IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Surrey, BC
SkyTrain for Surrey is calling out the City of Surrey for misleading stakeholders about LRT and rapid transit in a CitySpeaks citizen survey released this morning.
The survey, conducted by the city in conjunction with consultant Steer Davies-Gleave, asks survey participants to compare express buses and LRT based on a subset of pre-selected criteria. These criteria suggest that an Express Bus cannot support LRT features like all-door boarding and real-time information, which is misleading.
Bus Rapid Transit can support all of the same features as LRT – including multi-door boarding, real-time arrival displays, lighted stations, and traffic-signal priority. These can be added as upgrades to the existing 96 B-Line at a much lower cost, and at a gradual pace with fewer construction inconveniences. Other bus routes in Metro Vancouver, such as the #3 Main (real-time arrival displays) and #99 B-Line (all-door boarding) are already employing these features.
Bus Rapid Transit can also make use of hybrid diesel-electric buses or be electrified (i.e. trolley buses) to offer similarly smooth, steady and quiet rides as LRT. Many modern, hybrid articulated buses are already in service in Metro Vancouver, operating out of the Richmond bus depot on routes such as the #403, #480 and #49.
“Attempts to mislead transit commuters and stakeholders about this are precisely why residents need to get together now and reject the proposed Surrey LRT.”
Daryl Dela Cruz, Campaign Manager
SkyTrain for Surrey is calling for an extension of SkyTrain to Langley and the upgrading of the 96 B-Line to a full Bus Rapid Transit system, instead of the proposed LRT. This has been previously studied by TransLink at the Province and would cost the same to build, yet cost less to operate and offer twice the travel time savings.
As the survey’s focus is in collecting information about transit users’ travel times, we hope that the results will make it clear to consultants and the City that there will be few merits and travel time improvements from an LRT.
***
(The above concept photo shows a modern, air-conditioned XDE60 bus – a hybrid-electric articulated bus already in service on TransLink’s fleet. The buses being used on today’s 96 B-Line are older and louder, but a BRT service could use brand new, modern buses just as an LRT would require the purchase of brand new trams.)
***
For additional info, contact: Daryl Dela Cruz, Campaign Manager – Better Surrey Rapid Transit.
Email us at: info@skytrainforsurrey.org
###
Above: Criteria screen-shot from CitySpeaks/Steer Davies-Gleave LRT survey. Note that Express Buses are given specific criteria and it is not made clear that modern Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) can support all features of LRT, even electrification.
