Metro Vancouver Transit Discussion II

[Migrant_Coconut]

People have been declaring the "death of conventional transit" for fifteen years ever since Uber took off. All that's happened between then and now is that... Uber's starting to act like a bus. Individual cars running point-to-point suck hard at moving large volumes of people.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

People have been declaring the "death of conventional transit" for fifteen years ever since Uber took off. All that's happened between then and now is that... Uber's starting to act like a bus. Individual cars running point-to-point suck hard at moving large volumes of people.

You're telling me that Uber invented a way for users to share a ride?

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by Changing City

In the meantime I can't imagine how a robo#20 bus would operate with a stroller already on board, a Chinese senior with limited English wanting to board, and a mobility scooter with an overweight disabled male trying to get off and needing the ramp, but 2 Danish students with big backpacks blocking the aisle. In reality the driver sorts that out and there might be a bit of slippage to the schedule.

Ya know, there are other humans on the bus besides the driver. My experience is that people generally rally to help those who need it, especially if offering them help will expedite their own journey.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by Changing City

In the meantime I can't imagine how a robo#20 bus would operate with a stroller already on board, a Chinese senior with limited English wanting to board, and a mobility scooter with an overweight disabled male trying to get off and needing the ramp, but 2 Danish students with big backpacks blocking the aisle. In reality the driver sorts that out and there might be a bit of slippage to the schedule.

I'm going to go ahead and say probably the same way the robo-SkyTrain handles it.



Anyway, robo-taxis are a dead end in terms of mass public transit. Yes, there's a world where the robo-taxi kills the taxi, but there's no world where the robo-taxi kills the train.

[madog222]

CMBC is currently trialing a hydrogen fuel cell powered New Flyer XHC40. The demo unit had been making the rounds around Ontario last year.

[logicbomb]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

People have been declaring the "death of conventional transit" for fifteen years ever since Uber took off. All that's happened between then and now is that... Uber's starting to act like a bus. Individual cars running point-to-point suck hard at moving large volumes of people.

Mass migration to cities along with governments/companies pushing for an end to remote work is why conventional transit saw a huge bump post-COVID. Translink was forecasting some rather insane losses in 2021 and there were major questions whether or not we'd see the ridership ever reach pre-COVID levels.

[cganuelas1995]

Would you consider sitting with my knees shoulder width apart to be spreading out too much or was the lady that was sat next to me on the 5 who asked me "could you not spread your legs so far apart" just being a princess?

[s211]

Originally Posted by cganuelas1995

Would you consider sitting with my knees shoulder width apart to be spreading out too much or was the lady that was sat next to me on the 5 who asked me "could you not spread your legs so far apart" just being a princess?

It might depend on how short your kilt was.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by s211

It might depend on how short your kilt was.

Work pants

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by logicbomb

Mass migration to cities along with governments/companies pushing for an end to remote work is why conventional transit saw a huge bump post-COVID. Translink was forecasting some rather insane losses in 2021 and there were major questions whether or not we'd see the ridership ever reach pre-COVID levels.

On the other hand f your national government lets in millions of poorly paid TFW or students, it isn't surprising they'd rely on transit for getting around. Yet despite all that ridership is more than 11% below pre-Covid levels...

[aberdeen5698]

Originally Posted by cganuelas1995

Would you consider sitting with my knees shoulder width apart to be spreading out too much or was the lady that was sat next to me on the 5 who asked me "could you not spread your legs so far apart" just being a princess?

Depends on the width of your shoulders.

[madog222]

The first Mark V train should be entering service soon. From the recent Translink board meeting it was likely to be this month, the trains need to complete 2000 continuous km of service without a fault as a final qualification to enter service.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by madog222

The first Mark V train should be entering service soon. From the recent Translink board meeting it was likely to be this month, the trains need to complete 2000 continuous km of service without a fault as a final qualification to enter service.

Hell yeah I hope to ride it in August on my way to school

[NewfBC]

Wrong forum.

[jollyburger]

Trolleybus power network planning

For Scenario B that would see the 9 Commercial route trollytized

Scenario E routes are the 44, 84, 99, and R4

2.1. TransLink, on behalf of CMBC, is seeking proposals from qualified Contractors to conduct power
capacity assessments of the TOH power distribution system in its existing configuration to
determine the total usable capacity, capability, and feasibility of five (5) scenarios to support
future Electric Trolleybus (ETB) service demands.
2.1.1. The first scenario (“Scenario A”) is with the existing trolleybus fleet operating at current
bus frequencies to establish a baseline of the existing TOH system. The Contractor shall
review and assess current trolleybus operating profiles, system design, and supporting
infrastructure to complete the capacity assessment. The Contractor shall provide a
methodology to verify the results of the assessment against the physical as-built TOH
system.
2.1.2. The second scenario (“Scenario B”) is with the new generation of IMC trolleybuses
operating at expected 2027-2028 bus frequencies. This scenario also includes fully
converting one (1) existing trolleybus route from standard 12m (40ft) to articulated 18m
(60ft) trolleybuses. The Contractor shall review and assess the new trolleybus operating
profiles to complete the capacity assessment, including the change in power consumption
due to different vehicle loads including air conditioning and IMC loads from short-range
off-wire detouring (for construction, special events, etc.).
2.1.3. The third scenario (“Scenario C”) is to repeat Scenario B but with 150% load to identify
weaknesses in the network under stress.
RFP Reference No.: Doc5185765481
Title: Trolley Overhead System Grid Capacity Study
Appendix 1 – Scope of Services
Page 2
2.1.4. The fourth scenario (“Scenario D”) is to repeat Scenario B but with the extension of up to
ten (10) existing trolleybus routes as described in Section 9.3 by utilizing the IMC
trolleybuses to partially operate off-wire using the onboard batteries.
2.1.5. The fifth scenario (“Scenario E”) is to repeat Scenario B but with the conversion of up to
four (4) diesel routes to trolleybus routes. These routes currently operate with articulated
buses and conversion to IMC trolleybuses will require partial off-wire operation using the
onboard batteries.
2.1.6. The Contractor shall prepare a technical assessment report (the “Report”) on the current
system capacity and capability of all 5 scenarios (Scenario A, B, C, D, and E). Refer to
Section 10 for specific Report requirements.

Offwire extensions

Route 4
Powell/Downtown/UBC
10.4 km roundtrip to 29th Avenue

Route 5
Robson/Downtown
2.5 km roundtrip to International Village/Chinatown

Route 6
Davie/Downtown
2.5 km roundtrip to International Village/Chinatown

Route 7
Nanaimo Station/Dunbar
5 km roundtrip to Musqueam Community Centre

Route 8
Fraser/Downtown
10 km roundtrip to River District

Route 9
Boundary/Commercial-Broadway Station
4 km roundtrip to Brentwood Station

Route 14
Hastings/UBC
5 km roundtrip to Gilmore Station

Route 16
29th Avenue Station/Arbutus
15.7 km roundtrip to River District

Route 19
Metrotown Station/Stanley Park
10 km roundtrip to Edmonds Station

Route 20
Victoria/Downtown
8.4 km roundtrip to Marine Drive Station

https://portal.us.bn.cloud.ariba.com/discovery/public/rfx/23223398/preview

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Trolleybus power network planning

For Scenario B that would see the 9 Commercial route trollytized

Scenario E routes are the 44, 84, 99, and R4



Offwire extensions





https://portal.us.bn.cloud.ariba.com/discovery/public/rfx/23223398/preview

Now I thought the 5/6 couldn't be articulatedified because of the streets.

Also speaking of the 5, they should really add a phase for the bus to make an exclusive right hand turn at Burrard and Robson. I ride that bus every working day and notice it always gets stopped by the pedestrians crossing Robson street. Could make it more reliable. I'd say focus on making that route a lot more reliable, maybe introduce all door boarding to reduce dwell time at busy times like when it's stopped at Burrard.

[madog222]

Nice find! Attached documents are so few and far between in these I keep forgetting to look for them.

The table and map of off-wire extensions don't match, hard to make heads or tails of which could be more correct.

[bardak]

Other than the stops there shouldn't be anything to stop the artics from doing a standard 40' route. The artics turning radius is actually better than a 40' bus.

I do wonder if we will look at remving so many routes through running downtown, though that will probably have to wait until we have a Hastings skytrain line.

[cganuelas1995]

Originally Posted by bardak

Other than the stops there shouldn't be anything to stop the artics from doing a standard 40' route. The artics turning radius is actually better than a 40' bus.

I do wonder if we will look at remving so many routes through running downtown, though that will probably have to wait until we have a Hastings skytrain line.

What if more routes did a loop around parts of downtown parallelling sections of the 5/6 loop?

Also, let's look into just making the 5/6 one route

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by cganuelas1995

What if more routes did a loop around parts of downtown parallelling sections of the 5/6 loop?

Also, let's look into just making the 5/6 one route

When they have routes that make a loop they 'split' them so people know which direction the bus is going. In reality the bus tends to switch numbers and keeps driving.

I think the plan is to have less routes travel through downtown Van as they get bogged down in traffic and it's really hard to stick to a schedule. If they want more buses on the 5 / 6 they should just schedule more buses instead of having other routes take up the slack.