November 16, 2012 – SkyTrain On The Fritz Again – So What Else Is New!

When ones builds with a complicated gadgetbahnen, with all the bells and whistles that come with an automatic (driverless) transit system, one forgets at the time of purchase that gadgetbahnen age very poorly and as they grow older, they become very stubborn to operate. Sadly, the warranty for SkyTrain is long over and it is […]

Fares Up – TransLink’s Customers Pay More For Planning Incompetence.

Yes, yes, we knew this was coming, fare increases. TransLink, by refusing to do real cost cutting measures, has opened the door for fare increases. Yet those paying the least, the residents of Vancouver, have the most transit options, including three mini-metro lines; 13 trolley bus routes; and scores of urban bus routes. Those living […]

Aftert 17 Years & Over $8 billion Invested In Light-metro – Nothing changed

After 17 years of SkyTrain and or Canada Line investment,Ai??with well over $8 billion of taxpayers monies spent, there has been little change in the overall modal share. TransLink, a firm believer that is something doesn’t work, do it again, continues with SkyTrain light-metro planning or light rail designed as a poor man’s SkyTrain,Ai??for the […]

Pre-fab Track for Broadway

Slab or prefabricated track maybe an economicAi??solution for light rail/streetcar construction on Broadway in Vancouver. Combined with using the existing OHLE (span wires and vertical supports), construction of a streetcar/LRT on Broadway could be built and in operation in less than two years. The Broadway to UBC route is mainly straight, with little need for […]

Fare Evasion Kool Aid – TransLink Again Bamboozles the Mainstream Media

One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If weai??i??ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. Weai??i??re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. Itai??i??s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that weai??i??ve been taken. Once you give a […]

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 […]

Rob Ford fails to derail light rail lines

Mayor Rob Ford wend down swinging, saying again that people want subways, not LRT. However, Toronto City Council endorsed the $8.4 million master plan to build four LRT lines by a 30 to 11 margin. Toronto Sun story at: http://www.torontosun.com/2012/11/01/ford-defied-more-toronto-light-rail By Don Peat ,City Hall Bureau Chief First posted:Thursday, November 01, 2012 08:20 The Crosstown […]

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 […]

People love their cars or do they?

Portland sometimes struggles to find the right balance between car use and alternative modes of transportation. Striking the balance will require tough choices as population and housing density increase. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2012/10/people_like_their_cars_a_fact.html Funny, people love cars. That may be why data released last week by researchers at Metro, the regional government, showed as much. […]