Dead Parrot Sketch Part 2

In all my years advocating for better transit in the Vancouver metro region, I have never heard an excuse for not building with LRT, that is as silly as this. “An European style lawned tram rights-of-way will kill birds.” How low will the SkyTrain lobby stoop to? Don’t believe me? A story in the Tyee […]

For Donna……….

Zwei must apologize, but with the end of school and many other commitments, but I will repost some interesting items about LRT and Broadway in the near future. For now I will add some European flavour, spiced with modern light rail. In Grenoble, lawned rights-of-ways are the norm, even on former arterial roads. Stations are […]

Russian Tram Test Track In Paranimo

A tram climbing a 16% grade on the Paranino test track. Paranino ai??i?? a small village not far from Chelyabinsk (which got famous for its recent picturesque meteorite sky show). Itai??i??s a regular village with farmers, cows or goats crossing the streets, nice nature etc. But what makes it so special? Since early 1900s it […]

Trams attract more passengers than buses

The following from Ed Tennyson, who is the foremost transit expert and historian in the USA, is a reply to a news story that Seattle suburban residents like the LRT but do not particularly like buses very much. Buses, for what ever reason, just do not attract much new ridership and BRT, which in most […]

Gregeor Telling Porkies – Again!

Vancouver wants a subway and its mayor will say anything to get the province to pay for one under Broadway. There is an old Hungarian saying; “When the gypsies knock at the door, rush out and protect the chickens.” Updated, the saying should say, “When Gregor preaches a SkyTrain subway under Broadway, say no and […]

From the Georgia Straight ~ Light rail and B-Line combo better than Broadway SkyTrain?

Zwei doesn’t quite agree, but then in BC everyone seems to to be at least 40 years behind when talking about public transit. Transit should operate on the surface, to give the transit customer the best options. It is not speed of the transit service,Ai?? rather it is the ambiance and ease of use that […]

Jane’s Walk Vancouver Series – An Alternative to the Broadway Subway

Dear Rail for the Valley people, I will be leading bike tours on Saturday May 3 and Sunday May 4 as part of the Jane’s Walk Vancouver series – An Alternative to the Broadway Subway. You are all welcome to come along, if you wish. I would also really appreciate if you would publicize this […]

A Letter to NDP MLA David Eby

A letter by D. M. Johnston that is circulating around town. Light Rail – SkyTrain – subways – myth and fact Mr. Eby; On Wednesday night I was a guest speaker at the West Broadway Business Improvement Association meeting, giving a talk about modern light rail on Broadway. Those attending the meeting were quite savvy […]

Bus or Light Rail, the Evidence Is Clear

Public transit is a necessity in today’s congested cities, yet politicians and their planners tend to ignore the importance of public transit in the 21st century city and either invest in the “cheap and nasty” rapid or express buses, or overly expensive gadgetbahnen like our Skytrain and Canada Line mini-metros. There is also the disturbing […]

Subway Economics

The difficulties of making subway lines run at a profit have existed for over ten years and, up until now, no solution has been found. It’s obvious that simply relying on revenue from ticket sales is not enough to cover the sizable operating costs. Attempts to replicate the Hong Kong model have also proved unsuccessful, […]