Further to the post below, here are some background facts used by the City of Vancouver to make the case for rapid transit on Broadway:
- We have a very successful transit system; it is growing faster than any transit system in North America.
- There are a million transit boardings a day in our region.
- Transit ridership in Metro Vancouver vastly outperforms other regions of similar size (e.g., Denver, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, Portland, etc.)
- Metro Vancouver is more similar in ridership to some of the most populous North American regions (e.g., New York, Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco). But we are the 27th largest region.
- We’re in the middle of the pack in North America in terms of transit spending. But we get higher ridership.
- In Vancouver, car trips are not expected to grow, but they are expected to grow in the region, leveling out after 2030.
- The Expo line may reach capacity by about 2030.
- Our region is going to grow by 50%/1 million new residents over the next 30 years.
- Transit along Broadway has no spare capacity.
- Growth is going to be spread evenly across the region: 52% north of the Fraser; and 48% south of the Fraser. (About 70% of the growth south of the Fraser will be in Surrey.)
There is a very solid case for investing in rapid transit in the region. But comparisons to US cities should not be relevant to a city that aspires to be the ‘greenest’. The US is a global outlier, with the worst transit performance by far. You don’t become the best by comparing yourself to the bottom of the barrel.
Lets start comparing ourselves to peer group countries – UK, Australia & New Zealand – and continental Europe. We should even be open to comparisons to Zurich Switzerland which has the highest transit ridership in Europe.
One of the tidbits buried in the Broadway corridor analysis that I am surprised does not get picked up more is the Broadway line will take ridership from the Expo line North of Broadway-Commercial. Broadway-Commercial is the choke point on the Expo line, so by shifting some trips from the Expo line Expo line upgrades could be delayed. That by itself is a big reason to build the Broadway line.
The other aspect that’s not typically examined is the phasing of the Broadway Line.
Build it to Arbutus as originally envisaged in 1999 (as Phase II of the Millennium Line) and build the rest of the line to UBC later.
Remember that B-Line passenger volumes at Broadway & Commercial comprise BOTH Broadway Corridor (VGH, Broadway offices, etc.) PLUS UBC bound passengers.
If the line is phased, the transfer to B-Line buses at Arbutus will not have to carry as many passengers as it currently does from Broadway and Commercial (because the train will have already taken many people to their destination in the Broadway Corridor) – so B-Line buses can likely continue to provide an interim solution for transit from Arbutus to UBC.
It shouldn’t be an “all or nothing” poposition.
Good points Guest
Building as far as Arbutus, as suggested above (and by many others) makes sense. With only half the distance and passenger load the B-Line would be able to manage for a while. The shorter distance would also make the #9 and #14 buses viable options.
The B-Line would then run between UBC and the existing trolley loop around the VSB building at 10th and Fir. It would offer direct transfers to/from the #10 and storage space for buses waiting for their next run.
To be sure, the impact on the Expo line ridership and phasing of the study has been studied by Translink (not extending the Millenium line To Cambie has a cost to be burdened by the Expo line)
I have extracted some striking point from their report there:
http://voony.wordpress.com/category/broadway/
Now, the fact that such angles don’t get lot of exposure, is probably the result of a political choice done by Vancouver.