Calgary Public Transit - Discussion

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Barnes

No offense to the residents in the SW 'cause it's great for them but why aren't they looking at dedicated bus lanes and underpasses for the existing SE BRT. I live in Copperfield and it takes the same amount of time to take the community bus to the LRT to downtown as community bus to SE BRT to downtown. The R is supposed to stand for rapid IIRC.

The lasers that are supposed to give priority at intersections do #### all, going through quarry park adds a ton of time to the trip and no one gets on or off (it's a business park. everyone has a parking spot for cripes sake) and there is only one lane for a large portion of the trip. It's even more ridiculous that the SE expresses go this way as well.

Which intersections do you experience problems with on the 302?

I know coming home during rush hour, occasionally turning south from 130th onto 52nd is bad, but that is more a factor of weather. The construction on the bridge at the north end of Ogden Road was really bad this past summer, but that was a one time thing. The railway crossing in Ramsay can be brutal if there is a train.

As for Quarry park, I half agree. The problem is there is no good alternate route. If you cut out Quarry park stops the only alternative is to either go up Deerfoot or stay on Barlow after exiting Deerfoot. Deerfoot is impossible. Totally destroys the route and would just end up with buses stuck in traffic. If you stay on Barlow, you deal with traffic that is almost nearly as bad during rush hour and you miss all of Doulgas Glen and Quarry Park including the Park and Ride. You might not see it, but those stops do get use.

The only real solution for fixing the BRT is to reduce the number of stops. If you want it to be a precursor to the LRT line, then reduce the stops outside of downtown to mimic that. You would need to alter/add community shuttles to feed the BRT route more efficiently though, and I can see that being a very complex and expensive thing to implement.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Rathji

As for Quarry park, I half agree. The problem is there is no good alternate route.

What about 24th street? Link

Saves a full kilometre and 3 sets of lights.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

The response he got was that the residents nearby do not want an interchange there, so they are floating this bus-only underpass idea for the BRT. This isn't anything new either. Residents along the 14th Street corridor have been shooting down the thought of turning it into an expressway with interchanges for decades.

These NIMBYs really GMG. And I can say that because they are building the ring road less than 100 metres from my house. This could be the world's simplest interchange; you just need SB traffic going underground. EB 90th could merge into the left lane of NB 14th; and the rest of NB 14th could just free flow.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by ken0042

What about 24th street? Link

Saves a full kilometre and 3 sets of lights.

That would certainly work, and skip the occasional problems that spring up along 18th during the evening rush hour.

[chemgear]

Drama Llama Headline: Parasitic Communities force Cuts to Police Force!!

omgomgomgomg

http://www.calgarysun.com/news/alber.../16367151.html

[4X4]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

2. Both North/South lanes will run on the west side on 14th St

I could have sworn that I heard the east side.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by 4X4

I could have sworn that I heard the east side.

Heard? Radio or television report?

West side makes more sense because that's where Rockyview Hospital and (less importantly) Heritage Park are.

On that note, here's some links to some SW BRT info:

Brochure

Open House Info Displays

[4X4]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Heard? Radio or television report?

West side makes more sense because that's where Rockyview Hospital and (less importantly) Heritage Park are.

On that note, here's some links to some SW BRT info:

Brochure

Open House Info Displays

Heard it on some newscast. I guess they were wrong.

[FlameCity]

Calgary's low-income transit pass to drop to $40
New pass price adds $380,000 to city budget

CALGARY - City council is cutting the rate of a low-income monthly transit pass, even though a hike was scheduled for next year.

The low-income pass was supposed to go from $41.50 up to $45. It will now be dropped to $40.

By dropping the low-income pass, council has now added roughly $380,000 to the city budget.

Aldermen made the decision Wednesday during budget deliberations.

A regular monthly pass is due to increase from $85.25 up to $90, and council decided not to change that plan.

It was also noted during budget discussions that broader fare review is underway that should be ready by May.

All this comes as council on Monday decided not to cut Calgary Transit service hours, even though administration had recommended just that to help deal with a $47.4 million deficit

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by FlameCity

Calgary's low-income transit pass to drop to $40
New pass price adds $380,000 to city budget

CALGARY - City council is cutting the rate of a low-income monthly transit pass, even though a hike was scheduled for next year.

The low-income pass was supposed to go from $41.50 up to $45. It will now be dropped to $40.

By dropping the low-income pass, council has now added roughly $380,000 to the city budget.

Aldermen made the decision Wednesday during budget deliberations.

A regular monthly pass is due to increase from $85.25 up to $90, and council decided not to change that plan.

It was also noted during budget discussions that broader fare review is underway that should be ready by May.

All this comes as council on Monday decided not to cut Calgary Transit service hours, even though administration had recommended just that to help deal with a $47.4 million deficit

Maybe we could make up the money by increasing the fee for seniors who aren't low income to take transit. Currently a seniors pass for anyone over 65 (NOT just low income) is $35 per year, or $2.92 per month. I have no issue with low income seniors getting the discount (they only pay $15 per year) but there's no reason well-off seniors can't pay the same amount as low income people under age 65. Even with this reduction a well-off senior pays 93% less than a low income person, which seems ridiculous.

[FlameCity]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Maybe we could make up the money by increasing the fee for seniors who aren't low income to take transit. Currently a seniors pass for anyone over 65 (NOT just low income) is $35 per year, or $2.92 per month. I have no issue with low income seniors getting the discount (they only pay $15 per year) but there's no reason well-off seniors can't pay the same amount as low income people under age 65. Even with this reduction a well-off senior pays 93% less than a low income person, which seems ridiculous.

I believe during this meeting (sorry it was earlier in the day) they discussed doing a study during 2011 about the transit pass fee structure across the board (including Senior discounts) and how it could be improved so that those that could afford to pay did and those that needed the most help received the help they needed . . . but don't quote me on it I don't remember verbatim what was decided on that

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by FlameCity

so that those that could afford to pay did and those that needed the most help received the help they needed . . .

This is a good (and fair) idea. Those who have a lower income could maybe use a hand up, and many will need transit to get to work. Lower income seniors can get a break too, but I'm not sure I get why you automatically get a break for managing not to die.

This year, the fee structure will be:

Low income, non-senior:55% off
High income, senior 96.7% off

Does anyone rationally think that it makes sense for a high-income senior to get a bigger discount than a low income person? How about Harley Hotchkiss? He's 83. Does he need 97% off a transit pass?

[troutman]

WRGMG - Why are so many bus stops placed immediately after an intersection? The light turns green, the bus stops, and no cars can get through the intesection. Why not place bus stops further up the block, so as not to impede following traffic?

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by troutman

WRGMG - Why are so many bus stops placed immediately after an intersection? The light turns green, the bus stops, and no cars can get through the intesection. Why not place bus stops further up the block, so as not to impede following traffic?

Probably has something to do with the required maximum distance from every house in the city to a bus stop by walking.

[frinkprof]

Originally Posted by troutman

WRGMG - Why are so many bus stops placed immediately after an intersection? The light turns green, the bus stops, and no cars can get through the intesection. Why not place bus stops further up the block, so as not to impede following traffic?

Intersections are a good place to put stops to maximize catchment (drawing from as many as four directions) and to minimize distance walking for passengers. As much as it may suck to wait 15 seconds in a heated car for the bus to load/unload, it sucks worse for the passengers to walk the extra half block each way while exposed to the elements.

Following vehicle traffic impedance can be reduced by putting in more bus lay-bys (picture below).

[MrMastodonFarm]

I'm not one to usually complain about transit, I understand that it is built for the needs of a million people and not just my needs.. but my god.. The reasoning for Calgary Transit to end so many buses right before 9 during the morning commute, and right before 6 during the evening commute is insane.

A large chunk of commuters are still try to end there day by 6pm and it's insane the way CT just stops so many buses right before 6. Pushing the end time to 6:30 would be much more appropriate.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

I'm not one to usually complain about transit, I understand that it is built for the needs of a million people and not just my needs.. but my god.. The reasoning for Calgary Transit to end so many buses right before 9 during the morning commute, and right before 6 during the evening commute is insane.

A large chunk of commuters are still try to end there day by 6pm and it's insane the way CT just stops so many buses right before 6. Pushing the end time to 6:30 would be much more appropriate.

The absolute funniest part of this is that at the same time as they're giving you a really narrow window to get to and from work with adequate bus service (especially for those who bank hours for Fridays off and take an unpaid lunch), they're asking people to stagger their arrival/departure times to reduce the peak load on the over-capacity LRT.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

Intersections are a good place to put stops to maximize catchment (drawing from as many as four directions) and to minimize distance walking for passengers. As much as it may suck to wait 15 seconds in a heated car for the bus to load/unload, it sucks worse for the passengers to walk the extra half block each way while exposed to the elements.

Why not put the stop just before the intersection, rather than just after it? You'd have the same proximity to the intersection for the passengers, but it would reduce the inconvenience for both the transit riders and the other drivers.

The place I'm most familiar with where it's bad is at Macleod Trail and 71st Ave (by the Denny's). Traffic on Macleod gets stopped at the light and the bus is at or near the front of the line and the bus stop is literally just on the other side of the intersection. So, after waiting through the red light, traffic starts moving and the bus goes less than 50m and stops. Now, all the vehicles behind the bus either have to wait for the bus to unload/load or try to get into the other lane to pass the bus.

If the stop was before the light, the bus could have gone through its unload/load cycle while the light was red, or if the light was green when the bus got to the stop, the traffic would have an easier time moving into the other lane because it would be flowing better than it does after being backed up at the light.


Although, I do agree that a better solution would be to have the bus pull-in areas along Macleod Trail, and it's strange that they don't.

[Knalus]

Originally Posted by SebC

The absolute funniest part of this is that at the same time as they're giving you a really narrow window to get to and from work with adequate bus service (especially for those who bank hours for Fridays off and take an unpaid lunch), they're asking people to stagger their arrival/departure times to reduce the peak load on the over-capacity LRT.

...which in turn forces people to drive to the C-Train in order to use transit. People need transit for when they need it, not for when it's convenient for Calgary Transit.

[Knalus]

Calgary Transit discussions are usually so heavily C-Train oriented, that the problems and issues with buses usually get ignored. It would be nice to see City Hall deal with that issue here sooner rather than later, especially as many of the issues are small dollar ones that are easier to deal with during a budget crunch.