And we thought TransLink had problems – the Ottawa Light Rail Lawsuit.

Plan for light rail – Federal government intrigue – sign contracts – renege on contracts – the result: a massive lawsuit. Of course what civic, provincial and federal politicians all seem to forget is that there is one taxpayer and the monies awarded to the plaintiffs would go a long way to help build a […]

Is it time for the Valley to ditch TransLink? Would it lead to better regional transportation?

Martin Crilly’s report on TransLink came as no surprise, TransLink is in deep financial trouble and needs a major infusion of cash to keep it in operation. The question should be asked: “ShouldAi??Ai??the Valley MunicipalitiesAi??Ai??walk away from the transportation agency and let the chips fall where they may?” TransLink, despite all the revisionist history, was […]

How not to name a new streetcar – Seattle’s S.L.U.T. What were they thinking?

Bizarrely, Seattle’s new 2.1 km. demonstration streetcar line has the unhappy acronym of S.L.U.T. or South Lake Union Trolley and with this unhappy name the tram has had all the pitfalls of a demonstration line that really doesn’t fulfill a transportation need. Unlike the much more successful, sadly now defunctAi??Ai??Waterfront trolley operating vintage Melbourne trams, […]

Trouble at Translink – For whom the tax tolls!

Ai??Ai??Unhappy days indeedAi??Ai??with TransLink as the organization has not learned a golden rule; that if you build metro on routes that do not have the ridership to sustain them, costly subsidies must be paid. When costly subsidies are paid, there is less money available to be invested in the transit system. Ai??Ai??Rail for the Valley […]

Fares Fair – TransLink’s Fares Compared

The following is aAi??Ai??comparison of TransLink’s fares, with other cities in Canada and the USA with LRT/metro and bus systems. Included are cash fares only (as advertised Sept. 4/09) as every city offers weekly, monthly, annual and Tourist passes, all withAi??Ai??varying discounts. Also please note: Ai??Ai??Toronto’s cash fare & 90 minute transfer covers an area […]

From the Light Rail Now Folks: Busting "BRT" Mythology – LA’s "Orange Line" Busway A?ai??i??ai??? "Just Like Rail, But Cheaper?"

It seems the media and local politiciansAi??Ai??keep referring to Bus Rapid Transit or BRT as a transportation solutionAi??Ai??for METRO Vancouver’s ‘lesser taxpayers’ in the Fraser Valley, yet very few politicians and media types clearly understand what BRT is, or even how successful it has been in past applications. BRT despite the hype and hoopla, has […]

Massively inconvenienced by transit-system changes – Hell of a way to sell transit to a customer!

“It used to be something called public transit … then for reasons you’re too young to understand, they did away with the public.” The following letter, printed in today’sAi??Ai??Vancouver SunAi??Ai??(Sept.2) clearly illustrates Translink’s failure to address the wants of transit customers. The politically inspired RAV/Canada Line needed a magic 100,000 passengers a day (about 300,000 […]

THE LLANDUDNO GREAT ORME TRAMWAY – Wales almost forgotten cable car!

Another visit to the U.K. today, to the Great Orme TramwayAi??Ai??or cable car/funicular, whichAi??Ai??travels on-street for part of its journey and is located in Llandudno Wales The GreatAi??Ai??Orme Tramway isAi??Ai??Great Britain’s only remaining cable operated street tramway and one of only three surviving in the world. Operation of the tramway differs from the famous and […]

A Great Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth from the SkyTrain lobby – The ignored SkyTrain Subsidy

In 1993, the GVRD (now Metro) and Transport 2021, publishedAi??Ai??the study, “The Cost of Transporting People in the BC Lower Mainland” and for the first time the annual SkyTrain subsidy was mentioned. In 1991, SkyTrain was subsidized to the tune of$157.6 million, more than half of the total subsidyAi??Ai??paid forAi??Ai??public transit in the Lower Mainland. […]

From Tramways & Urban Transit – Denver receives first new FasTracks LRVs

Denver light rail system Ai??Ai??is one of America’s great success stories, so successful that the cityAi??Ai??has large expansion plans for their LRT system with over 195 miles of new lines to be built in the coming years.Ai??Ai??Denver’sAi??Ai??Ai??Ai??light rail system was the only public or privateAi??Ai??transitAi??Ai??operation that was runningAi??Ai??during the great blizzard and only ceased operationsAi??Ai??because […]