Category: Transportation

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Wireless Internet on Vancouver buses

It’s not what you think, at least initially, but I find this application incredibly interesting. Plus, it’s another step closer to having mobile WiFi for the rest of us commuting around Vancouver via TransLink.

Novax Industries of New Westminster is in negotiations with TransLink to install what’s called Trans-POD. It would give buses intersection priority.

Novax CEO David Atnikov says it would also alert transit passengers on their laptops or cellphones on where their bus is and how long it will take to arrive. He says it would be like making your time more efficient.

The system could also be used for parking meter reading, gas meter reading, or checking your hydro consumption.

Atnikov says because the transmitter is on the bus, it creates a wireless connected neighbourhood wherever transit is. Edmonton and Toronto already have the Trans-POD system up and running. [news1130]

I’ve written about the need for a city-wide, wireless Internet system in Vancouver, and it’s high time that we stop thinking about catching up with what other, major metropolitan areas are doing on the other side of the Rockies.

I’m already using the MyBus application on Facebook quite a lot. It’s incredible useful to see how soon the next bus is supposed to arrive when heading to work on a rainy day. I can only imagine how useful that would be to get on my cellphone, not needing wireless access on an iPhone to do so.

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Extend the SkyTrain towards UBC, but go all the way

IMG_9290 It’s no secret that I have become fascinated with the SkyTrain since coming to Vancouver. It’s easy to do, and maybe it has something to do with a love I had for trains as a kid. I don’t know all of the technical ins and outs, nor do I own a set of train engineer pajamas. However, I have a certain appreciation for mass transit.

Suddenly, there is debate to extend the SkyTrain west to the UBC campus. This would be an add-on to the existing Millienium Line that has long been discussed as being extended, but I’m surprised to hear the sudden press for it.

Another transit line could also be extended through Vancouver. TransLink will vote this week on whether to approve a $1 million study into running the Millennium Line from Commercial Drive to central Broadway, and eventually out to UBC. Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan supports the idea. If the expansion is completed, it should be done by 2009. [news1130]

This is causing a battle between mayors because of the long, on-hold project of building the Evergreen Line that would connect the Millennium Line with out laying communities on suburban commuters.

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan supports a $1 million TransLink study looking at extending the Millennium Line west towards UBC. But politicians in other cities say it’s too soon to start thinking about that, while the Evergreen Line remains on hold.

The Millennium Line proposal would extend rapid transit from Commercial Drive to central Broadway and eventually west to the university. But Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan says the focus should instead be on getting the line to the northeast sector off the ground, which was promised ten years ago. The Evergreen Line still needs $400 million in government funding before it can go ahead.

TransLink Chair Malcolm Brodie says the Evergreen Line is a top priority, and the potential expansion of the Millennium Line is still many years down the road. [news1130]

All of these stories came out today, so it gets really confusing as to what’s going on where. Still, if there is a plan to push for the extension to UBC, the current plan only sees it to reach to Arbutus Street, barely half way to UBC. Chances are, the extension might never reach that far, a combination of construction issues seemingly the reason.

Like I said, I am all for expanding mass transit. I’m a firm believer that more should be done in extending services to outlaying areas and suburbs where commuters clog up the roads on a daily basis. More so, I think expanding SkyTrain service throughout Surrey and Langley would be a far better option than twinning the Port Mann[wiki], but the ball already seems set for that project.

However, if you are going to help fix the situation, then go all the way. Stopping at Arbutus would seem half-assed, and even the news reports all say, “and eventually out to UBC.” Traffic is rough in Vancouver, but providing just partial fixes isn’t going to make it any better.

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Building over the SkyTrain

We take the SkyTrain quite a bit to visit Rebecca’s family in Surrey, and it’s no secret that I have a fascination with it. Not so much that the obsession of wearing overalls and an engineer’s hat overtakes me, but I am a consistent gawker as the world passes by. That and trains are pretty cool.

When we passed through New Westminster a little over a week ago, I noticed that the development going up near the New Westminster Station had a portion of the building hanging out, above the track. At first we thought, they’re building a balcony over the SkyTrain? Since that hardly made sense, we only could come up with the conclusion that they are building around the track, making this building straddle the elevated track. Note the following picture.

SkyTrain overpass near New West. Station 2

This isn’t anything new in the wide world of mass transit, but I think this is going to be a first for the SkyTrain. When we went passed it again this recent weekend, Rebecca was sure to grab the website address for this fortress, Azure at Plaza88.

I can’t grasp all the details of how this will affect the New Westminster SkyTrain Station or the line itself, but it looks like there will be a series of buildings being constructed there with the SkyTrain “underneath”. From their site:

With the SkyTrain underneath, you are constantly connected to the best of the Lower Mainland. No more traffic hassles or parking stress. Downtown Vancouver in 26 minutes; Metrotown in 12.

No, I’m not being sponsored to post this, nor to I endorse the development. Still, I wonder how many people are aware that this is happening. How much of the line is going to be covered? About a year ago, this area was a mess of land preperation and pile driving. It’s only a matter of time until these suckers are shooting up into the sky. How very Tokyo of the SkyTrain.

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SkyTour seems kinda lame

SkyTour markings at Waterfront SkyTrain stationI know that sounds harsh to say, but this marking on the platform at Waterfront Station caught my eye last night while heading to meet some friends for the Canucks game last night. I had heard of it before, but it inspired me to check into it a bit more today.

You can check out more about SkyTour youself, but the basic story is that you pay for this audio tour that takes you around Vancouver via SkyTrain, telling you various things about the city. There are also walking tours included, but I’m really unsure if other forms of mass transit are required as well.

The one thing that gets me is that you really want to make sure that if you are planning on taking this tour, then make sure you have a nice, sunny day to do it. The audio sample on their website has you looking out the windows of the SkyTrain to see The Lions[wiki] among the north shore mountains. On a rainy day, which we have a few of those here occasionally, you’re hard pressed to see those twin peaks.

At the same time, you better hope for a non-crowded day on the train as well. Trying to listen to an audio tour while trying to peak through the group of kids talking at the top of their lungs, in whatever international language it is that they speak, just screams like a good ol’ time. Ahh, money well spent.

We offer to take friends and family around the city all the time, and I think that the only way to experience any place is with locals. Even though Rebecca has lived here all her life, there’s many places I’ve made her go that she’d otherwise never had explored unless my curiosity didn’t drag us there. It goes both ways.

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Banning gadgets while driving in Canada

The Canadian Automobile Association is going one step beyond banning just cellphones while driving in order to cut down on distractions while driving.  MP3 players and other portable electronics are the next thing on the list that they want Ottawa to consider, but the ban would only apply to new drivers in Canada.

The CAA called on all provincial governments to legislate a restriction on the use of electronic devices by novice drivers.

“We don’t want their minds taken off the driving task and we want them to keep their hands on the wheel,” said CAA president David Flewelling.  [lfpress]

The B.C. government has weighed in on the suggestion[vancouversun], sparing the west coast for now.  Their position makes sense.  Doing more to make the education of the driver is the better route to go.  You can only regulate so much before it becomes ineffective.

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A Reason To Fly JetBlue?

In addition to having some of the lowest fares for flying, JetBlue[wiki] hopes that WiFi on their planes will make their airline even more appealing.

JetBlue Airways Corp. won a wireless license to offer high-speed Internet and other communications services on commercial aircraft in a U.S. Federal Communications Commission auction that ended on Friday. [reuters.com]

It seems like there are two types of people when it comes to JetBlue; those that think it’s the worst airline and those that think it’s one of the best. Their record doesn’t help them too much either, but this is a boost for those business travelers out there.

Among 19 carriers reporting to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, JetBlue had the lowest on-time arrival rates in January, according to the Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report for that month. The popular upstart airline landed on schedule just 70.6 percent of the time. Hawaiian Airlines was best, with a rate of 95.9 percent, and other airlines arrived promptly 78.8 percent of the time.

The report is more bad news for JetBlue, which lost $42.4 million during the fourth quarter due to fuel costs, and it plans to raise fares to improve profits. But it did have one of the lowest rates of canceled flights, at 0.2 percent, which could be tied to its many delays. Other airlines would rather cancel a flight than hurt their arrival rates. [abcnews.com]

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Cut And Cover?

There is an interesting post about the Canada Line on Beyond Robson that feeds my hunger in terms of more information about the project. As with anything that is constructed in this magnitude, politics is always the story.

There is no doubt that additional SkyTrain service is going to be beneficial to the Vancouver area. I think we all agree that mass transit is a great benefit to any, major metropolitan city and its surrounding communities. What’s hard for everyone to agree upon is how it’s done, who will be responsible for it, and where the money will come from.

It is incredibly interesting that for a long time, the building of the underground portions of the Canada Line was going to be done by bored tunnel. Unless you were paying attention, the project has switched to a cut-and-cover operation, shutting down portions of Granville for approximately two years, starting at the end of April.

And you think that area was struggling for business before?

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The Risk of a Bridge

Already this year, five people have died in vehicle accidents on the Pattullo Bridge. This is a fact that is simply staggering to me as one of the first things I recall Rebecca teaching me about this structure was its history of being notorious for car collisions. And just yesterday, another person died in a head-on crash with an oncoming vehicle.

This takes the number of people who have lost their lives from similar accidents on the Pattullo to 15 since 2001. Further up the river, the Port Mann is about to be twinned in order to solve congestion issues with traffic. It’s obvious that people want to get to destinations faster than they can now, but at some point, I would think that you have to weigh the value of life over the value of time.

I mentioned this in a podcast with Rebecca some time ago, and today I released a video podcast that has a brief segment going over the Pattullo. The timing is erie, but perhaps you can see a little of this for yourself.