Quote:
Originally Posted by ken0042
The royalty adjustment was tried under Stelmach; with serious reprecussions to the oil and gas industry. Basically if we did that, there would no longer be a need for the SELRT due to a lack of people commuting into work. (A bit of a hyperbole on my part, but you get the idea.)
The other consideration; how much does it cost to build stations; as opposed to leaving space available later on? Could we save enough by not building as many of the stations? Let's say south of Glenmore you only build Quarry Park and Seton. That would encourage people like my to head south to get on the train, going against the flow of rush hour traffic instead of adding to it. Then you also have faster trips which could help ridership.
I've often thought of that as a bit of a pipe dream- having trains that only go from outskirts into the core. If you could have a 15-20 minute commute from McKenzie Towne, nobody would drive downtown anymore. (based on 20-25 km trip at 80 km/h) And you would even have people from Douglasdale heading south to catch the train into downtown.
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Yes, a BIT of hyperbole. Albertans enjoy amongst the lowest income tax, property tax, sales tax, gas tax, and resource royalties in the country; AND we have the highest salaries. We afford better transit infrastructure while maintaining a competitive edge.
As for fewer stations, it won't make much of a difference to the cost (especially if they are low-floor stations), and it's the stations south of Glenmore that will be generating the vast majority of ridership. Lots of cities around the world have "fast trains" (express to hubs) and "slow trains" (every stop), but they need more tracks. If regional rail ever gets going in the Calgary area, that may be an option.