Calgary Public Transit II

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

I was under the impression that the MAX shelters were to be enclosed and/or heated.

Ceiling mounted heater within the MAX shelter in the 7th picture seems to be glowing orange. I don't think there was anything more than such heaters promised.

[milomilo]

Some of the max 'stations' on 16th are enclosed, some aren't. They do have one thing in common - there's no one waiting at them.

[magnetite]

Originally Posted by YYCguys

Also the live information boards didn’t appear to be transmiting, well, live information. What do you know about that?

The bus times seem pretty accurate.

[milomilo]

Committee recommends Calgary look at transit links to Chestermere

As long as this is funded such that Calgary isn't subsidizing Chestermere, this seems like a sensible way to maximize use of the infrastructure we've just built. An express bus using the empty BRT route on 17th could actually be pretty competitive with driving from Chestermere to downtown.

[Jaspertf]

Originally Posted by milomilo

Committee recommends Calgary look at transit links to Chestermere

As long as this is funded such that Calgary isn't subsidizing Chestermere, this seems like a sensible way to maximize use of the infrastructure we've just built. An express bus using the empty BRT route on 17th could actually be pretty competitive with driving from Chestermere to downtown.

The smart thing to do would be to simply extend Max Purple out to Chestermere requiring only a handful of extra buses.
As it stands right now, the Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board has no pro-active ability, they require the Municipalities or the City of Calgary to initiate plans. An extension of Max Purple to Chestermere will only happen if the City of Calgary wants it to happen, otherwise Chestermere will have to purchase buses and initiate the route on their own, like Airdrie did with their ICE.

The 17th Ave BRT cost $181million.

[milomilo]

Do any Calgary Transit routes leave the city currently? Are they allowed to? I have no issue doing what you say, as long as Chestermere somehow pays its share and isn't subsidized by Calgary.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Jaspertf

The smart thing to do would be to simply extend Max Purple out to Chestermere requiring only a handful of extra buses.
As it stands right now, the Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board has no pro-active ability, they require the Municipalities or the City of Calgary to initiate plans. An extension of Max Purple to Chestermere will only happen if the City of Calgary wants it to happen, otherwise Chestermere will have to purchase buses and initiate the route on their own, like Airdrie did with their ICE.

The 17th Ave BRT cost $181million.

You need to separate one-time infrastructure costs from operating costs. You'd need to at least double operating costs to allow for this route to get out to a commuter community like Chestermere. I don't think Calgary should be subsidizing commuter communities in this manner. Perhaps it could work if people getting on at Chestermere were paying $15 or $20 (because the return fair would be a regular fair, else too hard to manage) but I doubt they'd take the bus or if Chestermere made a substantial annual contribution to CoC coffers for this.. At the end of the day, people who live in Chestermere purchased way out there because they don't mind driving, and because they couldn't afford what they wanted in the city so chose a parasitic lifestyle.

Originally Posted by milomilo

Do any Calgary Transit routes leave the city currently? Are they allowed to? I have no issue doing what you say, as long as Chestermere somehow pays its share and isn't subsidized by Calgary.

Fully aligned with your thoughts milomilo. I believe the answer to your first question is no. Regarding your second question, I'm unclear about it in all honesty. I don't think the buses currently run on 100km/hr or 110km/hr roads while in-service, so the point is, there could be many considerations beyond insurance, and possibly safety, capability and maintenance (though they do go on Deerfoot when out of service). Consider, for example, that within the city, the buses are on priority roads for snow clearing. If they go outside the city, the city cannot mandate a provincial road or roads within a commuter community to be managed the same way. What happens on a blizzard day when the bus is out on the trans-canada halfway to Chestermere with 50 people on it, and there is black ice and drifts?

[Jaspertf]

Alberta Advantage Podcast.
Listen to us talking about trains.
https://www.facebook.com/AlbertaAdvantagePod/
https://albertaadvantagepod.com/

[milomilo]

The MAX lines actually do seem to be picking up ridership with the buses and shelters increasing busy, from my anecdotal evidence. This is good, and the official numbers will be interesting to see.

Another less good thing I've noticed though is that the signal priority is a bare faced lie, and something I'd suspected before the new lines. On 17th Ave in particular but in other places as well, I've never seen a signal proactively change to prioritize a bus, and conversely I've seen many buses sitting at a red light through a whole light cycle. I'd understand if the buses were running every few minutes, but they're not, they're running every 15-20, so it should be no big deal to let the buses through.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by milomilo

Another less good thing I've noticed though is that the signal priority is a bare faced lie, and something I'd suspected before the new lines. On 17th Ave in particular but in other places as well, I've never seen a signal proactively change to prioritize a bus, and conversely I've seen many buses sitting at a red light through a whole light cycle. I'd understand if the buses were running every few minutes, but they're not, they're running every 15-20, so it should be no big deal to let the buses through.

In some other parts of the city, I've noticed prioritization doesn't change lights immediately, but shortens times for cross-traffic while a bus is waiting. So the buses do not fly through without stopping, but stop less often and for less time. So it may be harder to notice from general observation.

I suspect all of this stuff is programmable, so it doesn't mean things are not in place, but rather that things have been assessed to not fully require greater traffic manipulation relative to on-time performance. As you know, they fully track on-time performance, so if it is good, don't expect more manipulation.

[suburbia]

According to the City's project website, the new Stoney CNG Bus Storage and Transit Facility is now being prepared for occupancy and should be opened by end of next month. Given that it is built for managing a natural gas fleet upwards of 400 buses, my assumption would be that at least some buses have been on order and expected for delivery in spring. Makes no sense to have such a large facility and keep it empty too long.

The above being said, anyone have any more accurate details of natural gas bus orders, expected delivery, and implications on the fleet overall?

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by suburbia

In some other parts of the city, I've noticed prioritization doesn't change lights immediately, but shortens times for cross-traffic while a bus is waiting. So the buses do not fly through without stopping, but stop less often and for less time. So it may be harder to notice from general observation.

I suspect all of this stuff is programmable, so it doesn't mean things are not in place, but rather that things have been assessed to not fully require greater traffic manipulation relative to on-time performance. As you know, they fully track on-time performance, so if it is good, don't expect more manipulation.

It's been a while since I've taken a bus, but AFAIK Calgary is quite aggressive with padding the schedules and forced waits to improve on time performance. I understand why they do this, but it is possible they are putting too much emphasis on keeping a schedule at the expense of journey time. It seems like a waste of the 17th Ave Transitway if the bus can't go faster than the traffic.

[CTrainDude]

Originally Posted by suburbia

According to the City's project website, the new Stoney CNG Bus Storage and Transit Facility is now being prepared for occupancy and should be opened by end of next month. Given that it is built for managing a natural gas fleet upwards of 400 buses, my assumption would be that at least some buses have been on order and expected for delivery in spring. Makes no sense to have such a large facility and keep it empty too long.

The above being said, anyone have any more accurate details of natural gas bus orders, expected delivery, and implications on the fleet overall?

Calgary Transit has already started accepting CNG Nova Buses as part of a 40 vehicle order. There will also be about 300 Diesel buses moved there from other facilities to reduce overcrowding - currently Anderson and Victoria Park still store buses outside.

[suburbia]

Ask Yogi reviews Calgary's LRT
• Video Link

There are parts in a different language, but it goes back to English. It's pretty funny.

[Reecemartin]

[Deleted]

[milomilo]

I don't know Kitchener to comment on the suitability of their line, but they are spending about a fifth of the price (even before the cost overruns of our own set in) to get a comparable length system. They're spending steetcar levels of money to get a streetcar, while we spend metro levels of money to build an upgraded streetcar.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by milomilo

I don't know Kitchener to comment on the suitability of their line, but they are spending about a fifth of the price (even before the cost overruns of our own set in) to get a comparable length system. They're spending steetcar levels of money to get a streetcar, while we spend metro levels of money to build an upgraded streetcar.

And don't forget your Montreal example, where a line with tunnels existed and you highlighted that they were going to spend less money.

[milomilo]

Originally Posted by suburbia

And don't forget your Montreal example, where a line with tunnels existed and you highlighted that they were going to spend less money.

And don't forget your habit of deliberately misinterpreting what people say, ignoring all the facts and just parroting blind support of decisions made by certain members of our city's leadership. Got anything useful to say?

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by milomilo

And don't forget your habit of deliberately misinterpreting what people say, ignoring all the facts and just parroting blind support of decisions made by certain members of our city's leadership. Got anything useful to say?

Not sure why you're sending personal shots my way. I'm hopeful the intelligentsia votes in fluoride this time around.

[milomilo]

You're not sure why I'm sending shots your way, directly after you sent shots my way? No one is fooled by your feigned innocence.