10078 replies to this topic

[Mike K.]

With the road diets and curb plunking, that’s exactly what is happening. And if those aren’t the obstacles, bus stops will be situated where little centre islands exist or get built, meaning, you cannot pass a bus. It’s doing wonders for the oil industry.

[Victoria Watcher]

Construction has begun on the interior of the new Provincial Distribution Centre in Colwood, which B.C. Transit said will support their growth over the next 25 years.

https://www.vicnews....colwood-7408843


As B.C. Transit integrates Umo, NextRide and electric buses, the distribution centre will support the need for space too store technology parts and accommodate future inventory needs.

Under the management of Omicron Canada, the work will be confined to the inside of three warehouses at the Wildcat Industrial Complex on Allandale Road to ensure traffic and pedestrian safety.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 25 June 2024 - 05:06 AM.

[Fairbanks]

Who's the "genius" who thought it was a good idea to dig up Island Hwy between 6mile to Burnside for SIX MONTHS during the day.  WHAT A NIGHTMARE.  Do this work at night!  GAS is $10 a friggin' gallon!!!  You are causing enormous traffic backups.  Ignoring emergency vehicle, persons with appointments, persons with continence issues.  All things "someone in charge" should have thought of.  DO THE WORK AT NIGHT!

 

Oh yeah!  Where were the readograph signs? None on Island Hwy...None on Burnside!

Edited by Fairbanks, 26 June 2024 - 02:18 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Any negatives?

[lanforod]

Do think about the people with continence issues! It's a stinky problem!

[Vin]

A little old story here, but nonetheless got me excited:

 

https://dailyhive.co...-buses-victoria

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria transit users cannot visit Duncan or Nanaimo and return the same day, and people in those communities cannot reach most Victoria airport or Swartz Bay ferry connections by bus. Because service is inconvenient and expensive, transit carries less than one per cent of travellers over the Malahat.

 

In contrast, between Sooke and Victoria there are 43 daily buses with $2.50 fares. Because service is frequent and affordable, buses serve 22% of that corridor’s peak period trips.

 

Achieving that ridership level between Victoria and Duncan would help solve Island Highway traffic problems, saving tens of millions of dollars annually in traveller and government costs.

Why is transit service so good on some corridors and bad on others?

 

Because Sooke and Victoria are both in the Capital Regional District, making it easy to plan transit connections, but Victoria and Duncan are in different districts, and the province has no standard process for planning and funding interregional transit connections.

 

Currently, interregional bus improvements require years of planning and 50% local funding. That is unfair and inadequate; it forces local governments to subsidize non-resident travellers and underinvests in non-drivers.

 

The province recently applied a much lower “enhanced” cost-sharing rate for new Highway 16 bus routes, in recognition that the traditional funding model is unsuitable for long-distance bus services, but has not offered this for Vancouver Island routes.

 

To increase fairness and reduce traffic problems, our organization, Better Island Transit advocates for more frequent and affordable Vancouver Island bus services.

 

Specifically, we request at least hourly service on the 66 (Duncan to Victoria) and 70 (Duncan to Nanaimo) routes, with $5 maximum one-way fares, so travel between central and south Vancouver Island becomes much more convenient and affordable. Both the Capital Regional District and Cowichan Valley Regional District transit boards support this proposal, but implementation will require additional provincial funding.

 

 

https://www.timescol...transit-9236075

[Nparker]

Duncan and communities further north are not part of the CRD and have no reason to expect the same service as within the capital region.

[Victoria Watcher]

TransLink warns funding shortfall may lead to deep service cuts

 

Cuts could come to buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus, HandyDART and West Coast Express in 2025

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...-cuts-1.7275942

 

 

 

 

A TransLink report presented to the Mayors' Council on Thursday says the transit authority may have to cut 50 per cent of its services at the end of 2025 if additional funding is not secured. 

 

A statement from the public transit provider says it is facing a gap of $600 million each year.

 

"The results of that report were nothing short of shocking," said TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn on Thursday. 

 

A scenario outlined by TransLink shows this could mean cutting bus services in half, including cancelling most night buses.

 

There would be a 30 per cent reduction in SkyTrain and SeaBus services, as well as reduced HandyDART services.

 

And it could mean eliminating the West Coast Express altogether. 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 July 2024 - 02:33 AM.

[Mike K.]

Maybe it is time to claw back the gold-plated system, that is a distant second if not third for mode share.

Certainly a service like WCE should be cut if ridership has plummeted.

[Victoria Watcher]

Interestingly, the success of one green transportation initiative – subsidizing electric vehicle adoption – is having an impact on another: public transit.

The B.C. government’s attempts to get more people driving EVs has been so successful that it has resulted in a sudden drop in TransLink revenue from motor fuel taxes.

Last year, TransLink collected $34 million less in revenue from the fuel taxes than in 2022, the Crown corporation says in a news release. Those losses are only expected to continue to widen, as more British Columbians switch from gasoline powered cars and trucks to EVs.

 

 

https://www.biv.com/...f-costs-9145696

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 26 July 2024 - 05:44 AM.

[Mike K.]

It just goes to show how unfair the taxation regime is. All the people upset at motorists have no idea how much motorists pay for others to have a transit system.

The whole thing is upside down.

[Nparker]

Given the choice, most people will choose a private vehicle over public transit.

[LJ]

TransLink warns funding shortfall may lead to deep service cuts

 

Cuts could come to buses, SkyTrain, SeaBus, HandyDART and West Coast Express in 2025

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...-cuts-1.7275942

 

 

 

 

A TransLink report presented to the Mayors' Council on Thursday says the transit authority may have to cut 50 per cent of its services at the end of 2025 if additional funding is not secured. 

 

A statement from the public transit provider says it is facing a gap of $600 million each year.

 

"The results of that report were nothing short of shocking," said TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn on Thursday. 

 

A scenario outlined by TransLink shows this could mean cutting bus services in half, including cancelling most night buses.

 

There would be a 30 per cent reduction in SkyTrain and SeaBus services, as well as reduced HandyDART services.

 

And it could mean eliminating the West Coast Express altogether. 

Pre-election scare tactics. It would be interesting if the province said that in order to raise some of the needed funds, they will be cutting all TransLink executives salaries in half.

[Ismo07]

It just goes to show how unfair the taxation regime is. All the people upset at motorists have no idea how much motorists pay for others to have a transit system.

The whole thing is upside down.

 

Isn't this really the only way to support a public transit system?  You can't believe it should be a higher % of user pay?   I'm not sure most motorists know how much they pay for transit..  Some may ride it more if they did.

[Mike K.]

No, I can, they do, and I highly doubt it.

[Mike K.]

$95 million in highway bus lanes are coming between McKenzie and Colwood interchanges. From the feds:

Highway improvements coming to the West Shore communities will help provide faster public transit services for people commuting in southern Vancouver Island after a joint investment of $95 million from the federal and provincial governments.

Funding will widen approximately 3.8 kilometres of the highway between the McKenzie and Colwood Interchanges in order to accommodate continuous northbound and southbound bus- on-shoulder lanes. These lanes will allow the RapidBus service, to use the shoulders along designated areas of the highway to travel.

This work connects improvements being made to the Colquitz Bridges Widening project, including its dedicated bus lanes, and transit improvement work BC Transit is completing from the Six Mile area to View Royal, making one continuous route of easier travel for people between communities.

RapidBus is designed to deliver consistent and frequent bus service, limiting stops to high passenger volume areas. Investing in bus-on-shoulder lanes along Highway 1 will accelerate the service’s implementation, making transit for the South Island faster and more reliable.

Funding for this project will include converting and widening the existing shoulders on Highway 1, as well as realignments to ramps and ramp-terminal intersections, installing roadside barriers, additional signage and warning flashers, and constructing a new bridge for pedestrians and cyclists crossing Craigflower Creek. Work is anticipated to start in early 2025 and be completed by late fall 2027. Traffic flow will be maintained during construction.

This project aligns with the South Island Transportation Strategy’s goal to construct more bus lanes along highways and other inter-regional service corridors and more specifically, to develop the Rapid Transit Corridor along Highway 1.

[Nparker]

Wasn't this already announced? Still won't get me on public transit unless I have no other option.

[Mike K.]

I don’t think there was a funding commitment. But it was on the table for some time, I think?

[LJ]

They announced that this would fix the Colwood crawl problem, I don't see it helping that at all.

 

Unless they think that everyone is now going to take the bus instead of driving, which will never happen.