B.C.’s Transportation System 2nd Worst In Canada
A new study released today by the Fraser Institute ranks B.C.’s transportation system as one of the worst in Canada. The Fraser Institute also says B.C. has the most costly transit system with only average per-capita transit use.
Well no kidding! It didn’t take a study to determine this, just ask the people of Vancouver and transit users. We are totally raped again in terms of fees in exchange for crappy service. Translink needs to be torn apart and rebuilt. All the people on the top need to fired, and younger more intelligent people need to step up to the plate with the first thing being reduction in the cost of fares.
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:12 am
Well DJ — the Fraser Institute study is like a bikini; what it reveals is interesting but what it hides is vital. The stats are what they are, but the study doesn’t mention that our transit service area is three times the size of metro Toronto and far less densely populated. That’s part of the reason why the cost per ride or the cost of roadways is higher here. The study doesn’t mention the fact that we have much more difficult geography to deal with — hemmed in by mountains, ocean and agricultural land reserves.
So what has TransLink done? Here’s a comparison between the system we inherited in 1999 and the system today:
Under TransLink, total annual transit funding increased 66 per cent from 1999 to 2007 ($358 million to $595.5 million)
In 1999, TransLink inherited the following bus fleet:
Conventional 40 foot diesel buses — 795 of them averaging 14 years old
No highway coaches
Conventional 40 foot trolleys — 244 of them averaging 16 years old
No articulated trolleys
Articulated 60 foot diesel buses — 42 of them averaging 14 years old
No Community Shuttle mini-buses
Here’s what we look like today:
Conventional 40 foot diesel buses — 887 (with 178 on order) averaging 6 years old
Highway coaches — 94 averaging 6 years old
Conventional Trolleys — 180 averaging 2 years old
Articulated 60 foot Trolleys — 40 (with 20 more to come) averaging a year old
Articulated 60 foot diesels — 274 (with 21 more on order) averaging 8 years old
Community Shuttles — 133 (with 55 on order)
Total bus operators in 1999: 2533. Total at the end of 2007: 3244
Total annual transit service hours in 1999 (all modes) 3.5 million. Total by the end of 2007 close to 5 million service hours.
It should also be noted that the cost of buying a bus represents only about 7 per cent of the total cost of keeping it on the road for its operational life. And its this increase in operating costs that is behind the $150 million per year shortfall we’ll have by the end of 2011.
Now then, how would you reduce fares and still pay the bills?
November 20th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Wow, Scott, he has a point. Honestly, with the rising costs of fuel and labor, why would transit prices stay down? It sucks, yes, but no one is forced to take it.