That's A Wrap

When I first started researching the city of Kelowna’s public transportation plan I expected to find that the city was simply doing just enough to keep current riders happy. What I actually found was surprising, the city is trying to implement a number of initiatives which are expected to increase rider-ship including, rapid express bus lines along major routes, time reducing measures, a “branch and trunk” approach which ties the suburbs into major bus routes, and increasing the number of busses giving passengers more flexibility. I must give credit where credit is due so I say to the city of Kelowna bravo for at least attempting to get people out of their cars and onto the bus, however, this is not enough. The city has been talking a big game in and around the university with seminars and workshops which focus on Kelowna’s push to become a sustainable city. So why has the city taken such a passive role when it comes to reducing the number of drivers on the road? I am definitely not an expert on the subject but it seems like common sense that if someone wants to send a message you do it by way of their pocket books. On my last entry I talked about what effect a toll on the bridge may do to increase rider-ship from the Westside, now I ask why the school has not increased their rates for a parking pass. Currently for a full year of parking at the school it costs ninety dollars, if it were any cheaper it would be practically free, if the school were to double their current rates it would still be relatively cheap. Originally I hail from southern Ontario and at most schools back home you are looking at between five hundred and eight hundred dollars for a yearly parking pass. If people do not think that these outrageous rates for parking deter a large number of the schools population from driving they are sorely mistaken. There are a number of things the city could be doing to more aggressively reduce the number of private autos on the road but instead they pump millions into road projects which actually increase the number of private cars. The battle between the car and public transit is beginning to get a little more even but if the city expects to create a sustainable city out of Kelowna a more aggressive road will need to be taken.

You Should Work For The City!

On my way home from work this week I engaged in a conversation with a middle aged man who was a fellow user of the public transit system. We started talking about how ridiculous it was that we were the only ones on the bus, at three in the afternoon no less. I asked him why he thought the bus was so empty at a time which is considered part of the afternoon rush? He told me that it was because after three in the afternoon the bridge rush begins and it can take up to two hours on a bus to get across it. For those of you not familiar with the city of Kelowna, a large percentage of the cities population lives on the other side of Lake Okanagan and commute into the city for work, all the commuter traffic creates a large amount of congestion both coming into and out of the city. The man made a very good point in regards to the bridge traffic; I personally would not want to be stuck on a hot bus for up to two hours after a long day of work. I started thinking about how much quicker the commute across the bridge could be if people took the bus so I asked my comrade what could the city do to increase rider-ship when it came to peoples commute across the bridge. His idea seemed so simple but yet could be truly effective, he suggested that the city place a toll for crossing the bridge in a private auto but free for those who were on a bus. It is forward thinking like that demonstrated by my bus buddy which will help to make public transit systems comparable to the private auto. I have read the city of Kelowna’s plan for expanded and improved public transit from front to back, I read the city use the term smart growth over and over and how it might increase rider-ship. No where in the cities plan did it mention the idea of charging a toll to use the bridge as a means to increase its transit systems rider-ship. How can one expect people to just start riding the bus without giving them an incentive to do so, just a little push to get someone to sample their product? It seems that the city is taking a passive role in getting people to give up their car but taking an active role in pretending that they are providing options. You got to hit them where it hurts if they expect their “sustainable” city to become a reality and the best way I know is by putting another hand in someone else’s cookie jar.

A Battle For Time

Upon further research into the City of Kelowna’s future plans for public transit, I came across a couple interesting points which relate to transit systems ongoing battle with the private automobile. The city is implementing what they call a “trunk and branch” approach to the development of their transit system. The “trunk and branch” method is simply a system where local community bus lines are used to service the suburbs and transport its passengers to the major bus lines which service the core areas of the city. The concept is quite simple and somewhat effective in linking the suburbs to the core but for most the private auto still provides service which is much quicker and non-stop. The issue of quick and effective service has become an ongoing issue for public transit systems and its biggest obstacle in obtaining greater rider-ship, so what is the city doing to tackle this issue? There have been a couple ideas put on the table by the city in hopes of reducing ride times; these include Queue jump lanes, left turn modifications, and traffic signal priority. Queue jumps lanes allow transit busses to jump ahead of traffic which form at major access points like the bridge across Lake Okanagan and at major intersections. Left turn modifications are simply designated left turn lanes for busses, as we all know it takes a bus more time and space to make a left turn across a major intersection, these lights would make this task faster and easier. Lastly traffic signal priority allows for extended “green light” time so that busses can get through high density intersections quicker. When reading about the above improvements I was instantly impressed but when I read a little more I came to the realization that these improvements made little difference. On average the “priority” modifications reduced travel time by three minutes on most routes, this is just simply not going to cut it. If the city hopes to increase its rider-ship by drawing people out of their cars and onto the bus more drastic measure will be needed.

All information can be found at http://www.bctransit.com/regions/kel/pdf/kel_2004.pdf

A Personal Dillemma.

Throughout the month of June I was faced with the dilemma of driving to work or continuing my routine of taking public transit. Over the last month a friend of mine went back to Ontario for a family visit, leaving her car with me. I have not had access to a car for some time now and I thought that this car sitting in my drive way would not change my daily routine. I was unfortunately mistaken; access to a car provided a convenience which public transit could not. Most notably access to car allowed me to get to work on time or gave me an opportunity to come in early or stay late. When it comes to public transit I have a much smaller window for gaining those much needed extra hours. If I wanted to go in early my only option would be to jump on to a bus at 6:30am in order to arrive at 7:30am (almost 3 hours early), with the next bus not arriving until 10:00am. Similar problems arise when I have an opportunity to stay late, with the last bus of the day leaving at 6:30pm, allowing for only a half hour of overtime. I instantly realized the tough uphill battle which public transit faces, competing with the private automobile is a near impossible task it would take an unrealistic budget for a public transit system to become that efficient in Kelowna.
In cities around the world the word sustainability is starting to take precedence within city councils. Nothing impacts the development of cities more then the private automobile so I wanted to look into what the city of Kelowna and others are doing to beef up and promote the use of public transit.
The city of Kelowna has laid out plans in their 2007 financial plan to introduce a two phase project which introduces a Bus Rapid Transit line that will provide high frequency travel between downtown and UBC-O. The second phase of the plan is directed at increasing the efficiency and flexibility of bus routes already in place which provide service to the university. This most certainly is great news for those who work or go to school at UBC-O but what about those who work in other areas of town? The city has made no mention of improving bus routes except for those which service the university, instead they have put tens of millions into road projects that are meant to provide smoother driving and reduce drive times. In my opinion the city really messed up on this one, the recent U-pass referendum will pump millions into public transit which usually wouldn’t be there. So instead of taking advantage of this extra funding by implementing the first steps in a highly efficient and sustainable mass transit system, the city takes this money and makes improvements to a bus route that needed little improvement, while at the same time pumping extra money into projects which benefit those who own a private automobile. When is the time going to come where this city realizes how important a system of public transit truly is? (Information can be found at: http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/PDFs/%5CFinancial%20Services%20Division%5C2007%20Financial%20Plan/City%20Managers%20Memo%20-%20Volume%201.pdf )

So what are other cities doing to promote their systems of public and mass transportation? The city of London, England is charging a $15 per day toll for those who choose to drive into the transit friendly CBD, traffic delays are down 22% and carbon emissions have been cut by 16%. Not only is the city lowering its carbon emission but they also need to spend much less on road projects meant to deal with the issue of congestion. In Paris, along highly congested routes special lanes have been dedicated for busses turning their system of public transit into a fast, efficient and first class mode of transportation. There are ideas that make it possible for systems of public transit to compete with the private automobile’s convenience and flexibility; people just have to be willing to change. (Information can be found at: (http://www.liveearth.org/news.php)

The Beginning Of A Great Adventure

With the explosion of suburbia in post war society cities began to take a new shape, one which was marked by vast highway, expressway, and arterial road projects. People were able to reach all the required amenities and activities from within a greatly enhanced perimeter thanks to the automobile. The suburbs did however cause great harm to the public transit system within many cities due to destinations being scattered and population densities being too low. The problems which public officials faced when it came to creating a reliable and financially sound system of public transit can be seen today. For me, a student who cannot afford a car while paying for school, living in a city like Kelowna can become problematic when public transit is lacking. Over the next couple months I plan to let you all in on some of the good times, the bad times, and the cities plan for improving their system of public transit.