Some of you may have seen these comparisons of TransLink’s service area with other regions, like Toronto:
Or Chicago:
These maps are taken from the Buzzer Blog:
Throughout history, in fact, Metro Vancouver has basically always had one transit system that served all cities in the region, rather many cities with their own transit systems. (The exception, of course, is West Vancouver Blue Bus!)
This regional system stems from the way transit developed in Metro Vancouver.
Transit was launched in the 1890s by a private electric company, the B.C. Electric Railway, who kept expanding throughout the region and served it as one unified transit system for about 60 years. (Here’s a past post about B.C. Electric and its interurbans.)
So even as our transit system changed hands to different authorities later, the regional transit system had already stuck and never went away.
Interesting. Although in the Toronto area, you can take a Go train from Barrie, way North in the cottage area through downtown Toronto and connect to another that goes all the way out to Hamilton. This is at least as large an area as North Vancouver to Abbotsford (or so it seems driving both)
So, there is interconnected transit infrastructure there, just under different management I suppose.
That would be so cool to be able to do that in Vancouver, to catch a train from Abbotsford to downtown and catch one from there to, say, Whistler. The West Coast Express is a great start but it needs backup.
I like these maps, they do convey an important message.
Wendy is right about the GO trains. And the main Lakeshore line, from Oshawa to a point nearly in Hamilton runs in both directions, 18 hours per day. Compare that to the WCExpress, which has five trainsets, five trips west in the morning, five east in the evening. And nothing of this type south of the Fraser at all. The WCExpress is well liked by its patrons who pay more than other passengers for the added comfort of decent lighting, refreshments, washrooms and plug-ins.