The 1986 LRTA Study: Bus ai??i?? LRT ai??i?? Metro Comparison

I thought I would again reprint this post from May 20, 2010 as it may clear up some major misconceptions about LRT capacity, since many in Metro Vancouver are very confused about modern light rail. There is an ongoing debate today that LRTAi??can only carry a limited number of riders and that the magic number […]

Global News Spotlights SkyTrain’s Ills

To say I am gobsmacked is an understatement, Global News actually had a rather negative story about SkyTrain, which convinces me some pointed questions about the proprietary railway are circling in Victoria. Everything about SkyTrain, from it being forced onto the region in the early 80’s, the NDP flip-flop of the Millennium Line and forcing […]

In Toronto Developers Want Light Rail and Not A Subway!

Something new. In Toronto, developers want light rail and not an expensive subway to replace their life expired SkyTrain Line, the Scarborough R/T. What should be of interest is that the ridership on the proposed LRT/subway route, is more than the proposed SkyTrain subway under Broadway. Maybe Vision(less) Vancouver would rethink their grand Broadway subway […]

Vancouver Blunders Ahead With Its Vanity Project.

Well, Vision(less) Vancouver is blundering ahead with its much cherished $3 billion subway under Broadway and our feckless politicians South of the Fraser remaining willfully blind to this billions of dollars boondoggle. One would think they would be more in tuned with the costs of this massive project. Surrey has been bought off with its […]

Mr. Haveacow – The Ridership Question

Christopher MacKechnie Transit Expert is a transit planner and lawyer and writes for the About.Com website as their go to guy on public transport. The About Public Transport.Com site answers some basic questions and issues in transit operation and planning in an easily understood accessible way. Most of his articles, are pretty basic and are […]

In The International News

Some interesting news items from abroad.   An interesting Australia Government paper on long term trends in public transport. Some interesting comments have been made by an Australian observer: It can be clearly seen that the Sydney tramways were the all-time record-holding giant of any Australian public transport system and never bettered since by any […]

Annual Tram/LRT Statistics

The following are the annual tram/LRT ridership statistics courtesy of the Eurotrams group. In contradiction to what many local politicians; bureaucrats and academics would have us believe, modern LRT and or tram can carry large numbers of transit customers and do in annual revenue service. Let us forget the many “man-of-straw arguments” against LRT by […]

Light Rail Gets an Ally – We Welcome New Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi

For the first time since I have been advocating for better transit, now over thirty years, we now have a minister of the crown who not only understands modern light rail, he is an advocate of modern LRT! Let us hope new infrastructure minister Amarjeet Sohi is open to new ideas including the Leewood/RftV TramTrain! […]

Do I Hear Trams On The Arbutus Line………

Want to see Vancouver politicians tearing their hair from their heads? Just mention building LRT on the Arbutus Line. I say not a penny for the Broadway Subway until trams run along the Arbutus Line.   Stockholm completes LidingAi?? Line reconstruction Written byAi?? Keith Barrow PUBLIC services resumed on Stockholm’s LidingAi?? Line following the completion […]

A letter in the Surrey News Leader

Transit: There is a better way The Editor; The Conservatives have re-announced the committed $700-million portion for the proposed Surrey Light Rail Transit (LRT). The total cost of this project will be over $2 billion, yet present passenger flows are below the amount needed to make the operation viable for light rail and it would […]