July 30, 2014

Annals of Transit – 15: Lessons from London … TL service review … B’way Corridor

An occasional update on items from the Transit City.

______________________________________________________________

.

LESSONS FROM LONDON

From CityLab:

OysterPublic transportation in London achieves the sort of financial efficiency that most U.S. transit agencies can only dream of matching. Last year, Transport for London (TfL) (had) a recovery rate of roughly 70 percent.  …  By the end of this decade, TfL expects to break even across its entire system—meaning it won’t need any public subsidies for operations at all.

So what makes TfL so efficient?  Five lessons here.

  • Make Fare Increases Routine
  • Improve Service in Cost-Efficient Ways
  • Embrace Technology
  • Find Secondary Revenue Sources
  • Congestion Pricing Won’t Solve Everything

 

[You can make a reasonable case that TransLink is doing pretty much off all of them.  But who wants a reasonable case?]

_______________________________

.

TRANSLINK

Bus service accounts for 80 per cent of transit service across the region.  And TL has released the latest review of service – summary report here.

Bus service

 

Takeaway: Ridership is up three per cent in three years, with South of the Fraser leading the way in growth.

_______________________________

.

ULI REPORT ON  BROADWAY CORRIDOR

The expert panel from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) released the final report regarding development along the proposed UBC-Broadway Corridor Rapid Transit project.

.

Bway corridor

_______________________________

Posted in

Support

If you love this region and have a view to its future please subscribe, donate, or become a Patron.

Share on

Comments

  1. “You can make a reasonable case that TransLink is doing pretty much off all of them”

    Yes they do, but on some point like “Improve Service in Cost-Efficient Ways”, they encounter lot of resistance from some quarter, especially the Vancouver city council
    (see inefficient and expensive summer bus 5 route…or opposition to improvment of bus route 49).

    As long as our local politics prefer to call for tax increase rather than to see bus service optimization. Our regional transit will be on the wrong track.

  2. A 70% op cost recovery ratio is what you would expect in a huge city where public transit has the highest transportation modal share and fares are high. Yearly price changes would be a good idea, but most of the things mentioned in the article are already happening here or would only generate marginal revenue.

    What TfL does do is contract out much of its bus service. Private operators run various lines under contract. This would save money for Translink, but it would also reduce wages and benefits and would be fiercely opposed by the Transit Union.

Subscribe to Viewpoint Vancouver

Get breaking news and fresh views, direct to your inbox.

Join 7,284 other subscribers

Show your Support

Check our Patreon page for stylish coffee mugs, private city tours, and more – or, make a one-time or recurring donation. Thank you for helping shape this place we love.

Popular Articles

See All

All Articles