Sunday, 14 October 2012

Bendy Bus Safety

Our opponents have called into question the safety of 60-foot articulated buses, otherwise known across the Pond as "bendy buses".  They are claiming that articulated buses are unsafe, and are being removed from service all around the world. Problem is, not only are they safe, but they are being added into service all around the world!  In the US alone, in the past year, ten or more new BRT lines, most of them using 60-foot articulated buses, have come on-line.  If there's a safety problem here, why are more being added?  Because,...

Tuesday, 9 October 2012

Mall Park-and-Ride?

The blog Prop 1 Facts has a page on BRT.  Well, if you can call it that.  It talks mostly about C-TRAN's regular bus system.  Most peculiar is a reference, and a photo, to what they are trying to make you believe is a Vancouver Mall Park-and-Ride.  Check it out at http://prop1facts.com/BRT/. The problem?  Well, problems, in fact.  First, nowhere on C-TRAN's bus system map or rider information web page does it show the Mall as a park-and-ride.  You see, park-and-rides on the system map (http://c-tran.com/system-map.html)...

Monday, 24 September 2012

Wheelchairs and Bikes and BRT

Claim: bus stopped times on Fourth Plain aren't that long, even with wheelchairs and bikes.  All you need to do is add more buses and that will fix the problem. Fact: it takes up to 3-5 minutes to board a wheelchair with current buses.   Boarding a wheelchair involves the driver getting out and back into their seat, the wheelchair rider using the lift, and the driver securing the wheelchair on the bus.  There is no way that this can physically be done in less than 2-3 minutes.  And add to that the 2-3 times a month...

Saturday, 22 September 2012

Let's Bust Another Fear

FEAR: BRT will drain the economy and destroy our local business.  FACT: BRT has clear potential to positively improve business along Fourth Plain.  The US Government Accountability Office published a report in July 2012, “Bus Rapid Transit Projects Improve Transit Service and Can Contribute toEconomic Development”. The study concluded, “In general, we found that project sponsors and other stakeholders in each of our five case study locationsbelieve that the BRT project is having some positive effect on economic development”...