the Lions Gate bridges. In “normal” times, major congestion would […]

Memo
I know it is preaching to the converted, but we must get serious about regional transit. $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of light metro is not spending money wisely. Spending $4.6 billion to build 12.8 km of light metro is based on dated thinking; dated engineering; dated planning; dated transportation philosophy; as well as […]

Instead of “Heavy” Rail, Let’s Try “Very Light” Rail
Interesting news from the Light Rail Transit Association – Very Light Rail. Very Light Rail is a LRT variant where smaller and lighter vehicles are used on routes that cannot support operation of larger vehicles. The costs for Very Light Rail is something to consider, especially when Vancouver is spending $2.8 billion to build 5.8 […]

Reality Is A ……………………….
There is another reason why transit may not return to pre Covid-19 levels any time soon; a reason that TransLink would never admit to: the service provided by TransLink is deemed third rate by customers. User friendliness is the number one reason people use transit and includes ease ticketing, lack of transfers, and the general […]
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