Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[Firebrand]

Originally Posted by dpogue

The first of the next Mark IIIs should be arriving in January, but I would expect the T&C on it to take several months at least. SkyTrain staff are still getting used to the existing Mark IIIs and their particular idiosyncrasies.

What kind of idiosyncrasies occur on the Mark IIIs? I don't know specifically what happened to them, but I hear complaints from oldschoolers saying they aren't as reliable as the Mark Is.

[Mac Write]

How long will it take for the 14 4-car Mark III trains to arrive and enter service? Also does Translink have the option for 7 more 4-car Mark III trains as part of the contract (they have said they need that additional 7 trains in 2020/2021).

[Reecemartin]

[Deleted]

[dpogue]

Originally Posted by Firebrand

What kind of idiosyncrasies occur on the Mark IIIs? I don't know specifically what happened to them, but I hear complaints from oldschoolers saying they aren't as reliable as the Mark Is.

When the first batch went into service there were several weeks of issues with on-board computers timing out, and electrical/motor issues. They had vehicle techs on board every train for a while even after T&C had officially ended, just in case something happened.

The biggest complaint though has probably been the cabinet locks. They're more secure, but much much harder to open. If staff need to reset an alarm, it sometimes takes three or four different people trying their luck with the lock before someone's able to get the cabinet open.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by Firebrand

All of this happened months ago. I'm talking about the past few weeks. I know the four new B-Lines will be in service, but that's a year away. Save for the September route changes, there hasn't been any eye-catching transit news. It will catch up speed when municipal elections arrive.

No I understand, it's just that transit's not really the kind of thing where you can get exciting news all that often. Believe me, I'm not any happier about this than you are!

[Firebrand]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

No I understand, it's just that transit's not really the kind of thing where you can get exciting news all that often. Believe me, I'm not any happier about this than you are!

I think it's the fact that I grew in a poorly-served city that often takes the back seat by the rest of the region, so I often have low expectations of these news, unless it happens within my city bounds, such as my excitement for the 555 getting double-deckers next year.

[nname]

Originally Posted by Firebrand

so I often have low expectations of these news, unless it happens within my city bounds.

I don't know, but I feel excited for them finally get rid of the C6x shuttle routes and turn them into 56x... and the Fraser Highway B-Line coming next year... and then the rapid transit on Fraser Highway.

And then the next year or the year after, there will be significant changes in Langley shuttle routes.

[Firebrand]

Originally Posted by nname

I don't know, but I feel excited for them finally get rid of the C6x shuttle routes and turn them into 56x... and the Fraser Highway B-Line coming next year... and then the rapid transit on Fraser Highway.

And then the next year or the year after, there will be significant changes in Langley shuttle routes.

Oh definitely. I'm tired of seeing all of the CXX signs in shuttle routes. Why didn't they do that in the first place when the first shuttles went into service?

Other than the B-Line, I'm kind of "meh" about the rapid transit on Fraser Hwy due to the schism between Surrey and the City of Langley. The Township is still sitting on the fence on this issue. We will have to wait and see until October 20th.

Is there a document stating the significant route changes in the 56X routes?

[Mac Write]

Anyone any more info on the Mark III's arrival dates/changes etc. That's were my excitement is (as well as Skytrain construction/renovations).

I have had a bad year and been unable to take Transit.

[dpogue]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

Anyone any more info on the Mark III's arrival dates/changes etc. That's were my excitement is (as well as Skytrain construction/renovations).

I have had a bad year and been unable to take Transit.

The plan was one 4-car train arriving every month, starting in January, until the current shipment of 14 trains (56 cars) is here.

[Mac Write]

Originally Posted by dpogue

The plan was one 4-car train arriving every month, starting in January, until the current shipment of 14 trains (56 cars) is here.

Is there any official info about the additional 7 trains Translink wants to order before they move to 5-car trains in 2021?

[Firebrand]

From CTV News

Is this the worst bus stop in all of Canada and the U.S.?

Waiting for a bus can bring any number of difficulties: inadequate shelter, unreliable transit schedules, not to mention other transit users.

But the everyday frustrations of waiting for a bus in most areas pale in comparison to the obstacles presented by the bus stops on one U.S. blog’s “Sorry Bus Stops” list -- including one on a Vancouver freeway.

Nestled along the side of the busy Lougheed Highway at Old Dewdney Trunk Road in Pitt Meadows, B.C., TransLink’s bus stop #61452 makes anyone waiting for a bus look like a hitchhiker. It’s technically on a bus-only lane, but as CTV Vancouver discovered, that’s a rule disobeyed enough by drivers to present a seeming hazard for transit users. In a Google Street View image taken in August 2017, a man is seen standing along the guardrail at the bus stop as traffic speeds by.

The stop has made the final four of “America’s Sorriest Bus Stop,” the third annual contest on the transit blog StreetsBlog USA, a list originally meant just for U.S. bus stops. This Canadian one was bad enough to be an exception to the rule.

“Vancouver probably isn’t the first place that springs to mind when you think about sorry bus stops,” a Friday blog post by writer Angie Schmitt reads. “But this stop… is a doozy.”

The stop was submitted by a reader named Jason Lee, who called the stop “a major safety hazard” and cited a news story calling the highway one of the province’s deadliest.

“This bus stop is a disaster waiting to happen,” Lee wrote in a submission to the blog. “The bus stop pole is located atop a jersey barrier, which serves as a buffer between speeding cars and the edge of the roadway. Transit riders are forced to either a) wait on the other side of the jersey barrier, and then climb over it when the bus arrives, or b) wait on the highway side of barrier, directly exposed to traffic. Riders in wheelchairs must wait on the highway side of the barrier.”

The land is owned by the B.C. government, not TransLink. In a statement to CTV Vancouver, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure said that “Ministry staff are discussing possible options to improve safety with TransLink. Enjoy the long weekend.”

Friday, August 31, 2018 9:10PM EDT
Jonathan Forani
Link

[ilikeredheads]

nothing is as bad as this:

• Video Link

[cabotp]

Originally Posted by ilikeredheads

nothing is as bad as this:

• Video Link

It is the new form of population control

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by cabotp

It is the new form of population control

Basically, the 'Haves' being able to run down the 'Have-nots' to save a few minutes on travel time.

[Dengler Avenue]

As a digression, effective today, such behaviour will only meet heftier fines, license suspension and possibly even jail time.

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by ilikeredheads

nothing is as bad as this:

• Video Link

toronto has had streetcars for decades, and this still happens?

just wait for surrey meathead drivers

[jsbertram]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

As a digression, effective today, such behaviour will only meet heftier fines, license suspension and possibly even jail time.

which doesn't undo the broken bones (or worse) and weeks or months of unemployment while recovering

[Firebrand]

Since when we went from what I posted to having injuries from train-car collisions? I posted this news segment because that Pitt Meadows stop isn’t the only one that is hazardous (though this one is the worst offender). A lot of stops on Barnet Highway have no sidewalks—just shoulder lanes—the 640 and 321 also have that same problem, especially in flat areas of farmland.

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Mac Write

Anyone any more info on the Mark III's arrival dates/changes etc. That's were my excitement is (as well as Skytrain construction/renovations).

I have had a bad year and been unable to take Transit.

Well in June they said:

New Mark III Delivery
• First of 14 new Mark III trains ordered as part of the
Mayors Phase 1 plan
• Scheduled for delivery beginning in Fall 2018
• Entering service at the end of 2018

https://www.translink.ca/About-Us/Govern...Directors/Board-Minutes-and-Reports.aspx