132 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

Ok, so if it averages 30km/h it would take 26 minutes then....

 

It will not average 30kmh.  That's the absolute maximum speed it'll go across level crossings at.  So it might go a tad faster between a few bits from Admirals to West Shore, but it'll spend much more time slowing and stopping than it will at 30kmh.  

[VicHockeyFan]

Also, please note that the Dayliner averaged a collision with a car every 22 days or so.

[Bernard]

the current time to take the #50 in the morning at the same time takes 36 minutes to go from the middle of Goldstream Ave to the Legislature.  The Langtoria bus is scheduled to take an hour.  Why would you take this bus?

 

The return trip on the #50 leaving at 5:10pm takes one hour which is about the same time as the Langtoria bus

 

With the #50 you have constant buses leaving and you can catch any of them.   The Langtoria bus runs once, what happens if you miss it?

[VicHockeyFan]

With the #50 you have constant buses leaving and you can catch any of them.   The Langtoria bus runs once, what happens if you miss it?

 

You cough up $2.50 and take BCT.  Same as if you leave work early one day.  Presumably, leaving in the morning, this bus is very rarely late.  It also waits at each stop for 5 minutes, so you can sit in your car until it arrives, with no scare of missing it.  At least I presume that's why the schedule is the way it is.  And once you get on this bus, you will get a seat, guaranteed.

[jonny]

the current time to take the #50 in the morning at the same time takes 36 minutes to go from the middle of Goldstream Ave to the Legislature.  The Langtoria bus is scheduled to take an hour.  Why would you take this bus?

 

Does it take only 36 minutes at peak times?

 

There are probably a few more, but here are some reasons off the top of my head:

• Not everyone is a penny pincher. Some people like to travel in “Economy Plus”, so to speak.
• Customer service
• WiFi
• More comfortable seats
• Guaranteed seating
• Cleaner buses
• Fewer stinky people / people that smell funny
• Fewer drunk / high / weird people that refuse to stop talking to you
• Bathrooms
• Quieter
• Warmer
• Don’t have to interact with bus drivers that hate themselves, their customers and the company they work for.

 

There’s a market for the BC Ferries Connector, after all. I mean, everybody could take public transit to Vancouver for about $6. 

Edited by jonny, 12 October 2016 - 09:47 AM.

[VicHockeyFan]

^ What's the difference between stinky people, and people that smell funny?

 

This bus also has a free coffee for ya.

[nagel]

reeking of perfume might not be "stink" it might be "smell funny"

[jonny]

^ What's the difference between stinky people, and people that smell funny?

 

This bus also has a free coffee for ya.

 

For example, the elderly. Sometimes they don't stink, but they just need to take a shower and hose off that musty smell.

 

Stinky people have more of that rancid, sour, overpowering BO.

.

[jonny]

reeking of perfume might not be "stink" it might be "smell funny"

 

Oh yeah. A better example is the 18 year old male who has hosed himself down with half a can of Axe Body Spray ^TM.

 

Halitosis probably falls more into the smell funny and stop talking to me categories, as well.

[Bernard]

The fact it takes a lot longer in the morning is hardly appealing.  

 

The Langtoria bus does not prevent you being next to a smelly person.   Keep in mind that during the commuting times BC Transit buses tend of have the same people get on the bus everyday and often sit in the same seat everyday.   

 

Also the month pass cost works out to an average of $5.78 per day versus $4.25 per day for a standard BC Transit bus pass and less if you have an employer taking part in the month.  A BC Transit pass is also more flexible and allows you to use 7 days a week as well has taking your young kids for free on the bus.

 

So it is slower, less flexible and costs more.   Is free Wifi and coffee enough to offset this?

[jonny]

I’m guessing the target market is people who are currently driving, not people who are currently using BC Transit.

 

Are you figuring it’s slower Bernard because of the BC Transit schedule? You know those aren’t always accurate, right? I have never ridden BC Transit out to Langford from downtown at rush hour, but I doubt the travel time is 36 minutes. 

[Danma]

^ uh yes, more than 36 minutes. It usually takes 35-40 minutes from city hall to six mile.

[Bingo]

Also, please note that the Dayliner averaged a collision with a car every 22 days or so.

 

Those local drivers need to stay off the tracks.

[Bernard]

I’m guessing the target market is people who are currently driving, not people who are currently using BC Transit.

 

Are you figuring it’s slower Bernard because of the BC Transit schedule? You know those aren’t always accurate, right? I have never ridden BC Transit out to Langford from downtown at rush hour, but I doubt the travel time is 36 minutes. 

given the time of day, the BC Transit timing is reasonable    Yes, there times when the schedule is wrong but when they find that the timing is consistently off they change this in the next update.    The timing is in my opinion 95% accurate assuming no accidents etc

[Bernard]

^ uh yes, more than 36 minutes. It usually takes 35-40 minutes from city hall to six mile.

The trip back in the afternoon is typically longer

[VicHockeyFan]

Let's do a more reasonable comparison.

 

BCT:  Leaves Langford Exchange at 6:59am and arrives Government and Superior at 7:45am.  If we back that up to Douglas and Fort, let's say 7:42am.  So it's 43 minutes.

 

Greenline:  Leaves Langford Fire Hall at 7am and arrives Douglas and Fort at 7:49am.  So it's 49 minutes.

 

So the time is more or less the same, they have said that from day #1.

[Bernard]

Let's do a more reasonable comparison.

 

BCT:  Leaves Langford Exchange at 6:59am and arrives Government and Superior at 7:45am.  If we back that up to Douglas and Fort, let's say 7:42am.  So it's 43 minutes.

 

Greenline:  Leaves Langford Fire Hall at 7am and arrives Douglas and Fort at 7:49am.  So it's 49 minutes.

 

So the time is more or less the same, they have said that from day #1.

The BC Transit bus is doing a longer route in your comparison.  Comparing the two over the same distance that BC Transit bus leaves the Langford fire hall at 7:04 and passes Fort and Douglas  at 7:39 for a total trip of 35 minutes - that is 14 minutes faster which is not trivial

[57WestHills]

They're driving on the same roads with somewhat different routes. There's no magic going on here. How is this a debate? The new bus is more comfortable, has coffee, WiFi, etc. It's stopping procedures benefit Langford residents. The cost is in line with BC Transit if you don't need to transfer. Not complicated.

There's already a second bus getting prepped for this at their Saanich yard, noticed it last night.

[VicHockeyFan]

The BC Transit bus is doing a longer route in your comparison.  Comparing the two over the same distance that BC Transit bus leaves the Langford fire hall at 7:04 and passes Fort and Douglas  at 7:39 for a total trip of 35 minutes - that is 14 minutes faster which is not trivial

 

Oh, I see, you are looking at the #61X.  Well, they are going to be the same time, more or less.

[On the Level]

Except you still have millions of dollars in repairs required to that track.  And you will NEVER have a tram or train going over 30kmh average on the track even in excellent conditions.  It would be much more cost-effective to helicopter people in for 3 years while the overpass is under construction.

 

I used to commute on the westcoast express.....it might go a bit slower at times, but it never stops until it reaches it's destination. 

 

What this region really needs is a secondary route to the Westshore. We have horrible infrastructure between the urban core and the growing Westshore and the only way to solve the mess is to build a proper second route. Wilkinson should be the size of Veterans and yet it's an old wagon trail that serves as a primary, congested alternative to McKenzie.

When land was expropriated to build McKenzie officialdom should have already started planning the same for Wilkinson. It should have been built 15 years ago, but instead we just filled page after page of TC articles complaining about infrastructure.

 

Agreed!  How many hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent trying to create a second artery into town?  Amalgamation isn't going to solve that logistical/political nightmare.  Even with the overpass and luxurious buses, that highway is saturated.  What is the solution in 3 years?  10 years? 20 years?