Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion - Page 227

DKaz · #**4521** Posted **Dec 3, 2009, 5:08 PM**

I think the older buses were better able to handle the cold, although I remember being on a 20 bus three years back on a trolley that kept losing power. I avoided the 20 and walked to catch the more reliable 26 diesel bus that winter.

WarrenC12 · #**4522** Posted **Dec 3, 2009, 6:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DKaz

I think the older buses were better able to handle the cold, although I remember being on a 20 bus three years back on a trolley that kept losing power. I avoided the 20 and walked to catch the more reliable 26 diesel bus that winter.

Cold sure, but I certainly remember seeing many, many buses falling off the wires. It usually didn't seem like a big deal to fix, but it happened.

I can't remember ever seeing a new trolley off the wires. Could be my luck though.

zivan56 · #**4523** Posted **Dec 3, 2009, 7:00 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zassk

^ Hmm.. was this safety tradeoff worth the inevitable loss in service every time we hit sub-zero temperatures? How often did the old buses catastrophically "de-wire" intersections? I've never seen it happen myself.

Even though not very frequently, it could take days to repair or could kill someone.

Well the problem is this was never tested in practice. During the testing of the pilot trolley, the old buses were running and clearing the wires. So they just assumed the new ones would do the same. I don't understand why they didn't retrofit a kill switch into the auto pole pulldown feature.

arashi_1987 · #**4524** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 7:33 AM**

Bus Service Changes Effective December 14

99 B-Line UBC/Commercial-Broadway Station

New stops in both directions at Fraser Street and Arbutus Street will improve customer access.

Link

Now I wonder what kind of crowding we might expect...
Let's see if AM westbound will see lots of people board at Fraser to make getting on at Main Street even more chaotic. And having a stop at Arbutus might mean people who would have gotten off at Granville to reach Arbutus would stay on the bus longer... I guess we won't really know what it's gonna be like until then and when UBC goes back into session again...

According to the new timetable it seems the trip will be on average 1 minute longer than right now...fingers crossed.

raggedy13 · #**4525** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 7:50 AM**

Hmm... this will make things interesting. I may be eating all you can eat sushi at BC Sushi more often now.

arashi_1987 · #**4526** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 7:54 AM**

Wow exactly what I was thinking.

though their quality has gone down the hill (off topic lol)

deasine · #**4527** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 8:00 AM**

About time... I mean I sort of understood why Fraser didn't get a B-Line stop, but the lack of a bus stop at Arbutus never made any sense to me.
Random fact: I think TransLink has been slowly changing the Comm'l-Bway Stn destination signs to Commercial Stn instead... makes much more sense!

arashi_1987 · #**4528** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 9:02 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by deasine

About time... I mean I sort of understood why Fraser didn't get a B-Line stop, but the lack of a bus stop at Arbutus never made any sense to me.
Random fact: I think TransLink has been slowly changing the Comm'l-Bway Stn destination signs to Commercial Stn instead... makes much more sense!

Next they better change that woman's voice on the bus to NOT say "Cambie Street and Broadway Skytrain Station"...People will get so confused with the old Broadway station. Should just get rid of "Broadway" and say City Hall Skytrain!! There's only 1 vancouver city hall!!

WarrenC12 · #**4529** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 2:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by arashi_1987

Next they better change that woman's voice on the bus to NOT say "Cambie Street and Broadway Skytrain Station"...People will get so confused with the old Broadway station. Should just get rid of "Broadway" and say City Hall Skytrain!! There's only 1 vancouver city hall!!

LOL yep. Just wait until the UBC extension, every stop will be "Broadway-xxx"

Any idea if they are adding more buses to the route? How many stops does the B-Line have now between Commercial and UBC?

roleypolinde · #**4530** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 5:33 PM**

This was a much needed addition, the neighbourhood around Arbutus is a lot more built up than in the past. It was insane to be exactly 15 minutes walk between Macdonald and Granville stops and watch 3 99's go by while I wait for a trolley bus to take me up to Granville

Not to mention trying to catch the 99 from a 8 Fraser means running three blocks across busy intersections to catch it at Main, having it stop at Fraser directly is awesome, I am more than content to put up with a few more people on the route to have this service.

mr.x · #**4531** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 9:48 PM**

I'm all for having stops at Arbutus and Fraser, despite making the trip longer, but this plan better include more buses for the 99. There's no doubt that quite a few will be making the switch from the trolleys to the express.

WarrenC12 · #**4532** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 9:51 PM**

Well trolleys can't be express buses. Do you mean ordering more diesels?

Speaking of trolleys, I saw 2 #20s in a row heading north on Victoria (around 37th) this morning, which is not unusual during the morning rush. However the first bus was empty, the 2nd one was full. How could this happen unless the first one somehow leapfrogged the other. Are there sections of wire set up to allow this during busy times?

CLC · #**4533** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 11:35 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Well trolleys can't be express buses. Do you mean ordering more diesels?

Speaking of trolleys, I saw 2 #20s in a row heading north on Victoria (around 37th) this morning, which is not unusual during the morning rush. However the first bus was empty, the 2nd one was full. How could this happen unless the first one somehow leapfrogged the other. Are there sections of wire set up to allow this during busy times?

I am sure I know the reason. The first #20 you saw (the empty one) has just made left turn coming from 41st avenue, and it probably skipped the stop immediately at the front of that bakery shop, and heads north, that's why you saw it still empty near 37th. The second #20 is the normal one came all the way from below 54th.

CLC · #**4534** Posted **Dec 4, 2009, 11:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by arashi_1987

99 B-Line UBC/Commercial-Broadway Station

New stops in both directions at Fraser Street and Arbutus Street will improve customer access.
...
According to the new timetable it seems the trip will be on average 1 minute longer than right now...fingers crossed.

1 minute longer? I pretty sure it will be up to 5 minutes longer, particularly since the Arbutus stop may be used by some seniors and physically challenged.

jsbertram · #**4535** Posted **Dec 5, 2009, 8:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Well trolleys can't be express buses. Do you mean ordering more diesels?

...

Hmmm...
It seemed to work well for the 34 Hastings Express trolley bus, which used the express wire along Hastings Street with no stops between Main St and Kootenay Loop.
The wires are still there (last time I looked) so they may still be used by trollies starting or ending their service each day.

Millennium2002 · #**4536** Posted **Dec 5, 2009, 9:20 PM**

Bus traffic to be reduced on Saba Road - TransLink

I find this to be a little... unusual. Due to complaints from residents some of the buses are being shifted back to their original locations after the September move. O.O

jsbertram · #**4537** Posted **Dec 5, 2009, 9:59 PM**

While I'm thinking of bus stops on Broadway, why not move the #9 eastbound from the 'temporary' location at Yukon, back closer to the C-Line station entrance. How about right in front of the insurance office?

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s...263541,-123.114325&spn=0,359.997253&z=19

It looks like there is plenty of room at this pole for the 9 Eastbound to slip in (ignoring the delivery truck), since the next pole west is the 99 BLine stop.

whatnext · #**4538** Posted **Dec 5, 2009, 10:58 PM**

Would it be possible for Translink to add an East/West route along 57th/59th? There's quite a gap between 49th and Marine.

hollywoodnorth · #**4539** Posted **Dec 5, 2009, 11:02 PM**

Bus service returns to Granville Mall

Bus service will begin a gradual return to Granville Mall next month. Beginning Monday, December 14, the #50 False Creek South, which had been routed away from Granville during construction of Granville Mall and the Canada Line, will resume service on Granville Street northbound as far as Robson Street and southbound beginning at Nelson.

The northbound bus will turn right on Robson and then left on Seymour; the southbound bus will come up Howe Street from Cordova to Nelson, then turn left to Granville.

The re-route will stay in place until February 1, when all traffic will come off Granville Street for the month to create a pedestrian mall during the Olympics: the #50 will go back to using Seymour northbound and Howe southbound and then return to the December routing in March.

Also in March, work will begin on installing trolley overhead wires along Granville Street, so that trolley buses, which had been removed from Granville in April 2006, may resume service by the fall of 2010.

http://www.translink.ca/en/About-TransLi...s-service-returns-to-Granville-Mall.aspx

BCPhil · #**4540** Posted **Dec 5, 2009, 11:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by whatnext

Would it be possible for Translink to add an East/West route along 57th/59th? There's quite a gap between 49th and Marine.

I think the thinking with the gap is even though it's a long walk north or south to the closest east/west route, it's usually not a far walk east or west for the closest north/south route.