Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

20 February 2009

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 1008, for 20 February 2009.

In this issue...

1 - Transport 2000 Calendar

2 - 7000 plus Regina residents petition for better transit: Catherine Verrall, Transport 2000

This week the Regina Citizen's Public Transit Coalition presented members of the Parks and Community Services committee with well over 7 thousand signatures in support of public transit service to on holidays and all day on Sunday. On Feb. 18 News Talk Radio 650 reported: "Catherine Verrall, who spoke on behalf of the people, says while they want these changes implemented, they can't come at a higher cost. "It must not be by raising fares because that's still penalizing the people who most need it."

Verrall is the President of Transport 2000 Canada Prairie Region.

http://www.newstalk650.com/story/20090218/12187

3 - New Brunswick must work closely with rail: Harold Nicholson, Transport 2000

"J.C. Mackay's article "Are we ready to move?" (Jan. 31) argues that railways are well positioned to partner with government to get our economy moving in the right direction," Haroid Nicholson, President of Transport 2000 Atlantic wrote in the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal on Feb. 17.

"I would, on behalf of Transport 2000 Atlantic, wholeheartedly support Mr. MacKay's comments and suggest to the provincial government that the time has come for them to work closely with Canadian National Railways, N.B. Southern Railway and VIA Rail Canada!

"The former New Brunswick East Coast railway is in need of infrastructure investment to bring it up to a level of a Class I rail line and, I believe funding could also be used to upgrade the NBSR to provide better rail connections for the Atlantic Gateway initiative. It is long overdue that our provincial government partner with VIA Rail to provide a reasonable alternative in passenger transportation from Edmundston to Moncton as well as additional service between Campbellton, Miramichi, Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton Junction and passenger service from Edmundston to Quebec City as well," Nicholson wrote in the Telegraph-Journal.

4 - Transport 2000 Québec a fait valoir six priorités au gouvernement: Luc Gagnon

"À l'occasion de son déjeuner-bénéfice annuel, Transport 2000 a proposé au ministère des Transports du Québec un plan qui vise à aider le secteur des transports en commun à se sortir de la crise dans laquelle ce secteur serait plongé, aux dires de l'organisme," Métro a rapporté le 16 février.

"Présenté à la ministre Julie Boulet, le plan comprend six projets considérés comme urgents par Luc Gagnon, président de Transport 2000 Québec, soit :

http://www.journalmetro.com/linfo/article/182793

5 - Québec Transport Minister serves up PIE IX ultimatum during Transport 2000 lunch

Transport Minister Julie Boulet has served an ultimatum to warring factions in Montreal to reopen the reserved lane on PIE IX boulevard or else, the Montreal Gazette reported on on Feb. 18.

"If the past four days have taught anything to Normand Parisien of Transport 2000 Quebec, it's this: If you want to get something done, invite Quebec Transport Minister Julie Boulet to be guest of honour at a lunch celebrating achievements in public transit - right after she's announced a $224-million highway project.

"'It was a golden opportunity. There was an audience of 500 ... and all the actors were there - the mayor of Laval, the head of the Agence métropolitaine de transport and the vice-chairperson of the Montreal executive committee,' he said, recalling a luncheon held by his group Monday.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Stop+spinning+your+wheels+over+lane+minister+warns/1300163/story.html

6 - M. Ignatieff a donné son plein appui au projet d'un TGV

"Le chef libéral Michael Ignatieff a donné son plein appui au projet d'un train à grande vitesse (TGV) Québec-Windsor que chérit le maire de Québec, Régis Labeaume," Le Devoir a rapporté le 18 février.

"«Je suis entièrement pour ce projet», a déclaré, hier, Michael Ignatieff, qui s'est présenté devant la presse en compagnie du maire de Québec, Régis Labeaume, après une rencontre entre les deux hommes," Le Devoir a rapporté.

7 - Aviation Safety News: Transport 2000 and Public Interest Advocacy Centre

Aviation Safety News is a project of Transport 2000 Canada and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. This month's issue covers Air Canada liquidity, Flight 3407, SkyNorth Air, Flight attendant regulations, Passenger bill of rights, Sarvair Aviation, Transwest Air, FAA OpSpec A332 and US Airways Flight 1549.

Transport 2000 and PIAC support airline passenger rights. PIAC and Transport 2000 oppose the Aeronautics Act amendments to transfer primary responsibility for safety to the airlines. The amendments mandate safety management systems but have not been passed by Parliament. The Aviation Safety News readers' group includes six top aviation safety authorities and a number of industry and civil service professionals. To subscribe contact: pres@jgoss.com

8 - The trouble with shovel-ready: David Jeanes, Transport 2000

"The trouble with 'shovel-ready' (is) there's no quick fix "Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien and a host of small-town and big-city mayors have hailed the federal investment as a godsend, believing it will offer millions of dollars for public-works renewal. With provincial and municipal matching funds, Mr. O'Brien says Ottawa could have about $400 million over the next two years to spend on small but important projects it would otherwise not be able to finance," the Ottawa Citizen reported on Feb. 16.

In the stampede to spend, and keep spending, the tendency is to finance projects that gratify short-term needs but do little else. ... The tying of the funds to immediate job creation could distort priorities. The two-year timetable makes it impossible to spend money on transformational projects like Ottawa's light-rail project.

"David Jeanes, head of Transport 2000, a national public-transportation advocacy group, says the most striking thing about the city's list is the high number of road and bridge projects. He says an analysis of the list towns and cities submitted to the FCM shows that fewer than 10 per cent of the items are public transit projects. Significantly, however, the transit projects make up 46 per cent of the dollar value," the Citizen reported.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=1294097&sponsor=

9 - U.S. Stimulus: Final bill

Thetransportpolitic blogger reported: "What we see in the stimulus bill, then, is a manifest change in funding priorities, increasing the share of sustainable transportation from 22% to 40%. This is a significant improvement." The blog has a good discussion of the final stimulus bill which includes $8 billion for high-speed rail projects.

http://thetransportpolitic.com/

10 - UN front commun prendront un recours collectif contre l'AMT

"Les usagers du train Deux-Montagnes/Montréal discutaient avec cynisme le plan de correctifs de l'AMT, mardi après-midi, à la gare Centrale. Ils peuvent maintenant se joindre à un recours collectif qui pourrait coûter 66 M $ à l'agence gouvernementale," Courrier de Laval a rapporté le 15 février.

"Normand Parisien, porte-parole de l'organisme de défense des usagers du transport en commun Transport 2000, jette plutôt le blâme sur le gouvernement provincial, pour le piètre état des infrastructures de transport collectif. Il y a beaucoup de rattrapage à faire. On commence à peine à sortir d'une longue traversée du désert ... " Courrier de Laval a rapporté.

11 - Suburban councillors sink Ottawa transit incentives: Harry Gow, Transport 2000

"I'm specifically annoyed by the revised incentives for transit pass holders. Until Tuesday last week, OC Transpo's website stated December pass holders were entitled to free transit until the end of March. Now we're being asked to pay a significant portion (40 per cent) of the regular charge. Council, rather than OC Transpo management, took the decision to revise the incentives" Metro News In Transit columnist John Holmes wrote on Feb. 16.

"Gatineau's STO is run by a transit committee operating at arm's-length from the city government. Compared to OC Transpo, it has remained comparatively free of controversy in recent years. Harry Gow, founding president of advocacy group Transport 2000 Canada, is a prominent voice calling for the establishment of a similar body in Ottawa," Metro News reported.

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/comment/article/182555

12 - Pearson ups passenger fee

"Passengers are going to face another round of fee increases at Toronto Pearson International Airport, but that doesn't necessarily mean the rest of the country's major travel hubs will follow its lead," The Canadian Press reported on Feb. 13.

The CP report said no increases are planned at Vancouver or Montreal airports. Halifax raised its Airport Improvement Fee in January.

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

www.transport2000.ca.