Quote:
Originally Posted by DTcrawler
Isn't the O-Train significantly cheaper to run than buses from a capacity perspective? I remember in the years leading up to the Line 1 launch, there was constant boasting from the city about the cost savings of switching from BRT to LRT. That's back when I naively thought the city would take all the buses and operators no longer needed for Transitway service and re-allocate them to bolster service elsewhere  Nope, we retired the buses and pink slipped the drivers instead. |
I remember those comments as well. They were repeated constantly. Well those secret contracts hid the truth, that the savings were small or none at all, and the city took advantage of any savings and added to it with semi-hidden service cuts that came in Oct 2019 and hoped that transit riders wouldn't notice. Between these cuts, a post layoff chronic driver shortage, failing trains, COVID, and further service cuts, riders have lost confidence in transit. What is worse, is that the 38 per cent loss in ridership especially on Line 1, has made the train service run at a big loss. And the financial prospects for Phase 2 is much worse with less ridership further away from downtown. This is why we got the comments last week that we can't afford to open Phase 2. How could this have turned out worse? If Phase 2 opens, expect reduced service beyond Blair, Line 3 not running downtown, and any opportunity to reduce Line 2 service south of South Keys
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