Quote:
Originally Posted by fusili
5th highest transit ridership per capita in North America (top are NYC, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver in that order). A light rail system that trounces every other on the continent and out-performs many US heavy rail systems (only NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC and San Fran beat the LRT- we beat Philly's subway!!). So many riders that we experience crowding issues that only places like NYC or Toronto experience (in North America that is). 500K plus transit trips per day (LRT and bus) for a city barely over 1.2M.
No, our transit system isn't pretty good, it is absolutely spectacular. By no means am I saying we can't or shouldn't improve, and I spend much of my free time advocating for such improvements, but to say transit in Calgary is only pretty good is just incorrect. What we should be saying is Calgary's transit system is a runaway success, and has demonstrated again and again that transit investments in this City yield considerable mobility, economic and social development results. We need more money for transit, not because it is doing poorly, but because it is successful beyond measure.
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Well according to CUTA stats (2013), we are 6th in Canada. We are behind all the other cities with over 1 million plus people. In fact, we are almost 10 (ridership/capita) behind our friends to the north. Our R/C is behind 4 out of the 5 biggies, but also behind some of the medium sized cities (14th), and we're 9th with revenue vehicle hours/capita. Of course none of these are overly meaningful in isolation, and especially in broader terms of our transportation (-land-use) system.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UofC.engineer
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And he is right, considering work trips do not account for the majority, as per Don Mulligan:
All day mode share up to 79%, up 2% since 2005. Commute mode shares never align with all day mode shares. Interestingly, in some places the difference goes in the other direction.
Without getting too into depth and analytical here, it's a given that our transit system and the C-Train are vital to the City, is relatively successful by some metrics, and that a lot of the issues are extraneous to CT, but that doesn't mean we can/should lose perspective. Its disconcerting that our constant barometer is the US, and that our go-to cope out then becomes "context". It always kinda reminds me of the classic Seinfeld where Kramer is beating everyone in his karate class. It's impressive, until we see that he's fighting kids... In the world of transpo, the US is hardly ever a good lighthouse.
A few points to context and metrics:
JR, MTR & MRT are all highly successful if you look at cost recovery and ridership. Have fun when youre standing on the platform watching the 7th train go by that you can't get in, despite 2 min headways, and then once you are in you wonder how you'll get out again.
There are cities in Western China that "we've never heard of" that have systems where you can use contactless smart cards. Tblisi has working real-time information at stops. Azerbaijan has that and interactive schedules. London has done away with cash. Gumi has inductive charging buses, and Munich has transit signal prioritization on most of their routes.
The main point being, that if we really want to consider our transit system as spectacular, I'd have to say, we've got a ways to go.. We can use context as an excuse or self-aggrandizing til the cows come home, and they might just do so sooner than you when the next collision occurs on 7th Ave.
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