I am one who never likes things crammed down my throat, religion or bus rapid transit. I use Fourth Plain for my route of travel for shopping. I see these 60 foot-long articulated buses unneeded on such a narrow road like Fourth Plain, and they will impact a great deal of pain to people who drive that corridor. BRT will impact lane travel, and the idea that the rapid transit can change the stop lights as it comes down the road will do the same for people going across Fourth Plain.
The other thing to look at is what London has gone through with these kind of buses. In some circumstances of urban operation (such as in areas with high pedestrian volumes, narrow streets and tight turns), articulated buses may also be involved in significantly more accidents than conventional buses. Estimates for London’s articulated buses, removed from service in 2011, put their involvement in accidents involving pedestrians at more than double the rate of other buses, and nearly three times as high for accidents involving cyclists.
But C-Tran won’t listen to the public when we say “no.” Mark my word, you will read in The Columbian about accident involvements on Fourth Plain as these buses roll along the route.
Paul Presler
Vancouver
