Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[Alex Mackinnon]

Buses naturally stack unless they have timing stops. The first buses clear out more of the stops, slowing them down and provided the stops stay clear the following buses can effectively "draft" the lead bus. The hitch is that on trolleys the buses can't can pass one another so they stack.

You should see the 99 in the morning around 9am at Sasamat. You get huge stacks sometimes of 5-6 buses all arriving within about 2 or 3 minutes.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by WaxItYourself

Can't find the 10 year plan thread but I just got this in my RSS feeds: From The Straight

"Metro Vancouver directors voted today (September 25) to push for the best-case TransLink funding scenario.

Burnaby councillor Sav Dhaliwal was the only politician who voted against Vancouver mayor and director Gregor Robertson's motion.

Now the board will send the message to TransLink's private board of directors and its mayors' council that it should implement $450 million in annual funding above current levels—the most generous of the three options presented in TransLink's 2010 10-Year Plan to address funding constraints at the regional transportation authority. "

So I take it that the most generous funding option if approved would mean the Evergreen line and Millenium line to UBC plus Expo line expansion would all be a done deal??? If so I'd gladly pay a vehicle levy/ road tolls/ higher gas taxes.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by cabotp

I firmly believe that the Fraser Valley District will become part of Metro Vancouver in the future. It would pointless and stupid for it not to.

It probably will. I just hope they don't go taking too many chunks out of the ALR, and urbanize the whole Lower mainland with ugly suburban sprawl.

BTW, does anyone have population projections for Metro Vancouver in 2020, 2030 or such? It would be interesting to see how many people there might be, and the development will take place, and what role Abbotsford/Clearbrook, Langley and Chilliwack will play in the region's future, either as largely self-contained communities, or as commuting suburbs

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by vanman

So I take it that the most generous funding option if approved would mean the Evergreen line and Millenium line to UBC plus Expo line expansion would all be a done deal??? If so I'd gladly pay a vehicle levy/ road tolls/ higher gas taxes.

As far as I know yes. But you know how politics works. One thing can be said today and another done tomorrow

Originally Posted by trofirhen

It probably will. I just hope they don't go taking too many chunks out of the ALR, and urbanize the whole Lower mainland with ugly suburban sprawl.

BTW, does anyone have population projections for Metro Vancouver in 2020, 2030 or such? It would be interesting to see how many people there might be, and the development will take place, and what role Abbotsford/Clearbrook, Langley and Chilliwack will play in the region's future, either as largely self-contained communities, or as commuting suburbs

I think the ALR is already in the Fraser Valley district. So if they joined there should be no need to change it.

[jlousa]

Apparently the bustop next bus text thing has been very popular even w/o Translink advertising it. They will be upgrading to handle the demand and then rolling out ads for it. The new system will tell you if there are problems with the route such as heavy traffic ahead, or if the bus has been rerouted etc. The current system is handling ~700,000 requests a month. That's over 20K/day, pretty impressive.

[WaxItYourself]

Originally Posted by vanman

So I take it that the most generous funding option if approved would mean the Evergreen line and Millenium line to UBC plus Expo line expansion would all be a done deal??? If so I'd gladly pay a vehicle levy/ road tolls/ higher gas taxes.

Here is a link to what will be included in the plan.

I believe that they approved the most expensive 'Expansion Program' plan. Though I read in these forums prior to the release of this news that the two end plans had been scrapped so they may be attempting to revitalize them.

[GeeCee]

If I recall correctly, the TransLink commission chair decided that the least and most expensive plans were not viable. Not sure about ruling them out entirely.

[lightrail]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

walking down main street today - 3 double length trolley busses all #3's southbound went by - the first was standing room only the second was fill and the third was fairly empty

are busses like this all the time? is this why people complain there are no busses for a long time?

is it normal to run 3 busses? or are they so off schedule they caught up with each other?

They're getting bunched up because of traffic issues somewhere on the route. People are pretty stupid and will try to get on the first crowded bus that comes, even if they can see two more behind.

Supervisors will most likely short-turn at least one of those bunched buses - the trolley system has turning loops designed for this purpose - to try to even out the schedule better.

[SpongeG]

it was just weird to see since i never really pay attention - the one person i was with was complaining as she is a bus rider and says no wonder there are never any busses and i have to wir forever to get one

[racc]

Originally Posted by vanman

So I take it that the most generous funding option if approved would mean the Evergreen line and Millenium line to UBC plus Expo line expansion would all be a done deal??? If so I'd gladly pay a vehicle levy/ road tolls/ higher gas taxes.

Then I suggest sending a message to Premier Campbell, [email protected]. It is his call to make.

[Spork]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

BTW, does anyone have population projections for Metro Vancouver in 2020, 2030 or such? It would be interesting to see how many people there might be, and the development will take place, and what role Abbotsford/Clearbrook, Langley and Chilliwack will play in the region's future, either as largely self-contained communities, or as commuting suburbs

http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/pop/pop/popproj.asp

School regions are probably the lowest level, but they are a good proxy for many large cities.

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Apparently the bustop next bus text thing has been very popular even w/o Translink advertising it. They will be upgrading to handle the demand and then rolling out ads for it. The new system will tell you if there are problems with the route such as heavy traffic ahead, or if the bus has been rerouted etc. The current system is handling ~700,000 requests a month. That's over 20K/day, pretty impressive.

Ya it is too popular. A few times I've sent a text. And the bus has come and I get the message maybe 20 mins later. When I'm already home.

[whatnext]

Why did they bother putting Bus lanes on Sea Island from the Dinsmore Bridge north to the BCIT building a year or so ago? They must have known the Canada Line would kill all the busses that used this route. What a colossal waste of money!

[The_Henry_Man]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Why did they bother putting Bus lanes on Sea Island from the Dinsmore Bridge north to the BCIT building a year or so ago? They must have known the Canada Line would kill all the busses that used this route. What a colossal waste of money!

Perhaps they might introduce the 2nd Richmond-UBC bus service (481) from Steveston in the future and it needs this lane if it goes through Russ Baker, or reintroduce of express buses to downtown (or even Bridgeport) from Steveston.

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

BTW, does anyone have population projections for Metro Vancouver in 2020, 2030 or such? It would be interesting to see how many people there might be, and the development will take place, and what role Abbotsford/Clearbrook, Langley and Chilliwack will play in the region's future, either as largely self-contained communities, or as commuting suburbs

During the summer I saw a bunch of signs at the Skytrain stations saying 3.2 million by 2040. Personally I think we'll reach that number sooner, like 2030-35, but w/e. Thats 20-30 years down the road.

Regardless, might wanna give them a call and see what their sources are, could be the answer to your question.

[Zassk]

Random question: I have often wondered why there has never been talk about extending the Expo Line toward Gastown and beyond. The Waterfront terminus is pointed in the right direction, and it could follow the edge of the railyard for a very long way, potentially all the way to the PNE. It could service a lot of communities in that direction, at a much lower cost than building through the street grid. Has anyone ever heard talk of this at any point, going back to the 80's?

I would love there to be a circle route subway around the downtown peninsula (particularly connecting to Stanley Park and Denman to the CBD), however, Expo Line was obviously not built with a westward/circular downtown extension in mind. It would seem to have been built with an eastward extension in mind... (or perhaps no extension at all, sigh)

[deasine]

Originally Posted by Zassk

Random question: I have often wondered why there has never been talk about extending the Expo Line toward Gastown and beyond. The Waterfront terminus is pointed in the right direction, and it could follow the edge of the railyard for a very long way, potentially all the way to the PNE. It could service a lot of communities in that direction, at a much lower cost than building through the street grid. Has anyone ever heard talk of this at any point, going back to the 80's?

I would love there to be a circle route subway around the downtown peninsula (particularly connecting to Stanley Park and Denman to the CBD), however, Expo Line was obviously not built with a westward/circular downtown extension in mind. It would seem to have been built with an eastward extension in mind... (or perhaps no extension at all, sigh)

If you dig through these forums, you can, at least, find five discussions with regards to extending the Expo Line. I'm not entirely sure, but I believe Waterfront is built in a way that an extension is possible, or else they could've went with a cheaper single platform (Richmond-Brighouse, YVR-Airport) or dual platform, with switches prior to the station (Waterfront for Canada Line) design.

Downtown transportation is incredibly well compared to many other parts of the lower mainland. There are others, i.e. South of Fraser, where improvements to public transportation is desperately needed. It's a matter of allocating the available resources and downtown is obviously not in need for further improvements. This is one reason why the Province nor TransLink is funding for City of Vancouver's dream streetcar. It's a great idea, no doubt, and I would love to see it too, but there are other priorities. Of course, if CoV had enough money to execute the plan, great. But there's no need in improving transportation for an area with excellent connections already. Now you are talking about a SkyTrain when we aren't sure of building a streetcar... good luck with that.

[David]

Just browse through the Transit Fantasies thread. http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=146531

[CLC]

<offtopic alert>
Bombardier wins big Chinese high-speed train deal

By John McCrank

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Bombardier Inc <BBDb.TO> said on Monday that its Chinese joint venture has a $4 billion contract from the Chinese Ministry of Railways to supply 80 high-speed trains.

Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd, a joint venture of Bombardier and CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock Ltd, will supply 80 ZEFIRO trains with maximum operating speeds of 380 kilometers per hour, the company said.

Bombardier's share of the contract is worth about $2 billion and the first train is scheduled for delivery in 2012 with final deliveries by 2014.

Shares of Bombardier, the world's No. 1 train maker and No. 3 aerospace company, were up 35 Canadian cents, or 7.7 percent, at C$4.92 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday morning.

Cameron Doerksen, an analyst at Versant Partners in Montreal, raised his rating on the stock to "neutral" from "sell" after the deal was announced and increased his price target on Bombardier shares to C$4.90 from C$4.25.

"In addition to the deal being a large dollar value, this is an important win for Bombardier as it increases the company's share in the high-speed rail market segment," he said in a note to clients.

China is developing more than 6,000 kilometers of high-speed lines so this contract positions Bombardier well for future business, said Doerksen, adding that Bombardier is bidding or planning to bid on several large-scale rail equipment tenders in China.

Doerksen said Versant still views the low C$4.00 range as an attractive entry point for the stock due to ongoing difficulties in the business jet market.

China has 170 cities of more than 1 million people and Bombardier has excellent prospects of winning more regional and high-speed train and subway-car orders in China, RBC Capital Markets analyst Nick Morton said in a note to clients.

RBC rates Bombardier stock as "outperform" and has a C$6.00 price target on the shares.

"Bombardier is the only major manufacturer in China committed to transfer to China its latest technology," he said.

[DKaz]

New ticket vending machines in action on the West Coast Express.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM1tBUMjxpM