Facebook – I hate Translink group

If you’re on facebook, the social networking site, join the “I Hate Translink” group and vent your Translink rage.

And “I Hate Translink” folks, come on over here to the Greater Vancouver Transit Tattler and vent publicly over here! Maybe Translink will hear you.

(Then again, maybe they won’t. Do they ever listen? )

Here’s one comment: “The other day i had to watch 4 count them 4 480’s go by with no room on them. when i called translink to ask what they were going to do about me missing my class i got a snotty, “if the buses are full there is nothing we can do”.

How odd, given this statement on Translink’s “Mission, Vision, and Values” page under Customer Service: “We will understand our customers and increase their satisfaction with the services they receive.”

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In the news – changes to Translink

Roundup of todays media stories on the changes to Translink:

• New-look TransLink begins long journey to get back on track – Vancouver Sun; some discussion of potential pitfalls
• Province signs off on major TransLink overhauls – Globe and Mail; overview of the changes, with some comments by NDP transportation critic
• New TransLink structure bigger – Tri-City News; focus on tax implication
• for more links, see the news feed to the right …

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Bus (mis)adventures March 5-7

My daily commute via public transit continues to be a shining example of bad public transit. Over the past three days, I’ve:

– ridden on two ancient buses without fareboxes! These have been apparently been pulled from the scrap heap to cover the shortage caused by the crappy broken trolley buses. Let’s hope Translink gets that fixed before the world come to visit in 2010!

– waited for 45 minutes in Chinatown for a #3 Main street bus. In the meantime, 3 route #8 Fraser buses passed by. Three of ’em. When the #8 FINALLY arrived, it was too full to get on. The next bus was so filthy, we couldn’t even see out of the back window. Show the pride, Translink!

– ridden a route #41 that just suddenly broke down near Dunbar. We all had to pile off and wait for the next one, which of course we couldn’t get on because it was packed with more commuters from UBC.

This is just a small sample from the past three days! Let’s see what else awaits as Translink continues its goals to double transit ridership by 2020.

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Major Translink Overhaul

BC Transport Minister Kevin Falcon unveiled the sweeping changes to TransLink today.

The board will be replaced by a government appointed board of professionals to run day-to-day operations, plus a council of 30 mayors. In addition, Falcon has also unveiled plans to expand the scope of TransLink’s scope to cover from Pemberton to Hope.

Government Documents:

• news release – Report on Translink Reorganization
• TransLink Governance Review document – independent review of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority
• Backgrounder One Key Findings
• Backgrounder Two Panel members and backgrounds

Although the report claims Translink is being reorganized to “ensure it can meet the transportation and environmental needs of the future”, it does not deal with the current crisis, that is, the transportation and environmental needs now.

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Province to radically reshape TransLink

Watch this space over the next few weeks as B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon unveils plans to radically change the current disfunctional Translink system.

On Thursday, Falcon will introduce legislation that will create a “Council of Mayors” to oversee all transit decisions, i ncluding implementation of a 10-year, integrated plan for the area covering Pemberton to Chilliwack . The government will also create a 11-member “Professional Board” to oversee the system’s management on a day-to-day basis.

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Doubling transit use by 2020 to meet BC’s greenhouse-gas reduction goals

According to an article today in the Vancouver Sun “TransLink or its successor will have to undertake a massive transit-building program to more than double transit use by 2020 if Greater Vancouver is to meet the provincial government’s greenhouse-gas reduction goals, TransLink directors were told today.”

TransLink’s strategic planning and policy director Clive Rock told the board that in order to meet provincial goals, transit use would have to increase from around 11.5 percent to between 25 and 30 percent in the next 13 years.

– Oddly enough, there was no word on how Translink plans to cope with its existing ridership, existing overcrowded buses, and the record number of pass-bys in 2006.

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Bus boom in ’burbs

The Tri-City News has an article called “Bus boom in ‘burbs” today that starts “Bus ridership in Greater Vancouver’s eastern suburbs soared last year …”.

The article goes on to say that Translink is predicting total ridership will climb another 4.9% this year to 173 million, and that the report also shows the system is in some cases at the limit of the volume it can handle.

When will Translink add more buses and SkyTrains to handle this increased capacity?

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Vancouver Province article on broken trolley buses

Today’s Vancouver Province has an editorial called “TransLink’s broken trolley buses are an embarrassment” talking about the 51 “state of the art” electric trolley buses from Winnipeg’s New Flyer Industries which are now sitting idle.

The article states that “there are differences of opinion about the impact of the delay. Company officials claim that by keeping older buses in service, they have minimized the inconvenience to passengers. Union representatives differ, saying wait times on some busy routes have more than doubled.”

Buses have been indeed been running as scheduled on my route, but we’re now wedged into a old bus, pulled from the scrap heap, that doesn’t even have a fare box!

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Welcome to the Public Transit in Vancouver blog

Welcome to the Vancouver Public Transit blog. This site is intended to inform those interested in transit issues with relevant news, informed commentary, and personal accounts of transit travel.

The VPT is a community portal where transit riders in BC’s Lower Mainland can post stories of pass-bys, long waits for no-show buses, crazy commuting tales, and bouquets, aka kudos, to hard-working bus-drivers or generous passengers.

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