U-Pass Fraud Tops $15 Million Annually

As predicted, the much vaunted U-Pass program isAi??costing TransLink at least $15 million annually, more thanAi??reported fare evasion, yet there is nary a peep from the mainstream media. Zwei’s sources at TransLink report that the U-Pass program is costing the taxpayer a lot more than what is being reported and there is no way that […]

The Province Pulls the Rug Out Under 2040 – But Will The NDP Play?

The province has sent a message to the city of Vancouver, 2040 is dead because the province will not fund a SkyTrain subway under Broadway.Ai??The Liberals know that SkyTrain is a very expensive transit mode with thier experience with theAi??Canada Line P-3. The politcal fallout from the Canada Line big dig has also hurt the […]

Vancouver’s 2040 Transportaion Plan Will Fail

With great fanfare and hoopla, the Vision Vancouver controlled city council has approved a rather vision-less transportation plan for the future. The plan is fatally flawed as the one tool with a proven record of reducing traffic, light rail or LRT/streetcar (tram for our European friends) is absent. Pretty pictures of people crossing on a […]

But, What About Hard Numbers?

In classic fashion, a TransLink news release to the mainstream media claims that, “there was a 17-per cent increase in the total number of trips taken on transit from 2008 to 2011.”, yet no hard numbers are used, and why not? TransLink wants money, a lot of money and how better to groom the taxpayer […]

SkyTrain Is At The Centre Of TransLink’s Finacial Woes

SkyTrain, the sum of TransLink’s financial evils. Long time transit advocate, Malcolm Johnston has had a very good letter printed in the weeklies and at least one daily newspaper, pointing out that the SkyTrain and light-metro are at the root of TransLink’s financial ills. No doubt the SkyTrain lobby will react negatively to Mr. Johnston’s […]

Federal Government Forces Transit P-3’s

In Europe, a P3 is a tool where by a private consortium is involved in the planning, design, building, and operation of a transit project, then ‘hires‘ money, in a form of a loan,Ai??from a bank or institution and assumes risk in the building and operation of a transit project.Ai??The P-3 consortium thenAi??pays back theAi??loan […]

SkyTrain & Canada Line Hubris At The Vancouver Sun

I see that the Vancouver Sun is continuing its propaganda campaign for the Canada Line with Saturday’s effort; “Future is bright for Cambie Corridor as development booms.” http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Stories/813152/story.html#ixzz29rcrw1OW What the article boils down to, is that the Canada Line was never about moving the public, nor reducing auto use (remember the 200,000 car journeys taken […]

The Guru’s of Tax & Spend Are Grooming the Public for Road Pricing

Like a pervert on the Internet grooming children for lewd encounters, the powers that be in METRO Vancouver are grooming the public for “road pricing” for a very rude tax grab. What is road pricing anyways? Road pricingAi??and congestion charging are direct charges levied for the use of roads, including road tolls, distance or time […]

Audit says TransLink could save $41 million by reducing SkyTrain frequency, taking other measures

The empty VCC/ClarkAi??SkyTrain, maybe a candidateAi??for closureAi??in non-peak hours. This comes as no surprise. As everyone knows, except for the most die-hard SkyTrain enthusiast, one tends to run driverless transit systems at close frequencies at times when there isn’t the demand for such a service. SkyTrain is a railway and like all other railways, the […]

Vancouver second most traffic congested city in North America: report

Ha, ha, ha – or should I weep. I guess “rubber on asphalt” with a $8 billion SkyTrain Canada Line sweetener hasn’t worked. Does the taxpayer really want to throw more money at TransLink to carry on with their unworkable and unaffordable light-metro dreams? The failure of the SkyTrain and the Canada Line light-metros to […]