Quote:
Originally Posted by GGG
My goalposts are firmly set as there is no case for rail to make sense as a public investment from Calgary to Banff.
There is no case for spending public money on rail becuase of transportation requirements that exist when you get to the destination so the last mile becomes a significant hurdle. (The last mile in this case being more like 100 miles given the tourist sites that people want to see)
If you do solve the last mile problem a perfectly suitable alternative of busing exists and is more flexible once at the spread out destination.
So given the above when allocating 300 million of public capital plus xx million for trains and stations you need to show that you are better than the alternative technology. If we want to be green just spend some of that capital on battery powered buses.
Further to this at a $30 round trip this only makes sense for people who don't have vehicles or are going alone. As soon as you add in a second person it's cheaper to drive. So this is for airport visitors and those without cars. So how many airport visitors who aren't renting cars and aren't on a Brewster bus tour are there out of the 4 million visitors to Banff each year?
There is no goalpost moving here. It's a bad idea
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The last mile problem last already been solved, and will be bolstered if there is rail, as I already pointed out. Where do you imagine a tourist wants to go that they can't get to once they hit Banff?
It feels like you are imagining this for day trips from Calgary. That's not where many of the trips will come from though. You get people to Banff, they get to their hotel and spend a week in the town. Busing form the airport to Lake Louise, or Johnson Canyon, or wherever else doesn't mean anything for a tourist from Europe. They want to get to Banff first, and do day trips from there.
Have you traveled much? I've been all over the world, and the key is getting from the airport to where you want to be as comfortable and conveniently as possible. Knowing there is a train over a bus inspires more confidence the connection, it is more comfortable and more predictable. This stuff means things to tourists. Sure, Calgarians will use it too, but I'd argue that's less of the primary target market here, since most Calgarians have cars. $30 CAD round trip is a bargain, BTW, as far as international comparisons go. Even for locals, gas alone is $20 for that trip.
I'm not saying financially this makes sense, as I know little about that part of the equation. But arguing that it's a bad idea because you can't get to where you want to go just means you haven't looked at the reality of the situation.