Montreal transit fare increase proposed

CBC News

Riding the bus or the Metro in Montreal could cost more next year, as the Montreal Transit Corp. is proposing to increase fares by two per cent, starting in January.

If the proposal is approved by Montreal council, the cost of a monthly pass for an adult would go up to $70 from the current $68.50. A single adult fare would go to $2.80 from $2.75.

Most Montrealers who ride the bus and Metro every day say they are willing to pay more, but only if it will mean better service.

The transit corporation’s vice-president Marvin Rotrand said commuters will notice a difference.

TransLink directors don’t get it

Surrey Leader

Editorial

By Frank Bucholtz

Metro directors see no problem with their big pay hike” reads the headline on a story appearing on Black Press Lower Mainland newspaper websites – a story which also appeared in many of those newspapers.

It seems Metro Vancouver directors have no problem taking an additional 25 per cent this year. After all, it’s our money, and they see themselves as deserving of every penny they get.

They may not have a problem with their pay hikes, but many taxpayers do. We are being asked to pay more in property taxes each year – some of which goes to service the bloated Metro political structure.

Community Transit debuts ‘Swift’ line

By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
SEATTLEPI.COM

Swift buses will operate on a 17-mile corridor in Snohomish County between Everett Station and the Aurora Village Transit Center in Shoreline, primarily along Highway 99. (Community Transit photo)

When Community Transit’s new Swift Bus Rapid Transit service debuts this weekend, it will be the first Bus Rapid Transit line in Washington state and at 17 miles, one of the longest in the country.

“More than 18,000 people have come out to check out the buses. There has been a lot of buzz,” said Martin Munguia, a spokesman for Community Transit in Snohomish County.

So why do they call it “Swift?” During weekdays, Swift buses will run every 10 minutes from 12 stations between Everett and Shoreline along the State Route 99 corridor, each one to two miles apart.

There is a good reason only seven SkyTrain type systems have been sold in the past 30 years.

Vancouver Courier

Letter to the Editor

The article “TransLink’s Prendergast offers parting advice” contains an error, which is commonly made by those who know little about modern LRT, which must be rectified.

The comment: “At-grade light rail typically can’t carry as many people or run as fast as grade-separated SkyTrain,” is absolutely false.

The maximum capacity of a modern LRT line is over 20,000 persons per hour per direction and even some European streetcar or tram systems do manage 20,000 persons per hour in peak hours on portions of their lines.

SkyTrain, limited by automatic (driverless) train control can only manage under 15,000 persons per hour and needs a billion dollars or more in upgrades just to match what modern LRT can achieve today.

As for speed, SkyTrain’s higher commercial speeds can be, in part, accounted for fewer stations per route kilometre than comparable LRT systems.

The maximum speed for SkyTrain is about 80 km/h, yet in Portland, their MAX LRT line travels at 90 km/h on portions of their line.

MAX’s commercial speed is lower than SkyTrain because it has about twice as many stations per route kilometre than SkyTrain and the light rail travels as a streetcar through downtown Portland, with no track reservation or signal priority at intersections.

St. Louis’ LRT system in fact has a higher commercial speed than our SkyTrain light metro.

One would wish the media stop listening to the many SkyTrain urban myths and start dealing with established facts about modern light rail.

Malcolm Johnston

Delta

TransLink’s Prendergast offers parting advice

By Jeff Nagel – BC Local News

Keep the pressure on to get the kind of transit system the region needs.

That’s the advice from outgoing TransLink CEO Tom Prendergast, who spoke to civic and business leaders Thursday at the Metro Cities Conference in Vancouver.

“If you want to maintain livability, if you want to control your destiny, you’ve got to get on an expansion path,” said Prendergast, who returns next month to New York to head the Big Apple’s transit system.

He said area mayors and TransLink’s board are united but they need to persuade the provincial government of the need for more funding.

Paul R. Landry: The TransLink tax merry-go-round

The Straight

By Paul R. Landry

Newly minted Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Shirley Bond was quick to rebuff a $450-million ask from the Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation to support TransLink’s latest incarnation of its 10-year transportation plan. Her “no” was made more significant by the fact that the mayors were being supported by business, labour, and environment leaders.

So, it won’t be long before the residents and businesses of Metro Vancouver will be asked to pony up as much as $340 million a year in higher taxes, fees, and fares to fund TransLink’s mandate as our local transportation authority. That’s a whopping 35 percent increase from today’s funding levels—a hike of up to $150 per man, woman, and child in the region.

Denver chooses light rail to airport

9News.com

DENVER, USA

DENVER – Travelers in the metro area are closer to being able to take light rail to Denver International Airport. The Regional Transportation District (RTD) announced Friday that the environmental approval for the FasTracks project to the airport has been completed.

During Friday’s news conference, leaders from RTD and DIA shared their excitement.