And now, here is the real story ~ Lies, damned lies and statistics!

For a long time now, TransLink’s spin doctors have been crying a woeful story that SkyTrain is “jammed packed” and needs more cars. With ridership numbers increasing at a fantastic rate on the metro, Gordon Campbell’s cronies on theAi??Ai??TransLink Board approved the purchase of more SkyTrain cars. As well, TransLink and ‘Metro’ region are trying […]

Skytrain has run its course; LRT is the way to go.

Langara debate Wednesday: Skytrain has run its course; LRT is the way to go. Wednesday, Jan. 21, 7:30 A?ai??i??ai??? 9:00pm (Doors open at 7:15pm, seating for the first 300 only) The Alice Mackay Room, Lower level Vancouver Public Library, Downtown, Homer & Robson Arguing the AFFIRMATIVE: PATRICK CONDON, Senior Researcher, UBC Design Centre for Sustainability […]

Pattullo Bridge will be closed for at least one month! Bring on the Interurban!

If there was a compelling argument for the proposed interurban service to connect to downtown Vancouver, here it is. Those who want the interurban service to deadhead into Scott Road Station are extremely short sighted and certainly fail to understand the driving mechanisms in attracting ridership – the seamless or no transfer journey. For the […]

Why it is important that SkyTrain not be built on the Evergreen Line

A letter in todays Vancouver Sun ~ SkyTrain extension not an astute investment Vancouver Sun January 8, 2009 The case for SkyTrain’s $1.4-billion Evergreen Line is terribly weak. Despite the hype and hoopla from local politicians, this version of a public-private partnership is more like a Ponzi scheme than an astute investment. David Gillen, director […]

SkyTrain – Eight myths and the facts;Oh what tangled webs we weave, when we first practice to deceive!

Since 1980, when SkyTrain was imposed on the region, the SkyTrain lobby abetted by politicians, bureaucrats, and the media, have created a grand SkyTrain myth which is now taken as fact. Lenin’s quote, “A lie told often enough becomes the truth“, is certainly true of the SkyTrain lobby, when defending their beloved light-metro system. Despite […]

Transit lessons unlearned – Part 2

In the 1980’s there was much debateAi??Ai??between modern light-rail and many proprietary transit systems being offered for sale, which included the SkyTrain ICTS/ALRT automatic light-metro. Many claims were made by the owners of various proprietary transit systems being offered for sale, about the effectivenessAi??Ai??of their transit systems. In 1991, Gerald Fox a noted American transit […]

Transit lessons unlearned – Lesson #1

In the very early 1980’s, the Ontario Conservative Party (the William Davis Government) tried to force the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to build with theAi??Ai??new Intermediate Capacity Transit System or ICTS, now known as SkyTrain; produced by the Urban Transit Development Corporation (UTDC) an Ontario crown corporation. The TTC commissionedAi??Ai??a comprehensive studyAi??Ai??comparing streetcars/LRT and metro […]

The wheezy SkyTrain – a real snow job!

Again, SkyTrain embarrassed itself during the snowy Christmas holiday. For over a week TransLink announced fewer, longer trains, manual operation, service disruptions and complete systems shutdowns. SkyTrain is not a new system, being in operation 23 years, there should be no ‘Gremlins’ to fix, but SkyTrain proved again, when it snows in Vancouver DO NOT […]

The case for Diesel LRT for the metro Vancouver region.

Diesel light-rail is a light-rail vehicle which is powered by a diesel engine, rather than electricity, conforming to the operational parameters of modern LRT. ThisAi??Ai??meansAi??Ai??Diesel LRTAi??Ai??can be installed very cheaply on routes that would otherwise not be considered for ‘rail’ transit, as itAi??Ai??forgoes the expense of the ‘overhead’ for electric transmission,Ai??Ai??giving large cost savings on […]

Can TransLink’s business cases be trusted?

Since last spring, the Light Rail Committee has circulated an E-Mail sent by American transit and transportation expert, Gerald Fox to a Victoria transit group that wants to promote LRT and diesel LRT into the Capital Region. Mr. Fox easily shreds TransLink’s business case for the Evergreen Line which shouldAi??Ai??forewarn transit groups in the Fraser […]