Transit Fantasies

[Migrant_Coconut]

Yeah, I just picked the most remote thing I could remember off the top of my head. Should've gone with Tofino or Sechelt.

Point is, don't expect a European-scale anything above the 40th parallel: too much land + too few people = no mass transit = cars.

Originally Posted by chowhou

Roads and highways are also hard to charge pay-for-use, but the gas tax is supposed to be a form of taxation in that way. We used to have tolls on certain bridges to pay for their use, but a certain government got rid of them unfortunately.

That said, roads are also heavily subsidized. Nobody should see $8 fares unless gas is also ~$10/litre.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Yeah, I just picked the most remote thing I could remember off the top of my head. Should've gone with Tofino or Sechelt.

Point is, don't expect a European-scale anything above the 40th parallel: too much land + too few people = no mass transit = cars.

Counterpoint: If Finland, Sweden, and Norway (our northern low density mountainous brethren) can make it work, we can make it work.

[Migrant_Coconut]

They got that by exporting a crapload of fish and oil. Our fisheries are in trouble (at least the ones that haven't imploded), and all we've got to show for buying TransMountain so far is $30 billion worth of debt.

I mean, I'm happy for them, but it's easy to say that when their entire country is the size of BC. Maybe we should secede?

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

They got that by exporting a crapload of fish and oil. Our fisheries are in trouble (at least the ones that haven't imploded), and all we've got to show for buying TransMountain so far is $30 billion worth of debt.

I mean, I'm happy for them, but it's easy to say that when their entire country is the size of BC. Maybe we should secede?

Sweden and Finland feel left out by your comments, and Norway definitely started building railways before the 1960s oil boom including the Oslo subway.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Point remains: if we could concentrate all that GDP on one province, we'd have Norway or Sweden's train network. As it is, even Ontario has to drive a lot.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Point remains: if we could concentrate all that GDP on one province, we'd have Norway or Sweden's train network. As it is, even Ontario has to drive a lot.

eh.

Not really.
Its mostly about levels of tax revenue as a percent of GDP.

Canada 33.24%
Norway 44.3%
Sweden 41.32%

In Canada that would be an extra $200 billion or so of the economy shifted from private consumption to government expenditures.