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formerly Transport 2000 Canada
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Transport Action Hotline - 20 August 2010

In this issue...

This is the Transport Action Hotline, issue number 1078, for 20 August 2010.

  • 1 - Calendar
  • 2 - L'appel d'offres de la STM est une mauvaise nouvelle : Transport 2000, Normand Parisien
  • 3 - It's back to square one for Montreal subway cars
  • 4 - In Nova Scotia Acadian Lines loses bid to drop some rural routes
  • 5 - In New Brunswick St. Andrews Mayor pans cuts to bus routes
  • 6 - $521-million investment for upgrades at Marine Atlantic
  • 7 - $15 million for Sudbury-Sault Ste. Marie rail line: John Baird, Transport Minister
  • 8 - Transport Action Ontario supports long-form census
  • 9 - Greyhound workers strike new deal with bus company
  • 10 - Victoria Transport Policy Institute: Travel price elasticities andf the War on Cars
  • 11 - Sierra Club suit may halt DRIC

1 - Calendar

2 - L'appel d'offres de la STM est une mauvaise nouvelle : Transport 2000, Normand Parisien

« La décision de la Société de transport de Montréal (STM) de relancer un appel d'offres international pour le renouvellement de ses voitures de métro inquiète Transport 2000. L'association de défense des droits des usagers estime que la fiabilité des voitures MR-63 et MR-73, qui ont été livrées à la STM en 1966 et 1976, ne pourra être garantie à compter de 2013 » Marie-Eve Schaffer et Jennifer Guthrie a écrit pour Métro le 14 juillet.

« «Nous savons que la STM ne mettra pas en péril la sécurité des passagers, mais elle ne pourra pas garantir la fiabilité du service dans deux ou trois ans, a indiqué le directeur général de Transport 2000, Normand Parisien. Les ralentissements de service et les pannes seront de plus en plus nombreux à partir de 2012. Et les usagers vont devenir les otages du système.» Le ministre de l'Agriculture et député de Kamouraska-Témiscouata, Claude Béchard, souhaite aussi que la construction des nouvelles voitures commence rapidement. «Il ne faut pas attendre qu'il y ait une catastrophe ou que le métro tombe en panne pour agir», a-t-il affirmé en point de presse » Métro a rapporté.

http://nouvelles.sympatico.ca/regions/montreal/lappel_doffres_de_la_stm_est_une_mauvaise_nouvelle/5f00c148

3 - It's back to square one for Montreal subway cars

"Bombardier Transportation division president and chief operating officer André Navarri warned last month that the company and its 90 suppliers could be forced to lay off hundreds of workers at Quebec facilities if it fails to win the contract to supply 765 cars, with an option on 288 more," Bertrand Marotte reported for the Globe and Mail on July 13.

"The decision to go back to square one in the bidding process represents a threat to efforts to replace the Métro cars, which are in dire need of replacement, said public interest group Transport 2000. "We have no guarantee that the service will be maintained at the same level until the arrival of the new cars in at least three years," Transport 2000 director-general Normand Parisien said," the Globe reported.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/its-back-to-square-one-on-montreal-subway-cars/article1638594/

4 - In Nova Scotia Acadian Lines loses bid to drop some rural routes

"The bus line's Montreal parent company, Groupe Orleans Express, applied last January to cancel one of Acadian's Digby-Kentville bus runs and reduce daily trips between Halifax and Sydney, citing major financial losses. ... In its 104-page decision released (June 19), the Utility and Review Board denied the applications to reduce rural service, but allowed the company to add express and semi-express trips between Halifax and Moncton," Gordon Delaney reported for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald.

"There are still long-term problems with rural bus service," said (Clarke) Morris, who is also a member of Transport Action Atlantic, formerly Transport 2000, a public transportation advocacy group."You can get into Halifax and back out in a day, but you can't get from Halifax to much of rural Nova Scotia and back in a day," he said. "They still need to take a look at public transportation long term and what do we need and for what purpose. . . . We need to take a look at other things, such as where the terminals are located and what part the province plays. It's very nice to have a reprieve, but we need to go beyond to see what can be done to make the bus service more usable and more attractive to more people, so that it is on a better financial footing," the Halifax Chronicle-Herald reported on June. 19

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1187989.html

5 - In New Brunswick St. Andrews Mayor pans cuts to bus routes

"St. Andrews Mayor John Craig is not happy with the recent cuts to Acadian Coach Lines Saint John to St. Stephen run. ... The New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board allowed Acadian to drop the run from St. Stephen to Bangor, but insisted that the company run return trips from Saint John to St. Stephen, with stops at St. George and St. Andrews, three days per week. The board also allowed Acadian to cut the Fredericton-Miramichi run with stops along the way to three days per week. The new schedule takes effect Oct. 1," Derwin Gowan wrote for the Saint John Telegraph-Journal on July 26.

The decision was also panned by Michael Perry of St. Andrews, vice-president of Transport Action Atlantic, a group that promotes public transportation. "It's turned what was a practically useless service into a completely useless one," Perry said. Transport Action Atlantic - formerly Transport 2000 - contends that a subsidy of $100 per day each from the municipalities of St. Stephen, St. Andrews, St. George and Saint John would make a Saint John to St. Stephen run viable, Perry said. The subsidy might shrink as ridership improved. He criticized the board for not recommending the government look at subsidies. "I think the EUB is very timid. It seems to me they leaned over backward to give the company what it wanted," the Telegraph-Journal reported.

http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/city/article/1149525

6 - $521-million investment for upgrades at Marine Atlantic

"Ottawa's $521-million investment for upgrades at Marine Atlantic shows the Crown corporation plans to make sure the ferry service remains a key piece in the region's future economy, says a local councillor. Nearly $310 million has been set aside for renovations to the fleet and to charter two vessels that will replace two older ferries. The funding was announced (July 5) in North Sydney. The federal minister of state for transport says the cash infusion will help the MV Caribou and other Marine Atlantic vessels run on time," Laura Fraser reported for the Halifax Chronicle Herald on July 6.

7 - $15 million for Sudbury-Sault Ste. Marie rail line: John Baird, Transport Minister

"Transportation Minister John Baird's staff today confirmed to Sault MP Tony Martin that the federal $15 million share of new funding for the Huron Central Railway is secure. .. The announced closure of the Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury short line railway was averted last year by the one-year agreement which expires this month, signed by HCR, Essar Steel Algoma, Domtar Espanola and City of Sault Ste. Marie with the assistance of other industrial partners and communities that expires this month," SooNews reported on Aug. 5.

"Martin and his New Democrat colleagues along with municipal, business and community stakeholders pressed successfully last year for FedNor with its provincial counterpart to fund $3 million for track improvement. Last summer, Martin and Hughes hosted a rail summit in Spanish bringing together leading rail officials and community representatives. He has also enlisted support from Transport Action Canada and Railway Association of Canadian national rail groups," SooNews reported.

http://www.soonews.ca/viewarticle.php?id=27250

8 - Transport Action Ontario supports long-form census

In a July 22 letter to Hon. Tony Clement, Minister of Industry Transport Action Ontario's Gordon Woodmansey wrote eliminating the long-form census has significant impacts in the field of transportation including:

  • Inability to plan new projects. Transportation providers need the results to design and plan new infrastructure and routes. Without the information provided by the long-form they can not make adequate projections for ridership growth, which compromises estimates required for vehicle purchase and major route investment (urban public transit, railway lines, railway stations, airports and highways).
  • Inadequate ability to monitor the use of current infrastructure. One of the major ways that transport systems measure their success and advocate for funding is through comparing their ridership against population and car ownership. We know how well public transit is doing because we can compare rates of car ownership, travel to work, etc from using information from the long-form census.
  • It will become increasingly hard to accurately measure our performance as a nation on issues related to the transport sector. Issues of importance to Transport Action and the public include: air pollution from transportation sources; public health (both injuries from accidents and disease such as lung cancer etc.); changes in car ownership; changes in mobility; energy use; business productivity; and employment. The long-form census results provide a great starting point for research in these areas and an excellent tool for benchmarking performance in the field of transportation.
Of special interest to Transport Action are those persons who for financial, health or other reasons cannot drive or fully participate in public transit for the able bodied. The long-form census gives a better picture of this segment of society. This more detailed picture can be used by authorities to maintain, enhance and streamline services for this segment of our population. This aids Canada by assisting all Canadians of all abilities in fully participating in our economy, Gordon Woodmansey wrote.

9 - Greyhound workers strike new deal with bus company

"A Greyhound Canada strike has been averted after a tentative agreement was reached Wednesday afternoon, according to company spokesperson Bonnie Bastian. The deal was reached between the employer and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1415 and still needs to be ratified by members," the Windsor Star reported on Aug. 11. The Star reported: "About 500 Greyhound Canada drivers, maintenance crews and terminal workers are part of the union.

http://www.windsorstar.com/business/Greyhound+strike+averted/3387111/story.html#ixzz0x9eof5S9

10 - Victoria Transport Policy Institute: Travel price elasticities andf the War on Cars

The Victoria Transport Policy Institute today released: "Changing Vehicle Travel Price Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect". This paper, submitted for presentation at the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting, summarizes recent findings concerning transportation price sensitivities. Some studies found that fuel and vehicle travel price elasticities declined significantly between 1960 and 2000, but recent research suggests that price sensitivities have returned to more normal levels, indicating that the rebound effect is rebounding. This suggests that mobility management strategies provide greater benefits than many current energy conservation evaluation models indicate.

The VTPI updated: "Evaluating Rail Transit Criticism".

This report evaluates criticism of rail transit systems, including a recent paper by Wendell Cox, 'Washington's War on Cars and the Suburbs.' It examines claims that rail transit is ineffective at increasing public transit ridership, that rail transit investments are not cost effective, and that transit is an outdated mode of transportation. It finds that critics often misrepresent issues and use biased and inaccurate analysis.

http://www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf

http://www.vtpi.org/railcrit.pdf

11 - Sierra Club suit may halt DRIC

"The Sierra Club of Canada plans to file legal action that threatens to halt construction of the $1.6-billion Windsor-Essex Parkway and government-backed DRIC crossing in Brighton Beach, a spokesman said on Wednesday," Dave Battagello reported for the Windsor Star on Aug. 19.

The group will file an application in Ontario Court for judicial review against Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources, which issued the permit for the project, said Sierra Club Ontario director Dan McDermott.

http://www.windsorstar.com/technology/Sierra+Club+suit+halt+DRIC/3415966/story.html#ixzz0x9hMmVDw

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www.transport-action.ca.