Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion

[Migrant_Coconut]

“The best argument against Democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”

- Winston Churchill (apocryphal)

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

Also in another story about the Surrey extension some women commented that Maple Ridge needs Skytrain first, someone pointed out that Maple Ridge only had 90,000 people compared to Surrey with 500,000+ people, she thought Surrey and Maple Ridge were the same population size.

That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. There are plenty of people who live NoF who won't travel anywhere SoF as they think it's too far away, the boonies, etc (all things I heard while living SoF). It's like the Fraser River is some impenetrable border that's impossible to cross. Hell we used to have people post on here who dumped on Surrey while refusing to travel there and see for themselves what the reality actually is.

[Express691]

Alerts:

Brighouse station loop is opening, albeit as a soft opening. 406 and 408 will be relocated inside starting October 19.

Bay 1 will lose its bay designation and become NB No.3rd at Cook.

Bay 7 will lose its bay designation and become SB No.3rd at Cook.

SB 403 to use Bay 5 which is in front of Kam Do bakery.

Northbound 416 and 430 to use bay 3 under the station.

https://alerts.translink.ca/

[VancouverOfTheFuture]

Originally Posted by Express691

Alerts:

Brighouse station loop is opening, albeit as a soft opening. 406 and 408 will be relocated inside starting October 19.

thank god, finally, and only 10yrs late!

[ilikeredheads]

don't celebrate yet. This soft opening will probably lasts several years lol

[cganuelas1995]

Yay, it's something even though it's really frickin' late. If I still lived in Richmond, I'd love not having to sprint to the bus after working on my feet all day only to miss the bus and have to walk 30 minutes home or pay $13 for a cab. Hooray!

[BCPhil]

Originally Posted by Sheba

That doesn't surprise me in the slightest. There are plenty of people who live NoF who won't travel anywhere SoF as they think it's too far away, the boonies, etc (all things I heard while living SoF). It's like the Fraser River is some impenetrable border that's impossible to cross. Hell we used to have people post on here who dumped on Surrey while refusing to travel there and see for themselves what the reality actually is.

On top of that, when people like that do travel SoF, they drive down one road, and they think that's it. Just some houses, a few townhouses and some condos.

They don't realize that they just drove 10km of nothing but tightly packed houses, and townhouses and condos. And that's just on one corridor.

When you drive Lougheed in the Ridge and then drive 88 in Surrey, they seem very similar, except Surrey is more than just 88, or Fraser, or Scott, or 152, or .........

[Migrant_Coconut]

Continued from the rideshare thread:

Originally Posted by aberdeen5698

My point was that nobody expects automated systems to wait. If the self-driving bus pulls away as you're running up to it you're not going to hold a grudge against it.

It depends - as we all know, the public has a double standard toward transit. You miss an elevator, happens all the time, wait a minute-ish until the next one; miss a bus and wait 10-30 minutes, "TransLink sucks."

And I did also mention last-minute braking and crowd control. While collision detection will likely improve, I'd want a conductor on board (half/two-thirds pay?) for the first decade or two.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by cganuelas1995

Yay, it's something even though it's really frickin' late. If I still lived in Richmond, I'd love not having to sprint to the bus after working on my feet all day only to miss the bus and have to walk 30 minutes home or pay $13 for a cab. Hooray!

Don't you still have to sprint to the bus loop? It is quite a long way in, no? I suppose it depends on what bus you are trying to catch.

But glad everything is located at one spot now, instead of spreading out all over the area.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by Vin

Don't you still have to sprint to the bus loop? It is quite a long way in, no? I suppose it depends on what bus you are trying to catch.

But glad everything is located at one spot now, instead of spreading out all over the area.

I used to (sometimes) catch the last 404 home, which was a 3 minute walk away. Bus loop looks like it's outside the station entrance.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by VancouverOfTheFuture

thank god, finally, and only 10yrs late!

Finally?!?! Anyone got pictures?

[officedweller]

Pics here:

TransLink's new bus exchange at Richmond-Brighouse Station set to open
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/richmond-brighouse-bus-exchange-opening

[Express691]

Just in:

Kevin Desmond to step down as TransLink CEO in February 2021:
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5769921?__twitter_impression=true

===========================
Brighouse Station pictures: I have a couple up on Instagram, while a video is coming out tomorrow which was shot Monday evening

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGkyRJ7nF9E/?igshid=6cvk0mpscqg8

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Express691

Just in:

Kevin Desmond to step down as TransLink CEO in February 2021:
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5769921?__twitter_impression=true

===========================
Brighouse Station pictures: I have a couple up on Instagram, while a video is coming out tomorrow which was shot Monday evening

https://www.instagram.com/p/CGkyRJ7nF9E/?igshid=6cvk0mpscqg8

No doubt getting out rather than have to face a long rebuild, with a drop in ridership. Just a thought, maybe we should hire Canadians for these roles.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

No doubt getting out rather than have to face a long rebuild, with a drop in ridership. Just a thought, maybe we should hire Canadians for these roles.

The previous CEO was an internal hire. How did that work out? Kevin Desmond will have been at Translink for 5 years. That seems a reasonable period.

[Express691]

My coverage of the bus loop at Brighouse Station:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCeroaXnfkE

[Xrayal]

From the low carbon fleet strategy transition plan Oct 29th 2020:

"To make progress on regional GHG targets and keep with the commitment of purchasing no new diesel buses starting in 2023, TransLink’s 2021 GVRF application includes a request to fund 57 battery-electric buses and vehicle charging infrastructure at Port Coquitlam Transit Centre (PTC). This is a change in the original sequence approved by the Mayors’ Council in February, to account for the fact that the Marpole Transit Centre (MTC) will not be open by the end of 2023 as initially planned and to enable TransLink to stay on track to pursuing the “Aggressive” LCFS option."

"PTC is now identified as the first property to house battery-electric buses."

From the low carbon fleet transition plan Feb 24th 2020:

"Beginning in 2021 a total of 17 in-route chargers would be installed at up 10 different locations, to support conversion of Routes 100, 159, 169, 188 and most other routes operating from PTC to battery-bus operation using 136 total in-route charged buses. To support these buses minor upgrades are also required at HTC and PTC – to install a small number of depot chargers to support maintenance operations."

In-route charging: Route 100 and 95% of PTC routes
Life cycle cost of a depot charged bus:11% above today’s diesel
Life cycle cost of a in-route charged bus: 5% above today’s diesel

It will be interesting to see which route they select to electrify and where the in-route chargers are placed. The termini for most of PTC buses are in Translink owned loops which works better for installing chargers. Plus the actual cost to buy and run an in-route electric bus is currently cheaper then the lifecycle costs of a depot charged electric bus.

Link To the Oct 29th Mayors Council meeting.

[Express691]

Not getting the inclusion of 169 (it's already community shuttle M-F) - rather use that capacity elsewhere

Nonetheless, it's an interesting development

Also: expansion orders are delayed to 2022

[Migrant_Coconut]

Are we talking about electric shuttle buses or electric city buses? They might be upgrading AND electrifying the 169 simultaneously.

[madog222]

Originally Posted by Xrayal

to account for the fact that the Marpole Transit Centre (MTC) will not be open by the end of 2023 as initially planned

Did I miss something?