Bus Rapid Transit — C-Tran officials may call it by any name they choose, but there’s nothing slower than a bus (except a bike), no matter which acronym they employ. I find it amusing that transportation officials have packaged the Fourth Plain Corridor as Vancouver’s future rapid transit, since it involves frequent stops, impedes traffic and is subject to speed limits shared by automobiles. Yes, they’ll tweak the service with large-capacity vehicles, offer curbside/median boarding stations and specialized signals, but commuters will still be riding … a bus.
In the May 8 Columbian story “Council supports bus rapid transit plan,” C-Tran claims the $55 million corridor from 121st Avenue will shave eight minutes off a trip to downtown Vancouver. Wow, that’s $7 million for each minute of travel time saved. This Bus Rapid Transit plan should be labeled as it truly is … another federally funded misnomer that fails miserably as a cost-effective transit solution.
Be prepared for disappointment. C-Tran will be challenged to move a greater number of people faster and with few stops than by single-occupant automobiles traveling the corridor during peak hours. Don’t expect much from Bus Rapid Transit, expect perhaps a latent scheme to feed Vancouver’s light rail.
Bruce R. Randall
VANCOUVER
