Calgary Public Transit II

[ken0042]

Funny you should lump all us Greater McKenzie Towne people together. On the 117 they have buses every 10 minutes; and I have yet to catch a 117 at 114th ave and not get a seat.

[RicoLance21]

Originally Posted by RicoLance21

I can hardly wait to see all these features in Calgary. These will change a lot of how we see public transit, and I think it should have been in place long ago.

http://video.shorelinebeacon.com/search/...ilot-program-ready-to-roll/2540488849001

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgar...waits+soon+thing+past/8678724/story.html

[Just a Rider]

Signal Hill newsletter says community shuttles will replace regular buses on Routes 93 & 94 after 1800 weekdays and all day weekends and holidays starting in September.

CT got more shuttles on order?

[RicoLance21]

Those are pretty major routes to have shuttle buses.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by RicoLance21

I can hardly wait to see all these features in Calgary. These will change a lot of how we see public transit, and I think it should have been in place long ago.

http://video.shorelinebeacon.com/search/...ilot-program-ready-to-roll/2540488849001

I'd take the bus a lot more often if it had this level of precision.

[mersar]

From what I've heard ridership is pretty low on them though. And realistically, they probably only need 2 more shuttles to cover each of those routes (~40 minute round trip, and just 22/23 minutes apart currently at peak)

[frinkprof]

Here's a link to a survey about the Northwest Hub study. This deals with the area encompassing the University of Calgary, Foothills Hospital, Alberta Children's Hospital and University Research Park.

http://itsyourhub.ca/

The survey asks/primes you about several different ideas for improvements to transit service and mobility in this area.

[mellbell416]

I haven't heard any more on the SETWAY since that bombshell ranking that put it tied for last for cost benefit ratio. Before that report, I thought that it was slated to start construction in 2014. What's the next step now?

Is the SETWAY once again relegated to the back of the line?

[You Need A Thneed]

Originally Posted by mellbell416

I haven't heard any more on the SETWAY since that bombshell ranking that put it tied for last for cost benefit ratio. Before that report, I thought that it was slated to start construction in 2014. What's the next step now?

Is the SETWAY once again relegated to the back of the line?

The problem with a cost benefit ratio list like that is that expensive projects will always be at the back of the list. That doesn't mean that they aren't benefical or needed.

Everything they looked at was desperately needed.

[Allan83]

Originally Posted by mellbell416

I haven't heard any more on the SETWAY since that bombshell ranking that put it tied for last for cost benefit ratio. Before that report, I thought that it was slated to start construction in 2014. What's the next step now?

Is the SETWAY once again relegated to the back of the line?

I think that bombshell was a dud. While the report did contain some valuable information, most notably the huge time savings the SETWAY offers, the overall ranking system was utter nonsense, imo. It was so bad and illogical that I’m sure most people dismissed it almost as soon as they saw it. What the details of that report showed, otoh, were that the SETWAY should be one of our top priorities.

“Aldermen shoot down cost-benefit report downgrading priority of southeast rapid transit”
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgar...king+council+priority/8703036/story.html

[fusili]

Originally Posted by Allan83

I think that bombshell was a dud. While the report did contain some valuable information, most notably the huge time savings the SETWAY offers, the overall ranking system was utter nonsense, imo. It was so bad and illogical that I’m sure most people dismissed it almost as soon as they saw it. What the details of that report showed, otoh, were that the SETWAY should be one of our top priorities.

“Aldermen shoot down cost-benefit report downgrading priority of southeast rapid transit”
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgar...king+council+priority/8703036/story.html

It is hard sometimes for people to devolve themselves from their particular interests and see the broader picture. Of course Keating is going to support the SE LRT, and of course Macleod is going to support the NC LRT. The question is what the others will view as the most prudent use of money. Let's be honest, the SE LRT is very expensive, serves a small population far away from downtown and has to travel through areas with very little density. The transit report is pretty close to an objective assessment of costs and benefits.

[DizzyEdge]

I think the problem is that although one must determine which transit project will give you the best bang for the buck, there's also a sense of unfairness that the SE is the only quadrant without LRT. Whether fairness should even be considered I'm not sure, but it would be nice to get the most transit improvement for the SE for the last amount of money.

[simster3]

I believe that the SE and NCLRT should go together as one build and the reason for that is I think it is the missing spoke in our transportation system. And in the North, I don't think it needs to be a full build out at first, we can do many extensions, just like the other 3 lines have done successfully. I understand the south doesn't have the proven ridership but I think this is a project that will help build our city towards are fully functional transit system. The NCLRT could go to the beginning of the existing ROW and then future construction will be easier. And I think this needs to go forward before any other major infrastructure projects. I think it is the vital missing link in our entire transportation network. Also, I think it is crucial for creating BRT network. Even if the SETWAY is phased in with a dedicated busway, it will be a substantial improvement.

[ByeByeBaby]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I think the problem is that although one must determine which transit project will give you the best bang for the buck, there's also a sense of unfairness that the SE is the only quadrant without LRT. Whether fairness should even be considered I'm not sure, but it would be nice to get the most transit improvement for the SE for the last amount of money.

There are six LRT stations in SE Calgary, eight in NW Calgary and 10 in NE Calgary.

The Beltline is the third most populous community in the city, and yet it has no CBE school over grade 6. Is that fair? Yes, of course; a junior high school in the Beltline would not get used and the limited resources are better spent elsewhere.

[fusili]

Originally Posted by DizzyEdge

I think the problem is that although one must determine which transit project will give you the best bang for the buck, there's also a sense of unfairness that the SE is the only quadrant without LRT. Whether fairness should even be considered I'm not sure, but it would be nice to get the most transit improvement for the SE for the last amount of money.

Not at all true. The North Central quadrant has far more people and no LRT. People in Thorncliff, Panorama Hills or Beddington are just as far away from an LRT station as those in Douglasdale, Riverbend or McKenzie.

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by fusili

Not at all true. The North Central quadrant has far more people and no LRT. People in Thorncliff, Panorama Hills or Beddington are just as far away from an LRT station as those in Douglasdale, Riverbend or McKenzie.

Not True at all? Would you say the NC and SE have the same level of transit service then?

[fusili]

Originally Posted by UofC.engineer

Not True at all? Would you say the NC and SE have the same level of transit service then?

No. But to say that the SE is the only quadrant without LRT is false.

[ByeByeBaby]

Originally Posted by Allan83

I think that bombshell was a dud. While the report did contain some valuable information, most notably the huge time savings the SETWAY offers, the overall ranking system was utter nonsense, imo. It was so bad and illogical that I’m sure most people dismissed it almost as soon as they saw it. What the details of that report showed, otoh, were that the SETWAY should be one of our top priorities.

“Aldermen shoot down cost-benefit report downgrading priority of southeast rapid transit”
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgar...king+council+priority/8703036/story.html

Which details? Are you talking about the lower current ridership, the lower ridership increase, the lower CO2 reduction, or the order-of-magnitude higher cost? The only thing that SETWAY wins on is travel time reduction, which is a very limited metric. Let me create a new hypothetical project; let's say a BRT from Oakridge to Bridlewood. Right now, it takes between 55 to 69 minutes to go from Louis Riel Elementary in Oakridge to the Sobey's in Bridlewood. My new OakBride BRT provides improved service to several communities, and would take around 25 minutes to make that trip. That's at least 30 minutes of time savings, which whips the pants off the SETWAY's measly 13. I've shown it in red below:

The only problem, of course, is that nobody would ride this route. Which means we're back to looking at ridership, where the SETWAY falls short. As a side note, I just saw this slide deck of comparison charts, which actually stacks the projects next to each other in chart form, which helped show the differences between the projects to me.

[ByeByeBaby]

Originally Posted by UofC.engineer

Not True at all? Would you say the NC and SE have the same level of transit service then?

One reason that there are so many buses serving the NC during peak periods is that they are all full; if there weren't so many buses, there would be people left on the curb. It's positive feedback; there are so many people taking the buses that they need to run loads of them, which results in low headways. Meanwhile, the SE BRT is running with community shuttles due to the low ridership.

[UofC.engineer]

Originally Posted by ByeByeBaby

One reason that there are so many buses serving the NC during peak periods is that they are all full; if there weren't so many buses, there would be people left on the curb. It's positive feedback; there are so many people taking the buses that they need to run loads of them, which results in low headways. Meanwhile, the SE BRT is running with community shuttles due to the low ridership.

I couldn't agree with you more.