Yup, The Mainstream Media Gets It Wrong Again

Trust the mainstream media to get it wrong and with regional transit, they have been on the wrong track for a very long time. What attracts people to transit? It’s a complicated question that much time has been taken to study. Not so in TransLink’s world where it is claimed thatAi??SkyTrain’s speed alone will attract […]

Wrong Again – How Long will it Take Them To Get It Right?

They have got it wrong, but in Vancouver we have have always got transit wrong. Speed of a transit system is not the prime factor in attracting ridership, it is part of the mix. The main reasons for successful transit, according to the internationally acclaimed study ' Bus or light rail, making the right choice', by Professor […]

Electric Hybrid Streetcars coming to Austin?

Austin Cars ExaminerAi?? August 12, 2011 http://www.examiner.com/cars-in-austin/eclectric-hybrid-streetcars-coming-to-austin A glimpse of the possible future of mass transit in the City of Austin was shown to the public on August 11. Kinkisharyo, a global provider of high speed and mass transit rail vehicles, set up a version of their new low floor hybrid electric street car (the […]

TransLink’s Finacial Woes

The Vancouver Province's editorial has got it partially wrong. a good part of TransLink's financial woes is that they have tied themselves to the extremely dated light-metro/SkyTrain rapid transit model which can cost over fifteen times more to build than light rail, without any operational or financial benefit! Light-metro, especially the automated (driverless) product not […]

TransLink’s Propaganda Machine In Full Force

Wait for it, TransLink wants more tax revenue to fund their questionable transit planning, so the propaganda campaign has started. We have seen this all before with the Canada Line, higher ridership claims, jammed buses due to lack of service, etc. The question what needs to be asked is; "Are TransLink's ridership claims valid?" With […]

European latest – Croydon, Reims & Bordeaux

Stadler wins London Tramlink tram order Railway Gazette http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/stadler-wins-london-tramlink-tram-order.html 18 August 2011 Ai??Impression of Stadler Variobahn LRV for Croydon Tramlink UK: Stadler Rail has won a contract to supply six Variobahn trams to increase capacity on the Tramlink light rail system in south London, Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced on August 18. The first […]

Do Buses Actually Ease Gridlock?

So some people think that adding more buses will solve our endemic transit gridlock, yet buses themselves contribute to traffic congestion. There is a strong bus lobby that continually advocates buying more buses, yet when more buses are operated, congestion and gridlock just continues. In Portland, transit official reckon that one tram or LRV, is […]

Non News From TransLink – Canada Line to Operate Two More Trains

What would not be considered a news story elsewhere, the Vancouver Sun makes much hoopla that the Canada Line will operate two extra trains during peak hours as per the operating contract. Adding two more trains will slightly ease congestion but unless Translink operates the bus services to feed the Canada line, the $2.5 million metro […]

TransLink urged to clarify tax-and-spend plan – Or is it More Smoke And Mirrors

"Vancouver is adopting a non-commercial approach…….I hope they have lots of money."; Norman Thompson, CBE, FCA, ACMA, English transit consultant and builder of the worlds busiest subway, on the BC Government's choice for SkyTrain instead of LRT in 1980.   TransLink's precarious financial position has been long predicted because the region was forced, by the […]

More Misleading TransLink Numbers – So What Esle is New?

A letter from a Mr. Rob Kwon certainly shreds TransLink’s CEO, Ian Jervis’s claim that the cost per revenue passenger is a$3.98 is based on questionable book keeping. Well so what else is new! The Canada line was supposed to cost a mere $1.3 billion, yet it’s final cost exceeds $2.5 billion. Translink never includes […]