Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

19 December 2008

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 999, for 19 December 2008.

In this issue...

1 - Transport 2000 Calendar

December 22: Annual Transport 2000 Canada Ottawa office "5 to 7"

December 26: (date approx.) Chris Holloway, the founder of the Hot Line willdictate the 1000th edition

January 31: High speed rail symposium: Kitchener

2 - Ottawa transit tunnel and stations: No solution to downtown congestion: David Jeanes, Transport 2000

"The City of Ottawa released on Tuesday "plans that show tentative locations for a downtown transit tunnel - and five stations - from Lebreton Flats to the University of Ottawa ... (costing) $600 million to build," CBC News reported on Dec. 16.

"It will be part of a $1.7 billion first phase of the city's proposed transit plan, which includes light rail from Tunney's Pasture to Blair station.

"David Jeanes, a spokesman for ...Transport 2000 ... said he is concerned that under the plan, buses from the west will continue to operate through downtown even after the tunnel is built. 'We think that will be a big disappointment to people who were expecting that downtown congestion will be solved soon.' and that he thinks the plans include too few (3) stations Downtown".

3 - STM: 1000 départs de plus par semaine: Normand Parisien, Transport 2000

"La Société de transport de Montréal augmentera dès le 5 janvier son offre De service d'environ 10% pendant les heures de pointe sur ses 26 lignes d'autobus les plus achalandées. Cette bonification représentera environ 1000 départs de plus par semaine. La STM promet aussi qu'une rame supplémentaire de métro sera ajoutée sur la ligne orange," La Presse a rapporté le 16 décembre.

"L'augmentation de service, financée à 50% par le Plan vert du gouvernement du Québec, sera rendue en partie possible par la livraison d'une cinquantaine de nouveaux autobus, qui s'ajouteront au parc de 1245 véhicules. Quelque 250 nouveaux véhicules supplémentaires, dont certains seront articulés, s'ajouteront d'ici la fin de l'année prochaine, permettant de nouvelles bonifications du service".

"Selon Normand Parisien, directeur du groupe de pression Transport 2000, cette nouvelle phase d'amélioration sera perceptible pour la population. ... 'Mais malheureusement, cela vient aussi avec des hausses de tarif, qui sont très dissuasives. Ça choque beaucoup les gens', estime M. Parisien." La Presse a rapporté.

4 - High speed rail symposium: Kitchener: Jan. 31

Transport 2000 activist Paul Langan is organizing a high speed rail symposium. The event will be held in the Region of Waterloo Council Chambers. Confirmed guest speakers include David Collenette, Greg Gormick and Harry Gow.

Invitations have been extended to key players including Via Rail, Bombardier and Siemens.

http://highspeedrail.ca/

5 - CPT: Building public transit in Lunenburg

"Citizens for Public Transit is soldiering-on, with some recent progress," Norm Haslett reports. "Three of four of target communities in the District of Lunenburg have agreed to seek funding for a Feasibility Study that appears to be available from Conserve Nova Scotia."

Citizens for Public Transit continues to do public events and has a starter website. They are working on those people who don't like subsidizing transit with taxpayers' money but have no problem with with investing in roads.

CPT points to the heavy, direct and hidden subsidization of the private auto alternative and also notes a lot of rural people either don't have a car or don't drive.

http://www.transitlunenburg.ca

6 - Transport 2000's Harold Nicholson for the Premier's Economic Advisory Panel

On. Dec. 10 the Coast reported: "A press release from Rodney MacDonald's office announces the creation of a 'Premier's Economic Advisory Panel.' The panel is made up of 14 men and women from across (Nova Scotia). They represent a range of sectors including construction, retail, education and banking. The premier says their experience will be invaluable as the province works through economic challenges. ... Such a panel is a good idea ... but we should also recognize that the problems we face today in large part were created by business leaders who not only did not anticipate the mess we're in now, but also helped create it."

The Coast's Tim Bousquet wrote: "I've come up with a short list of additional representatives who would make excellent contributions to a Economic Advisory Panel. They are: Ron Colman, president of GPI Atlantic, which works to measure the real value of an economy, and to suggest ways to improve economic health for everyone. Harold Nicholson, president of Transport 2000 Atlantic, an organization dedicated to moving our transportation system away from imported oil ... and six other innovative "new business" leaders."

7 - Globe and Mail: Humans, as well as cargo

"As the federal government hammers out a forthcoming economic-stimulus package, it should think seriously about helping passenger railways across Canada to follow the example of southern Ontario's GO Transit by buying up train tracks from CN and Canadian Pacific. This week, GO announced plans to acquire a good chunk of the Toronto area's network," the Globe and Mail editorialized on Dec. 15.

"The freight operators' ownership of the vast majority of the country's tracks is a severe headache for commuter authorities in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, as well as VIA Rail, and the greatest obstacle to public investment in Canada's rail system. ... The freight railways' ownership of the tracks makes public investment in upgraded infrastructure less attractive, since riders may not enjoy their full benefits, and transit planners must get private-sector approval for service improvements. If train travel is to be a viable alternative to driving within and flying between Canada's metropolitan areas, this situation is unacceptable," the Globe editorial said.

"Rectifying it should be part of a comprehensive plan to improve Canadian railways. Not only is this the only G8 country without high-speed trains, but the intercity network depends on 20-year-old diesel locomotives, now being refurbished by VIA for decades more in service. Of the four busiest Canadian airports, three have no rail links, and no trains connect Calgary and Edmonton, just 300 km apart. Although the Conservative government has pitched in for some limited upgrades to commuter networks and released enough funds to halt VIA's long decline, much more is needed. Happily, rail agencies already have detailed but largely unfunded investment plans," the Globe said.

8 - MTC service increase and fare increase: Normand Parisien, Transport 2000

The Montreal Gazette reported: "The 70,000 additional hours of service for 2009, or 1,000 more trips a week, will be made possible with the addition of 147 new buses that went into service this year and another 250 that will be added next year, MTC chairperson Claude Trudel said. Since the first generation of 410 Nova low-floor buses is being retired, the working fleet - those among the 1,590 that are functional - will be 1,295 buses next month, up from 1,245. The 26 lines getting the increased rush-hour service account for 55 per cent of the passenger load on city buses, officials said.

"Normand Parisien of Transport 2000 Québec hailed yesterday's announcement as 'something unprecedented for years, a move that will enable the MTC to catch up with what was lost in the 1990s. ... Parisien said he's disappointed the MTC once again raised fares," the Gazette reported.

9 - Road deaths down 30 per cent in Ontario

"Faced first with high gas prices and now with a slowing economy, drivers can look to a thin silver lining on a gloomy 2008 - the number of people dying in car crashes has dropped sharply this year across North America. Many of the largest Canadian police forces see the trend, most significantly in Ontario, where provincial police have seen deaths drop 30 per cent from the same time in 2007. Double-digit percentage drops have also been seen in British Columbia and Manitoba," Globe and Mail reported on Dec. 15.

"Last week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the United States said there were 31,110 fatalities in car crashes through the end of October, 2008 - an overall drop of 9.8 per cent since the same time last year and on track to be the lowest total recorded since they began measuring the statistic in 1966. Ontario Provincial Police have seen between 444 and 451 road deaths in each of the past three years. With a few weeks remaining this year, there have been 299 fatalities, a drop of 30 per cent from this time last year," the Globe reported.

10 - Cars on the transitway during strike? Mayhem, says Transport 2000's Tim Lane

As thousands of commuters struggle with massive congestion created by the OC Transpo strike, some key roads that could ease the bottlenecks remain closed to traffic. The 34-kilometre Transitway, which crosses the city and could funnel a lot of traffic away from jammed streets, remains a no-go area for commuters. And that goes for bus lanes on highways 417 and 174, all of which are closed to regular traffic," the Ottawa Citizen reported on Dec. 14.

"While it might seem like common sense to open up the Transitway in particular, the city is adamant that doing so would be a mistake. Officials say the Transitway was not built for cars and for safety reasons, its use is being limited to emergency services. Some transit advocates agree. Tim Lane, a member of the public transportation group Transport 2000, says parts of the Transitway have such sudden sharp curves and steep hills that motorists who are unfamiliar with the busway could cause accidents. As well, when buses enter some stations like Hurdman, they travel on the "wrong" side of the street. Commuters who are not familiar with the lie of the road could easily run into other cars, he says."

The Citizen reported: Letting people drive on the Transitway will be suicide," Mr. Lane says. The speed limit is "80 kilometres an hour in most places, but dangerous to drive in some places. If you allow motorists on it, you'd have to have an ambulance every 500 metres to pick up the bodies. The way people drive these days, they'll kill themselves. It will be mayhem."

11 - Passenger rail for Northern Ontario: The money is there: Harry Gow, Transport 2000

On Dec. 10 Lake Superior News reported: "The Coalition of Algoma Passenger Trains (CAPT) hosted its fourth Annual Town Hall Meeting at Algoma University, featuring Harry Gow, founding president of Transport 2000, a national organization dedicated to promoting and preserving public transportation including trains.

"CAPT has taken action by creating awareness about the north's existing railway systems and how revitalizing existing infrastructures will contribute to bringing economic diversity to the north. With money being the main issue for much needed repairs and maintenance, productive awareness and action needs to be taken. "The money is there, but they don't want to let it go unless they see something coming from the province, too," announced Harry Gow, in reference to the federal government," Superior News reported.

12 - Trains, plains and slopes: Sault Ste. Marie

Join CAPT at their next promotional event in partnership with Searchmont Resort in on Sunday, January 11th, 2009. Take the train from Sault Ste. Marie to Searchmont for a full day of winter activities! Check out CAPT's website for more details and ticket information:

http://www.captrains.ca

13 - Pearson Airport rail link: Deep flaws: Steve Munro

"Today, the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) issued a press release saluting Metrolinx' inclusion of the Air Rail Link in the Regional Transportation Plan. This really isn't a surprise to anyone. Metrolinx had little choice given the political situation with a nonsensical premium fare, privately operated route left over from an ancien regime in Ottawa," Steve Munro reported on Dec. 15.

Munro wrote: "This study will be a real test for Metrolinx. Can they face up to the deep flaws in the Air Rail Link proposal, expose them to view, and propose an alternative that actually fits into their Regional Plan?"

http://www.stevemunro.ca

Season's Greetings

Thank you for calling the Transport 2000 Hot Line.

Thank you for your interest and support all through 2008!

WE AT TRANSPORT 2000 CANADA WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON ALL THE BEST FOR 2009.

Thank you for calling the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline. For additional information, please contact our web site at:

www.transport2000.ca.