Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[deasine]

Anyway I moved all Smart Card and SkyTrain Fare gates discussion into its own thread.

[mr.x]

TransLink boosts service to UBC, other areas

Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, June 12, 2008

METRO VANCOUVER - Relief from congestion is on the way for early-morning commuters to UBC and other points along Broadway, according to a TransLink new release.

As of June 23, the 99 B-Line will add more trips in the early morning, Monday to Saturday, and will begin service almost a full hour earlier on Sundays.

The route is used by workers and UBC students alike, and is often crowded early in the morning rush hour. The new changes will double westbound service between 6 and 7:10 a.m. from every eight minutes to every four and increase eastbound service by 50 per cent to eight-minute frequency between 6:40 and 7:30 a.m. The 99 B-Line will also begin service at 7 a.m. Sundays and holidays, rather than the current starting time of 7:59 a.m.

Also on June 23, two routes serving North Delta and Surrey will be re-aligned: the #340 (from 22nd St. SkyTrain Station) will terminate at Scottsdale, while the #319, which currently runs from Scottsdale to Scott Road Station, will be extended to Newton Exchange.

Changing these two routes eliminates a transfer for those going from Scott Road Station to Newton and improves reliability by reducing the impact of traffic conditions over the Alex Fraser Bridge.

Buses will run more frequently on both routes: the #319 will offer 10-minute service during rush hours, middays and on Saturdays, while the #340 will double its frequency to 15-minute service between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays and increase to 20 minute service on weekends. The greater frequency on the #340 should offset some of the inconvenience for those who will now have to transfer at Scottsdale.

Two White Rock routes are also getting upgrades. The arrival of new Orion Highway Coaches has enabled TransLink to increase service on the #351 Crescent Beach/Vancouver route to 15-minute frequency in the peak directions during the morning and afternoon rush hours and to 30-minutes on weekends. The #352 Ocean Park/Vancouver will have an additional northbound departure at 6:40 am. As well, weekend service on the #601 South Delta / Boundary Bay / Vancouver will be increased to 30-minutes earlier in the day. Here again, these changes respond to numerous requests from the public for more alternatives to private automobiles.

June 23 also marks the addition of #49 Metrotown Stn/UBC to the Frequent Transit Network, in which buses run no more than 15 minutes apart, 15 hours a day, every day.

The additional service hours are part of the largest service lift ever in Metro Vancouver: 280,000 annual service hours will be added throughout 2008. Information on all the changes taking effect June 23 can be found at www.translink.bc.ca <http://www.translink.bc.ca/> .

[deasine]

Good to see the improvement of #49 bus (good for me =P) although it usually comes every 10 minutes or less at most times of the day... Next step is to make it articulated.

[mr.x]

TransLink on hiring spree
Planners, managers and engineers needed for major projects

Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, June 12, 2008

METRO VANCOUVER - TransLink is embarking on a hiring spree, posting 14 new jobs for planners, managers, and engineers as the agency motors ahead with long-term planning for major projects.

These jobs are in addition to 37 job vacancies for existing positions.

TransLink is forecasting revenues of $993 million in 2008. The corporate headquarters has a $33.6-million budget for 204 employees engaged in planning and financing projects. The agency forecasts $15 billion in transit and road investments over the next 10 years.

"We simply need the talent," TransLink representative Ken Hardie said in an interview Wednesday.

"The amount of transportation planning and procurement we'll have to do is going to ramp up even more, everything from road improvement programs to new transit vehicles."

Positions now available range from the procurement of transit vehicles -- 150 to 200 new buses are coming on stream this year alone -- to the acquisition of property and facilities to park and service them, he said.

As well, there is planning for SkyTrain improvements to the Broadway, Main Street, and Metrotown stations, along with studies aimed at coordinating rail, marine and highway systems, and planning transit services to meet the growing demands of communities within the region.

Hardie said some of the new job offerings had been previously covered by contractors allocated to specific projects such as Canada Line and the South of Fraser Area Transit Planning process.

He said TransLink managed 72 capital projects valued at about $700 million in 1999 compared with close to 200 projects valued at close to $2.25 billion today. "Behind each of these projects there would be transportation planning, engineering, project management."

Hardie said some head-office employees find jobs elsewhere.

"The nature of the work we do make our people quite attractive to municipalities, senior governments or consulting firms," he said.

Among the job postings:

- Four project managers to focus on issues such as: rapid transit plans, including a "conceptual design for the UBC Line and Surrey Rapid Transit lines."

- Transit station development, including "substantial retrofits to the Expo Line stations, station planning for the Evergreen Line, and new and upgraded bus facilities;" and "transit oriented development plans for station areas in partnership with municipalities, private developers and/or TransLink's Real Estate Division."

[email protected]





Make me project manager for one of the SkyTrain projects, and I will assure you there won't be any 40-metre platforms. With that said, with my inexperience, I'm sure the project might go ten times overbudget.

[hollywoodnorth]

B.C. CHOOSES SNC-LAVALIN TO DESIGN HWY 99 BUS LANE



RICHMOND – A contract has been awarded to design a bus-only lane that will enable northbound buses on Highway 99 in Richmond to bypass traffic congestion, Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon announced today.



SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a $649,000 design and engineering contract for the northbound bus lane, which will extend from Westminster Highway to Bridgeport Road. Design of the lane is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2008.



“People using public transit should be able to avoid traffic jams whenever possible and should be rewarded for making an environmentally conscious decision,” Falcon said. “This bus lane will shorten commute times, making the bus a more attractive option.”



“I’m delighted to see we are building on our provincial transportation network, particularly in Richmond,” said Linda Reid, MLA for Richmond East. “This will foster economic growth in our region and promote green travel options.”



“This contract proves our government is forging ahead with its visionary $14-billion Transit Plan,” said Olga Ilich, MLA for Richmond Centre. “By adding a bus-only lane to this high-density route, we are increasing the efficiency of our bus service, and making public transit more attractive to commuters across metro Vancouver.”



“This project will help improve the speed of commuter bus services, which will encourage increased usage of public transit, which in turn will get more people out of their cars and benefit our environment,” said John Yap, MLA for Richmond-Steveston.



The new bus-only lane SNC-Lavalin is designing will be available first for current northbound bus service, and will eventually be used as part of the route for RapidBus BC. This new express transit line will offer frequent, reliable service and priority movement in traffic for much of the length of the route.



The Province is working with TransLink to improve service along Highway 99 in both directions between White Rock and the Canada Line’s Bridgeport Station in Richmond. Commuters will enjoy faster bus trips and an efficient connection with the new Canada Line, to be open in fall of 2009.



The improvements to Highway 99 and RapidBus BC are part of the Provincial Transit Plan, which aims to double transit ridership provincewide by 2020 by increasing choices for travellers. The $14-billion plan also focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars by 4.7 millions tonnes cumulatively by 2020.

[deasine]

That's great! =D Looks like they might need to make a new overpass or do some configurations to do one at Shell Rd.

[worldwide]

hey X2, where do i get info about these Translink jobs? I'm going to be looking seriously for a planning assistant/planning tech job in about 2 months.

[deasine]

Originally Posted by worldwide

hey X2, where do i get info about these Translink jobs? I'm going to be looking seriously for a planning assistant/planning tech job in about 2 months.

TransLink's website:
http://www.translink.bc.ca/About_TransLink/Employment/default.asp

Make sure you be our SSP representative when you get the job *winks* =P

[jlousa]

Almost every job worth having carries with it a very nice cconfidentiality agreement. Hence why you only see things posted here once it's been made public.

[mr.x]

Originally Posted by worldwide

hey X2, where do i get info about these Translink jobs? I'm going to be looking seriously for a planning assistant/planning tech job in about 2 months.

If I tell you, you'll be my puppet within Translink? j/k

I'm sure you'll find some job openings info on the Translink website...or better, call them.




I had a pretty strange experience tonight walking towards Burrard Station on West Georgia. This homeless guy started following me and screaming things at me, that I was a communist and part of the KGB or something lol. He was 10-metres behind me, followed me for an entire block....I started fast walking when I realized when he was trailing me lol.

[ravman]

i have heard that there was a double decker bus spotted at metrotown recently...

[mr.x]

SkyTrain closed at Metrotown Saturday

SkyTrain has been closed at Metrotown Station until further notice due to a medical emergency, reports TransLink spokesman Drew Snider.

While emergency crews are on scene, Metrotown and Patterson are closed.

SkyTrains are operating between King George and Edmonds, and a bus bridge has been brought in from Edmonds to Joyce. Trains are also running from Joyce to Waterfront.

[deasine]

Work continues on the trolley wire extension at Marine Drive. They already have the new poles installed in the ground and I'm pretty sure they'll start wiring in the summer/fall.

[hollywoodnorth]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

SkyTrain closed at Metrotown Saturday

SkyTrain has been closed at Metrotown Station until further notice due to a medical emergency, reports TransLink spokesman Drew Snider.

While emergency crews are on scene, Metrotown and Patterson are closed.

SkyTrains are operating between King George and Edmonds, and a bus bridge has been brought in from Edmonds to Joyce. Trains are also running from Joyce to Waterfront.

mass suicide maybe?

[ravman]

Saturday June 14/08. As of 4:10 pm, full SkyTrain service has been restored.

- Translink

[mr.x]

Platform doors would be a great idea.......if only we ran only the Mark II's, then we'd be able to.

[eduardo88]

Originally Posted by mr.x2

Platform doors would be a great idea.......if only we ran only the Mark II's, then we'd be able to.

Will Mark II's be getting C-trains in the future? If so then we can't exactly install platform doors until then

[agrant]

Originally Posted by eduardo88

Will Mark II's be getting C-trains in the future? If so then we can't exactly install platform doors until then

I guess the question I would ask... what would be the point in getting the C car if all you need to do is couple more of the other ones together?

[jlousa]

Done need platform doors, just cow catchers. much cheaper.

The C-Trains use space more efficiently then A-B cars. With the current stations you could probably run a A-C-C-C-C-B train (remember C trains are a little shorter) as opposed to a A-B-A-B train. The first train would have a little bit of overhang but all doors should still be accessible.

[eduardo88]

Originally Posted by agrant

I guess the question I would ask... what would be the point in getting the C car if all you need to do is couple more of the other ones together?

Doesn't it seem more logical to run C-cars instead of coupling more and more trains together? I'm sure its a better use of space and it's more comfortable for people riding the trains...eg: moving down to a less crowded spot.

Will Translink be ordering C-cars in the future?