Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[Mac Write]

How did you get onto the train? As for the "Pony Wall" it seems that there is no front seat. Any more picks? showing the front from outside or inside from the door looking forward to get a clean shot of the front area?

[Express691]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

How did you get onto the train? As for the "Pony Wall" it seems that there is no front seat. Any more picks? showing the front from outside or inside from the door looking forward to get a clean shot of the front area?

No front seat, evidenced from the 4th photo.

[ssiguy]

How many meters long are the new trains?

[Metro-One]

Guessing the 4 car trains will be around 65 meters long?

[Mac Write]

I see that there is no front "Cab" like the Mark II. It sure feels like a Canada Line train. I also see a Wheelchair place were the table is setup (as there is a yellow bar there).

For the train spotters how do we chase down this train? is it only running night for testing or is it running in revenue service as a test train?

[xd_1771]

The reddit thread posted by the guy didn't contain many of those details (and when I asked about when the cars would be in service he told me it had to be kept hush-hush). So it'll have to be at random.

Sightings at the yard should start to become common by now though. A couple of nights ago I saw it there but it was only a quick glimpse and definitely not long enough to take out my camera.

[Express691]

https://twitter.com/mimischap/status/672211927305596928 Twitter clip shows a bike area in the end cars.

[Vantage]

Originally Posted by Express691

https://twitter.com/mimischap/status/672211927305596928 Twitter clip shows a bike rack in the end cars.

I thought it looked more like a place wheelchairs and scooters. But I guess bikes as well.

[Metro-One]

Call me crazy, but I actually don't like allowing bikes on trains.

Many people bring their dirty mountain bikes on trains without cleaning them for one.

They take up way too much space when trains are busy and are cumbersome to bring in and out of the cars.

Bikes are not allowed on trains in Japan unless they are folded and packed away (carried like normal luggage).

That being said, if people in the Vancouver area were able to civilize a little more and not always steal bikes then we could have decent bike shelters / parking spaces at all train stations instead of the bike lockers that take up way to much space for the number of bikes they can hold. That way people could ride their bikes to local stations and complete their commutes via train / transit (as is done here in Asia).

[Mac Write]

I would expect people ride from home to station take train then bike to final destination.

[Metro-One]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

I would expect people ride from home to station take train then bike to final destination.

I ride my bike almost every day in Japan. I ride to the station (like everyone else) take the train, and then walk / bus to my final destination.

Some people actually have two bikes. One at home the other kept at their regular destination station (such as for work) if they need to ride after their station as well. (again, not as many losers here who always steal bikes).

Also bikes in Japan are pretty cheap, most people ride 1 or 3 speed bikes great for getting around town.

Mine only cost about 70 bucks.

Even in Europe I almost never saw bikes on trains.

[SFUVancouver]

Originally Posted by Metro-One

Even in Europe I almost never saw bikes on trains.

On my recent trip to Geneva I noticed bikes regularly on board their regional RER-style trains, which perform a hybrid function somewhere between our West Coast Express and SkyTrain, and I seem to recall a bike area on their trams (or at least a couple people brought their bikes onto the tram once).

I support bringing bikes on to SkyTrain, but definitely acknowledge that it is so much easier to do so on the larger Canada Line trains, and the old Mk1s really cannot accommodate them at all. I would be very comfortable with a 'no bikes' symbol on the Mk1 trains, and a '1 bike per door' limit for Mk2 and 2.5s. Furthermore, having the marked bike area eases potential inter-personal friction, especially when it is busy and standees are in that zone. I get it about wet dirty bikes and inconsiderate passengers; it's a lot easier to stomach 'normal' people commuting or going for a leisure trip than it is for a drug addled guy with an obviously stolen bike who has little comprehension of personal space or the inconvenience and potential injury he is causing by just powering his way through the crowds to get on or off the train (and then inevitably riding on the platform).

[Kisai]

Don't get me started on Bikes, Wheelchairs/Mobility Scooters, and baby strollers. The transit system was not designed for current generations of these things, and people should not take them inside the train or bus during busy parts of the day since they take the space of 8 people.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Kisai

Don't get me started on Bikes, Wheelchairs/Mobility Scooters, and baby strollers. The transit system was not designed for current generations of these things, and people should not take them inside the train or bus during busy parts of the day since they take the space of 8 people.

Wow.

[Bdawe]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Wow.

Lumping wheelchairs into that category is pretty harsh, and simply isn't going to fly. But I generally figure that any kid-carrying device larger than an umbrella stroller should be subject to the same rules as bicycles - don't bring them on during peak hours. Don't like it? Get an umbrella stroller

There are far too enormous mobile assault strollers mucking through crowded trains

[GeeCee]

Originally Posted by Kisai

Don't get me started on Bikes, Wheelchairs/Mobility Scooters, and baby strollers. The transit system was not designed for current generations of these things, and people should not take them inside the train or bus during busy parts of the day since they take the space of 8 people.

How dare you lump the handicapped in with all the rest of those? I sure hope that you don't find yourself in need of a wheelchair later on in life.

[Kisai]

Originally Posted by Bdawe

Lumping wheelchairs into that category is pretty harsh, and simply isn't going to fly. But I generally figure that any kid-carrying device larger than an umbrella stroller should be subject to the same rules as bicycles - don't bring them on during peak hours. Don't like it? Get an umbrella stroller

There are far too enormous mobile assault strollers mucking through crowded trains

I was thinking about the mobility scooters that are basically golf carts, not the electric wheel chairs that have the same footprint as a regular wheelchair.

But the topic came up because people take those jogger-style strollers on transit which and use them as shopping carts and are just as big.

[Sheba]

Bikes already aren't allowed on Expo / Millennium Lines between 7 - 9am and 4 - 6pm in the direction of rush hour traffic. They aren't on buses - there's a rack for a couple of them on the front of the bus.

Strollers I'll agree with you. There's a (overly large) size limit that no one seems to enforce, and people using them to transport far more than babies - there needs to be a crackdown.

Wheelchairs are a bit of a sore point with me right now, as a friend was the victim of a hit and run. He's just recently been released from hospital and has to use a wheelchair. At the moment he's dreaming of just being able to get out of his unit. Actually getting outside and onto the Skytrain isn't going to happen anytime soon.

[Express691]

Im pretty sure there is an actual restriction as to how big strollers can be upon boarding the bus.

[Vantage]

Originally Posted by Express691

Im pretty sure there is an actual restriction as to how big strollers can be upon boarding the bus.

Well if there is, it's never, or at least very rarely, enforced. I've seen some awfully large strollers on busses. The restriction seems to be if it is able to fit through the door.