Myth: Viable public transport requires high population densities

Common Urban Myths About Transport Myth: Viable public transport requires high population densities Fact: Public transport runs successfully in many cities with similar or lower population densities than Melbourne. Any city with sufficient population density to cause traffic congestion has sufficient population to support a first-rate public transport alternative. This is probably the most widely […]

Eric Chris on Bi-Articulated Buses For The 99-B

A bi-articulated bus or double-articulated bus is a higher-capacity type of articulated bus. It is an extension of a conventional or single-articulated bus, in that it has three passenger compartment sections instead of two. This also involves the addition of an extra axle and a second articulation joint. Due to the extended length, bi-articulated buses […]

A Canuck expat in Geneva on the virtues of light rail

from Now Toronto http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=186287 In the flap over Torontoai??i??s transit future, we have to recognize that few have had any kind of exposure to light rail. For most of us, subways are our only experience of public transportation that works well and doesnai??i??t get bogged down in traffic. I can see why thereai??i??d be a […]

TransLink eliminates planning VP – The Sacrificial Lamb

It seems that transit planning is/was not aAi??TransLink forte, in fact the move to remove the VP of Planning certainly indicates that the Premier’s office is in full control of Metro Vancouver transportation planning and no encumbrances from the TransLink bureaucracy is needed.Ai??TransLink’s VP of planning has been determined to be the sacrificial lamb with […]

Where’s The Density? Oh, I Guess Density Is Not An Issue With TramTrain.

Ever wanted to see what the Rail for the Valley/Leewood tramtram ride would be like, well the following video from U-Tube gives the feel of what a Vancouver to Chilliwack servcie would be like. The following is a cab-eye view of a German regional railway, not unlike the former BC Electric line from Vancouver to […]

Montpellier opens new lines – A lesson unlearned for TransLink!

What is very interesting about this news item from the Light Rail Transit Associations web siteAi??( www.lrta.org ) is that the cost for Montpellier’s two new light rail/tram lines 3 & 4 (28.2 km) is about CAD $688.8 million or about $24.45 million/km. to build! The cost of Montpellier’s two new tram lines are less […]

TransLink postponing some expansion plans – Take that you bad old taxpayer!

As expected, TranLink’s brass is postponing transit projects to punish those nasty people who don’t want to be gouged by new taxes to keep TransLink’s bureaucrat’s pensions and bonuses well funded. That the Evergreen Line light-metro line (the main cause of TransLink’s financial problems) is allowed to continue, demonstrates an utter ignorance by TransLink and […]

Utterly ignorant about transit, come to Vancouver and join the club!

The authorAi??of the following article in the Toronto Sun is utterly ignorant of transit mode and operation and would make a great addition to the Vancouver Sun newspaper. The very nature of modern LRT with the concept of “reserved rights-of-ways” or RoW’s that are exclusively for the use of streetcars or trams, has made modern […]

The Canada Line is on the fritz again

Well it seems the $2.5 billion Canada Line gadgetbahnen is on the fritz again, so much for the myth that driverless transitAi??are more dependable than light rail. The problem is a signalling problem and the sort of problem that bedevils automatic metros around the world, it is also a problem that doesn’t greatly effect light […]

The Vancouver Sun, As Usual, Gets It Wrong On TransLink

Today’s editorial in the Vancouver Sun, regarding TransLink, gets it wrong, but this comes as no surprise, the Vancouver Sun had got it wrong about transit ever for the past 32 years and it’s so hard to each an old dog new tricks. The problem with TransLink is simple and can be summed up in […]