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As you may or may not know, TransLink has been in the process of updating it’s main technology services for a few years now. For example, they upgraded the CMBC’s radio network to improve correspondense between drivers and central communications - at the same time this upgrade allowed for GPS or Auto-Vehicle Location technology. They are also currently upgrading the CCTV systems on SkyTrain, including digitizing their storage mechanism from good ol’ videotape to something a bit more 21st century. While I don’t have the scoop on all this “under-the-hood” improvements, I’ve got some new and interesting info. 

One of the more visible tech additions of late has been the installation of AVL (aka: GPS), APC, which is Automated Passenger Count, and the audible annunciators. All three are relatively cheap. The technology is part of the communications system and is thus installed. These other technologies that it enables, such as dynamic displays, are currently under installation.

Thanks to all TransLink staff that helped procure this information! 

Auto Vehicle Location or AVL

AVL is the central part of Coast Mountain Bus Company’s new TMAC communications radio system. Thanks to the technology in this new system, a whole host of functions are now possible:

•  real time fleet tracking for operations and customers
• Computer Aided Dispatch
• improved emergency response
• off-line performance analysis
• on board annunciators and dynamic displays

The real time dynamic displays are on about 600 vehicles right now, with installation to be completed across the fleet by fall. 

Automated Passenger Count or APC

APC is being installed on 15% of the bus fleet, which translates to about 200 vehicles. The deployment decision varies based on bus and service type. The installation is complete and was paid for under the Capital Budget. APC will continue to be installed on 15% of new expansion buses. APC was studied for implementation on SkyTrain, but there are no immediate plans for installation. 

Audible Annunciators

The annunciators that are currently being installed at the same time as the AVL dynamic displays occured to due to several reasons: TransLink’s Access Transit Strategy, improved customer service, following industry best practices, in addition to a Canadian court case that required stops to be audibly spoken for the blind (in this case, the annunciators allow the drivers to worry about one less thing).

The annunciators will be installed across the fleet by fall. 

SkyTrain CCTV

SkyTrain’s Closed Circuit Television system is being modernized as we speak. The storage system is being converted from videotape to digital and will be complete shortly. The cameras themselves will be upgraded in 2009/2010. 

The more I learn about public space, sustainable transportation, and climate change, the more I realize, despite Vancouver being a world leader in these matters, we’ve still got a lot of improvement to do. One of the best places on Earth can be found in Downtown Vancouver - that little slice on heaven on the Burrard Peninsula. But for all it’s wonderful aspects, like the seawall, English Bay, Robson St., Gastown, and Yaletown, one of the major parts that it lags behind in is efficient usage of street space. 

Considering how advanced the area is in terms of urban livability, I find that streets Downtown are still primarily designed as car thoroughfares and nothing more. Which is rather retarded considering how car usage in the area has been dropping steadily over the years. 

The fact of the matter is that bicycle has seen a resurgence across the world, that fossil fuel powered vehicles will go the way of the dodo, that walking needs to continue to be encouraged, and it is through this sustainable transportation infrastructure that vibrant economies and communities can develop and flourish. 

With that said, I reimagineered Davie St recently. Davie is one of several main commercial drags Downtown, and the redesign has taken such usage into consideration. Currently,

• the sidewalk is far too narrow for all the pedestrian traffic it handles, 
• the bus route (#6) is overburdened with riders and isn’t the best service possible, 
• the road is unsafe for cyclists and skateboarders (both of which I see along Davie all the time), 
• and there is a lack of amenities like benches and plants/greenery along the route. 

All of this changes with this proposal. 

The proposal removes two car lanes and reallocates this as

• an expanded sidewalk (for a total of 4m wide, which is the width of Burrard),
• a physically separated 2m wide greenway (similar to the new Carrall St. redesign),
• a less obtrusive flex space with more area for plants, bike parking, bus shelters, newspaper bins, and public art.

Furthermore, the redesign includes a streetcar line. As many know, Vancouver grew up around the streetcar, and the cheap rail technology is looking better everyday to cities around the world as a way to combat climate change, encourage economic development, and get people out of their cars. 

I personally hate riding the bus Downtown simply because it’s so stop-and-go. The drivers don’t make the situation any better because they’ll speed or slam on the brakes, rather than providing a smooth ride - this type of transit service won’t be tolerated in a decade with over 1/4 of the population as seniors. Plus, the route is almost always packed with people! And to top it all off, service isn’t all that frequent for such a busy route. 

The streetcar addition addresses this issues as follows:

• Streetcars provide a much smoother ride due to being on rails. With some good training and tough enforcement on the drivers, we could ensure that acceleration and deceleration are smoother than the SkyTrain.
• Streetcars have an economic incentive for development that buses don’t have. This alone could encourage redevelopment and higher densities along the relatively old and low-rise road. This development could also pay for the inclusion of a streetcar. 
• With the inclusion of a greenway along Davie, such a safe and convenient route could encourage people to get off transit and onto to human powered transportation like bikes or rollerblades.

So what do you all think? Is Vancouver ready to take the next step and transform Downtown’s streets like Davie from car-oriented thoroughfares to bustling multi-modal public spaces?

As we all know, transit in Vancouver is woefully underfunded. Unlike with BC Transit systems across the province, the provincial government isn’t required to give a penny to TransLink. As such, TransLink has to cover all operating costs with three options: fares, property taxes, and the gas tax.

Historically, the provincial government paid all capital expenses of building the two SkyTrain lines. However, with the Liberals in office, they’ve lessened the province’s bill by requiring TransLink to pay a portion of the construction of new rapid transit lines. For both the Canada Line and the Evergreen Line, it amounts to $400 million each. Huge expenses when you consider TransLink also has to pay other, less PR worthy capital expenses - such as the expansion and upgrade of our region’s bus network.

At the cost of about half a million each (standard low-floor diesel buses here), TransLink could have bought 1600 buses for $800 million. That’s more that the whole, existing fleet!

Anyways, I’m on this topic because I was thinking about the cost of our road infrastructure. We tend to think of roads as far cheaper, because it basically amounts to laying tarmac on the dirt. When we think transit, we think about either the vehicles or the new infrastructure (aka: railways) to be built or obtained. The problem with thinking this way is we remove the vehicles from the road’s equation. That is to say, we must also incorporate the cost of buying a car to drive on the road. Just as a railway is useless without trains, so too is a road without cars (not completely true, but let’s just go with it for the argument’s sake).

Now, let’s take the recent widening of Fraser Highway through Surrey from a variable two laned road, to a consistent four laned highway. The expansion has taken place over a number of years, with funding coming from all sorts of partners, but the total cost is $45 million. Now, for most that follow the news, seems like a fairly cheap price for what is a road expansion that spans across Surrey (total of 13km). Certainly, when the number is under a $100 million for roadway expansion; well that number is a whole lot smaller than the billion dollar + Canada Line.

But let’s factor in the car now. Let’s say about 60% of Surrey’s population owns and drives a car - this is factoring in both kids and transit users. That goes from 400,000 people to 240,000.

Now, let’s assume about 2/3rds of these drivers own used vehicles - about an average cost of $4000. The other 1/3rd own/lease new vehicles for an average of $20,000. So, 160,000 people at $4000 each comes to $640 million. The other 1/3 at 80,000 people times $20,000 each comes to $1.6 billion!

Total cost for the drivers: $2.16 billion.

And that’s the cost just every few years. Cars get replaced over time with new ones and the investment cycle restarts.

Now, obviously, this calculation is rather skewed. I mean, it’s not like I took the total cost of road infrastructure over the years. Especially in a place like Surrey, where you would probably go to multiple destinations that are already poorly served by other transportation options, a car seems like a good investment.

My runaround point here is that our perception of the costs of road infrastructure aren’t realistic. Now, imagine if the public put their money completely into public transit. That would mean that the system would have over $2 billion to play with for expansion - every couple years. That means we could have four new SkyTrain lines in a decade - four times the rate we’ve been building the system. That’s over 1,000 new buses every year. That’s 16 LRT lines!

Just imagine what the system would be like with that kind of annual funding. People wouldn’t need cars - you’d be able to get here, there, and everywhere - all on well funded public transit.

The difficult part is transitioning the funding mechanism from roads and personal vehicles to a public transportation system…

Schedule info has screwed me multiple times. I’ve ended up missing the last bus on a route, standing in the rainsnow for 30 minutes without an umbrella, and walking a good 20 minutes along the route just to have something to do. All because I tried to relied on sources other than TransLink’s official schedule system - through both Google Transit and MyBus.

Now, it’s understandable that MyBus’s info may be off - they have to scrape TransLink’s website to get the times, and depending on if that system is working at all - it can really be off. That problem has to do with TransLink not making the info available for free to private developers.

But Google Transit should be a whole different story. TransLink worked side by side with Google engineers (AFAIK) to get the product off the ground, and all schedule information that is provided through GTransit is updated manually by TransLink. So here, when something is off it’s all TransLink’s fault.

With GTransit, I’ve encountered some problems. My regular stop features two routes - sometimes the routes times would be the opposite - meaning that the 320 I was told to catch at 4:50 is actually the 341, and the 320 came at 4:41. Sometimes, the map won’t even show any information at all! (I’m talking here about clicking on individual bus stops on the map, not creating travel info).

Today, I was searching up schedule information at all three places, and once again, I’m faced with three different scenarios. How the hell am I, as a transit rider, supposed to figure out when to even catch the friggin bus with a situation like this?!

MyBus:

TransLink’s NextBus:

Google Transit:

How many of you just absolutely *hate* TransLink’s PDF system? It’s just god awful, and I’m even on a Mac - which makes the situation slightly more bearable than on a PC. At least I don’t have to wait for the ridiculously slow Adobe Reader to load up before I can check out the transit information.

TransLink currently stores both schedules and maps on PDF. I have no reason why they haven’t embraced the new millennia and chosen a more accessible and easy to use format for this information, like the WMATA, ACTransit, or the MBTA.

Frankly, we already know their schedule information is available in a chart/table format (i.e. GTFS) - otherwise we wouldn’t have Google Transit for Vancouver (not that it even works anymore. They removed schedule information from it ever since they realized they weren’t the same times as the *actual* schedules. Something I encountered twice. Ugh). But this post isn’t about schedules.

This is about maps. Something that, really, beyond David’s cool project, you really can’t find any TransLink routes in a format other than PDF. Completely sucks right?

Well, I’ve got the perfect solution. I came across this great platform, Zoomify, which sucks in images, cuts them up, and along with a flash engine, puts them into an easy to use zoomable flash interface. Click the image below to use the example I did.

This is a perfect stopgap solution, until TransLink gets some cool Google Maps routes interface happening. All they have to do is transfer their PDFs to image files, throw them into Zoomify for a couple of minutes, then throw the new files up on their server.

So come on TransLink, why not?

First off, an interview with Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon on the Christy Clark Show. He reveals a few more details about the plan, such as the funding mechanisms.

Click here to download or play the MP3 

Then we have the full Global news story on the plan, with a brief overview at the beginning, and then political correspondent Keith Baldrey giving some scope to the proposal. He also mentions that the public will likely see Expo Line stations upgrades and the RapidBus routes coming in the first phase of the plan.

Premier Gordon Campbell put our money where his mouth is and the proposal is quite satisfying. 9 new RapidBus lines, 3 new Rapid Transit lines, 1500 new clean buses across the province, a commitment to turnstiles and a smart card system. Overall, it is quite huge, comparable in fact to a 2020 transportation plan set out in Ontario by Dalton McGuinty’s government, which also included a vast expansion of transit services. We should all be commending the provincial government for taking this necessary step - certainly a far more balanced situation than just getting Gateway.

However, as always the devil is in the details, and it’s the details that are lacking in the plan.

Funding

For example, the provincial government is not spending $14 billion. Only $11.1 billion is actual new money, and of that, the province is only putting in $4.75 billion - over the next 12 years. One could argue they aren’t really pulling their fair share of a plan they have initiated.

How’s the rest going to be paid? Well, Campbell is relying on Harper putting in a share of $3.1 billion - something the federal government has yet to do with Ontario transportation plan that also required a 1/3 share from Ottawa.

Then, the estimates are that TransLink will have to put in almost $2.75 billion. The agency currently has a surplus fund of $400 million - something that used to sound like a lot; not so much anymore. TransLink’s only way of raising any money is through a combination of increased fares, property taxes, and gas taxes. Over the course of 12 years, that means TransLink needs to raise an additional $230 million. The recent fare increase raised an additional

Seems likely that the $5 three zone fare is going up some more soon. Or maybe they’ll move forward on pursuing possible money from transit oriented development near stations…

In other areas of the province, municipalities will be throwing in about $500 million as well.

But don’t forget the private corporations. As we’ve already seen with the Golden Ears Bridge and the Canada Line, the provincial government is keen on having private corporations foot part of the bill as well. Kevin Falcon has already stated that even smaller projects, like the estimate $100 million it will cost to install turnstiles, will be handled by a private corporation through a P3.

Timeline

Compared to the past, when the Lower Mainland received 1 rapid transit line per decade, we are now getting three in 10 years. A good increase for sure.

But, what you have to realize is that many of these routes should have already been built. So in fact, we are playing catch up - and with this plan, the lines will continue to be 5-10 years away. Is that fast enough to relieve the congestion we have already? How much transit demand will there be that far away in the future? What intermediate steps will be taken to fix the situation in the meantime?

The fact remains, we need these rapid transit expansions today. What lines will we be needing by 2020, when the current extensions are just finishing?

Furthermore, there has been no estimate at all for the RapidBus BC system. Obviously, the Highway 1 route won’t be possible until the Port Mann is expanded - potentially completed by 2013.

The whole point of using buses is that they are a low cost option that can be launched in under a year. Whether these advantages are adopted has yet to be seen. It would be a very big shame if the routes took a number of years to implement, especially since we could start right now and get many of them in place immediately.

Routing

One of the things I find most interesting about the Rapid Transit and RapidBus plans is their routes. Frankly, it’s not all that surprising to see the UBC Line where it is, and the same goes to a lesser degree with the Evergreen Line. However, having the Province decide something like a possible extension of the Expo Line in Surrey doesn’t seem like the best choice to be made.

The Province doesn’t have a full grasp on the area first of all. I mean, just looking at where they’ve proposed it makes no sense at all. It seems like it attempts to get a station close to Guildford, even though it’s obvious that it’s quite a few blocks away from the mall no matter what. Then, it goes southeast towards 88th and Fraser, cutting right through a neighbourhood. I personally think that the current terminus is the best situation, but if they are going to extend it into Surrey further, it should just continue directly down Fraser Highway, and should end in an area where a large transit exchange and park and ride could be built - potentially at Fraser and 168th St.

I also found it amusing that the Province promotes RapidBus on routes that already have or are soon getting a B-Line: i.e. the Hastings to SFU route and the Joyce to UBC route via 41st. TransLink has been planning these for a while, and put the money in this year to create these B-Lines. What’s going on? Where is there overlap? Is it going to be a B-Line or a RapidBus BC route?

Same thing goes with the planned King George Busway by TransLink that has been adopted by the Province.

You’d also notice the White Rock to Richmond route - which is already a semi premium express coach route by TransLink.

What’s going on? Why is there overlap? What’s with the lack of coordination?

Where’s TransLink in this?

With this plan, what is the new role of TransLink. It seems that not only has the Province literally chosen the routes, timelines, and technologies for future rapid transit - not just rail based, but road based as well! Why should TransLink pursue a new regional transportation strategy if the Province is just going to institute a plan from the higher ups? Is TransLink simply going to be the agency that draw up the feeder routes? Is TransLink just the scapegoat of the Province - the operator, per say, that gets all the rider’s complaints?

The Reality of Governments and Plans

First off, we must understand that this is not so much a plan as it is a vision. That’s because, well, the money, past the first phase, is not at all guaranteed, and the government that’s in office in 2012 or 2017 could easily just scrap this plan altogether.

Take a look at what the Campbell government did to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Clark government for the Millennium Line. That was a government agreement that the province would provide the funding to complete the rapid transit line, following a detailed routing and technology analysis. Once the NDP got booted out in 2001, whatever happened to that Memorandum of Understanding? Gordon Campbell through it out with the outgoing government.

Plans change and evolve so much these days that it’s very difficult to look at the maps and routes as something concrete - that is until funding is secured and the real work begins. Until then, this is nothing more than a vision.

Thankfully, however, we will soon see what amount of money the province is truly committed to when they release the February budget. At that time, we will find out what is included and is actually going to happen in the short term.

Wishful thinking

The plan is great. But there are definite concerns and it’s unfortunate that they released this plan without much of any coordination with TransLink or the municipalities. We are taking a huge step forward with this initiative - I just wished it happened faster and it looked out farther into the future.

Maybe that’s for my generation to plan once Campbell retires. But with more visions like these, I don’t think he’s going to leave the Premier’s office anytime soon. And maybe that’s a good thing. Hey, it worked out alright for transit in Metro Vancouver…

There aren’t very many transportation writers in the regional mainstream media, but of the few out there, I doubt there is one any more concise or on the ball than Jeff Nagel. It’s rather unfortunate that his writing is currently relegated to local community newspapers, but I suppose that’s how the cookie crumbles in old media.

Jeff brought my attention to something I had absolutely no clue was in the pipeline for TransLink: a premium, regional express coach system. Yes, similar to the idea I floated about a week ago, where everyone admitted that the concept of express services are highly attractive, especially with services such as comfortable coaches.

The West Coast Express train service is the least subsidized transit service in the region (SkyTrain actually makes money), recovering about 90% of it’s costs. Unfortunately, due to rail contract limitations, I assume, service only operates five trains in the morning, and five at night. Not the most convenient thing if you don’t follow a strict 9-5 schedule.

So, TrainBus service was introduced a number of years ago. It supplements the train, providing express coach service in the early morning, afternoon, early evening, and nighttime.

Anyways, the rather faulty research and statistics of current WCE riders (which I’ll attack in another post) is apparently convincing TransLink pursue an expansion of West Coast Express from a local brand to a regional one. This would be the type of transit that would allow people in Abbotsford or Chilliwack to get directly to Downtown, quickly and comfortably.

Consultants are set to examine four potential routes:

• White Rock/South Surrey to Downtown
• Ladner/Tsawwassen to Downtown
• Pemberton, Whistler, Squamish to Downtown
• Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission to Surrey, Coquitlam or Downtown

As part of a premium brand, the consultants will look into including some of these features:

• High quality including smooth ride, comfortable seat, lots of leg room
• On-board amenities such as electric plug-ins, fold out trays, headphones, washrooms, reclining seats, coffee and newspapers, A/C and heating, individual reading lights
• Seat specific reservations
• On board storage areas such as luggage racks, overhead compartments, or bike racks
• Premium stations including inside heated waiting area, real time arrival/departure information, Wi-Fi, coffee shop, newspaper/magazine vendor, etc.
• Park and rides with reserved spaces
• Enhanced security at stations and on board including cameras, telephones, etc.
• Guaranteed ride home insurance for missed or full buses - potentially allowing customers to take a taxi home

While this is a premium service, estimated prices really aren’t all that bad:

• Mission to Downtown: $11.25
• TriCities to Downtown: $6.25
• Whistler to Downtown: $20
• Squamish to Downtown: $11.25
• Abbotsford to Downtown: $12
• Chilliwack to Downtown: $20
• Ladner to Downtown: $6.75
• Tsawwassen to Downtown: $6.75
• White Rock to Downtown: $8.25

I have to admit, this is the type of system I’ve dreamed about. I mean, yes, prices are a premium. But when you consider a three zone adult fare is now $5, an extra 2 or 3 bucks for this service is *so* worth it. Consider what you get:

An express coach service, with comfy seats, plenty of on board “premium” amenities, indoor stations with real time information, WiFi, and food/coffee. I really don’t think you can get much better than this.

And because it’s not going to take the leasing of expensive private rail tracks, I assume such a service wouldn’t cost all that much to provide. Frankly the premium price would likely pay for the service after a short while. They’d just need to buy the coaches, maybe some minimal land, design the stations, and you’re good to go.

I actually got a one day lift ticket for Whistler during Christmas, but there’s actually very few options to get there from Vancouver without a car. An high class touristy train only runs during spring, and the private coach service, which only runs two times a day, is already costly at $25 one way.

I also find it interesting how this could be a way around the Canada Line contract agreement whereby TransLink had to divert all current express coaches (not a premium service, but those yellow buses) to Bridgeport Station. See, considering it would a be a premium brand, this wouldn’t be under the contract. And I think if people in Coquitlam are willing to pay a slight premium for an express service downtown, people from Ladner, Tsawwassen, and White Rock certainly will.

Whether it’s to Whistler, Chilliwack, or just White Rock, I definitely see a market for TransLink here, especially with their expanded territories. We desperately need region wide express transit options here, and our little SkyTrain network just doesn’t cut it at the moment. I think such a service would be very popular, even with the premium price, and I could easily see new lines being developed for routes to the ferry terminals, to the airport from the Valley, or even going up to Mount Seymour or Cypress. I’m very intrigued to see where this goes.

The other day, I ran across my first ever express bus. I was travelling from Surrey City Hall to King George Station, around rush hour, and luckily the 394 was headed down my route. I just have to say, “Where, oh, where, express bus, have you been all my life?”

Despite it being about 10 minutes late, the bus ride was absolutely lovely. It wasn’t filled to the brim like the typical buses on King George, it only had a couple stops, and made my 9 km trip in about 15 minutes. It typically takes me 15 minutes to get from my school at 76 Ave to King George (about 4.5 km) on the 321 during the afternoon (and that’s in a squished bus)!

I can’t say enough good stuff about my experience on that bus ride. It made me realize why BRT is so successful around the world. Sure, it’s not a billion dollar rail line with fancy stations and sleek cars, but it took me where I wanted to go, speedy, with few stops, and it wasn’t crowded. And I’m a happy customer.

So I did some more research on these magical buses. Seems like most express routes just use regular buses, and usually only run at rush hour. TransLink also apparently has specific Express Coaches, but they are only used on highway travel. These buses have A/C, comfy bucket seats, overhead compartments, and individual controlled lights (they are basically mini Greyhounds).

From my perspective, TransLink could dramatically improve the transit user’s experience, and also attract a lot more people if they either create a whole new express brand, or expand the Express Coaches. It could be a companion to the B-Lines, which actually have a lot of stops. Just like the SkyTrain - even though it’s rapid transit, it still makes a lot of stops. Just imagine having an express SkyTrain, stopping only at Surrey Central, Columbia, Metrotown, Broadway, and the Downtown stops!

Let’s take that express model and apply it with buses. To take it to the next level, we’d just have to build a few HOV lanes. All huge improvements for minimal capital investments.

I can imagine having a whole series of Express Coaches running between the regional town centres (kind of like the Express Bus the Province and TransLink are funding for the twinned Port Mann). You could also have a handful of local Express Coach routes connecting major points in municipalities. These would work great in places that don’t already have a form of rapid transit - like the South of Fraser area!

Gord Price linked to a recent hidden post on Google Earth’s official forums by Graeme Brown, a staff member at the famous TransLink. Graeme recently created a very cool visualization, merging the mapping data of Google Earth with TransLink’s new automatic passenger count systems. This transforms the static passenger load data into a new visual experience, giving this whole new spatial sense when viewing the stats.

It’s very cool to see that there are some innovative staff at TransLink like Graeme working on these types of projects. If anymore of this kind of stuff is being worked on behind the scenes, it would be a huge boost to TransLink’s rep to making it all public. I’d also love to see these visuals being made for many of the popular routes, or at least the passenger info being available for independent developers to create and expand on projects like this. Good job Graeme!