10078 replies to this topic

[sdwright.vic]

Bus lanes are coming to the TCH: https://www.bcbid.go...3&filetype=Blob

Your link don't work

[GaryOak]

Your link don't work

Here a copy I got of it before the link broke
https://drive.google...ew?usp=drivesdk

[Cats4Hire]

https://bctracker.ca/

now supports Cowichan Valley. Not sure why they never got a Next Ride site, need to either use the Transit App or Google Maps. That site will show any 44/66/99s if you're wanting those though 

[Mike K.]

^ah! Thanks for that.

New initiative from BCT:

BC Transit has officially launched Voice of the Rider, an online engagement platform where people can share their feedback and discuss ways to improve the transit experience in communities across the province.

BC Transit believes that in order to better understand riders and prospective riders, the organization needs to better connect with communities and ensure customer feedback is an even bigger factor in future business decisions. Voice of the Rider is an effort to drive community engagement on all projects and transit future planning, understand the satisfaction levels of our riders, and gather valuable recommendations and suggestions to improve the overall transit experience.

To access Voice of the Rider, a short and simple registration process with a valid email address is required at https://engage.bctransit.com/. Once registered, users will see that the platform is divided into two areas:

Engagement Projects – This category provides access to information on all current infrastructure projects, allowing interested people to follow a project from start to finish and share their thoughts along the way. The engagement area also has extensive information on transit planning projects, and features surveys, interactive maps and open forums to provide long form feedback.

Rider Satisfaction and Marketing Surveys – By taking part in these 5-10 minute surveys, Voice of the Rider users will play an important role in helping BC Transit make more informed decisions and improve the overall transit experience for current and prospective riders.

More information about Voice of the Rider, including frequently asked questions and a link to the site, is available at https://bctransit.com/voiceoftherider

[Cats4Hire]

BC Transit is looking for feedback on rerouting #53. Would turn left off Six Mile instead of right and terminate at VGH with some trips continuing Downtown. This is set to happen with the June 28 service change https://engage.bctransit.com/Victoria

I'm not sure why they just made a press release for that site. They've been using it for over a year now and some things from it are already implemented. 

[Victoria Watcher]

Hundreds of trip cancellations yesterday and today due to staff shortages.

[Nparker]

Making transit "free" will solve this.

[Mike K.]

Yes. Make buses busier, and working conditions for drivers even more stressful. That will solve things, for sure.

[Cats4Hire]

idk if it's because of limited training space or just an excuse they give everyone but a family friend recently applied and was told "we currently have the maximum amount of applicants we were looking for. Please apply again in 6 months!" (paraphrasing obviously). Like 2 days later is when they posted the most recent alert about driver shortages begging people to apply.

[Mike K.]

Oh yeah, I keep hearing similar stories just like that. So who knows.

[Matt R.]

Sounds like an awful job for not great pay plus split shifts for the first half dozen years. Lame.

$33 after five years service… meh.

[Mike K.]

Electric buses will be rolled out this fall, and into next summer:

Transit riders in the Capital Region will soon benefit from brand new cleaner, quieter electric buses.

BC Transit’s first series of electric buses and charging equipment will be coming to Victoria as part of the goal to transition to an entirely electric fleet by 2040.

After a rigorous procurement process, the contract to build and deliver the first 10 heavy-duty electric buses to BC Transit has been finalized and formally awarded to Proterra Operating Company Inc. (Proterra). The non-exclusive contract will additionally enable BC Transit to advance the Low Carbon Fleet Program with the purchase of additional buses, chargers, and supporting services from Proterra, with a potential 500 heavy-duty buses expected to be replaced in the next 10 years. The contract also allows BC Transit the flexibility to respond to changing market dynamics and technology.

Proterra was named the successful proponent on May 16th, 2022. The first project under the contract is for $20 million for the Victoria electric bus project. The contract award completes the competitive procurement process that began in the fall of 2020.

Proterra is a leader in the design and manufacture of zero-emission electric transit vehicles and EV technology solutions for commercial applications. With more than 800 vehicles on the road today, Proterra battery systems have been proven over 25 million service miles driven and are selected by world-class commercial vehicle manufacturers to electrify delivery vehicles, construction equipment, school buses, coach buses and more.

As part of the project, one electric bus will be deployed in Victoria in Fall 2022 in preparation for the 10 built-to-order buses that will be delivered starting in Summer 2023. The contract allows BC Transit the option of purchasing more heavy-duty electric buses, charging equipment, and supporting services in the future.

The project is being cost shared with the Government of Canada contributing 40 per cent and the Province of BC contributing 40 per cent of eligible costs. Federal funding for the buses, charging equipment, and the associated infrastructure project is provided through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.



Electric Buses have many advantages — most importantly they use B.C.’s readily available renewable electricity, resulting in nearly zero emissions from operations. These buses are also more efficient, quieter, and have lower operating costs.

BC Transit will continue working to pursue future electric bus projects, encouraged by CleanBC, Provincial support, and Government of Canada funding programs designed to help public transit fleets transition to electrification.

[Nparker]

How are the batteries for these buses manufactured?

[sebberry]

Some of the more noisy vehicles I have to put up with outside my place are transit busses.  Replace them all with electric.  Even the CNG busses are noisy.

[Nparker]

...Proterra was named the successful proponent on May 16th, 2022. ...

BC Transit needs to learn the correct way of using ordinal/cardinal numbers when writing dates.
 

...When you're writing out a date like January 1, 2016 (in the American style), the day is written as a cardinal number. You should never write January 1st, 2016...

https://www.quickand...r/writing-dates

[Victoria Watcher]

How are the batteries for these buses manufactured?

 

 

VIDEO:    https://youtu.be/6t2fmJ6tjmM

[LJ]

Transit riders in the Capital Region will soon benefit from brand new cleaner, quieter electric buses.

 

They may be cleaner emissions wise, but I'm willing to bet the inside of the busses will soon be just as dirty as the ICE ones.

[Victoria Watcher]

Proterra is building the 10 Victoria-bound buses in Greenville, South Carolina, said Aaron Lamb, B.C. Transit’s vice-president of asset management and chief sustainability officer. The vehicles will likely be delivered by truck. Each will have 36 seats — each with its own USB port — and be able to carry up to 66 passengers.

They will have the same colours and exterior design as the current fleet, as well as similar flooring and seats, Lamb said. “From a customer standpoint, the main thing that they are going to definitely experience is just that quietness … smooth acceleration that you feel with electric propulsion.”

https://www.timescol...ptember-5407892

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 May 2022 - 04:30 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The most recent ridership figures from Statistics Canada come from March 2022. This was the twelfth straight month of year-over-year growth in urban transit. Still, ridership is only 52 per cent of what it was at the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020.

___________

Transit use varies across the country, with some Ontario cities like Brampton and London reporting ridership recovering to more than 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. In some small cities, however, ridership is down 80 per cent compared to 2019 levels.

________

The most recent employment numbers show about 19 per cent of employed Canadians are still working from home, compared to 30 per cent during much of the pandemic. About five per cent have a hybrid arrangement where they split their time between the office and working from home.


https://www.cbc.ca/n...-fuel-1.6471060





So it’s gone from 30% working from home to 19%. That’s consistent with poor office numbers we have seen where levels are only at 33% capacity.

[Victoria Watcher]

What a waste of money.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upgrades worth more than $4.5 million aim to transform the BC Transit bus exchange at the University of Victoria, along with related facilities around Ring Road.

 

Construction on the project has begun near the UVic bookstore, where nine bus bays, six bus shelters and two layover bays will be refurbished. Another major focus is the improvement of the nearby pedestrian environment, including signage and wayfinding, and new bike storage shelters will be added.

 

UVic is the second most-frequent destination in the Victoria regional transit system, experiencing peak transit service of 55 buses per hour and 17,000 daily trips to and from, said Saanich Coun. Susan Brice, who chairs the Victoria Regional Transit Commission.

 

The upgrades will see old bus shelters replaced, new lighting and signage installed and landscaping done, paved walkways, replacement and repair of concrete bus pads and asphalt; improved pedestrian paths and realigned crosswalk locations.

 

https://www.vicnews....ver-the-summer/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 13 June 2022 - 04:51 AM.