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| Matthew Buchanan, president of Transport Action BC. |
Transport Action needs more money, members and volunteers
Transport Action Canada is the nation's leading citizen transportation advocacy group. Our mission is to seek sound transportation policies, practices and services which improve the quality of life for all Canadians. Transport Action Canada was founded in 1976. Join, volunteer or donate at: http://www.transport-action.ca/en/index.html
Open maps help Transport Action BC tell transportation stories
Matthew Buchanan, president of Transport Action BC found a new way of looking at Open Street Map.
Open Public Transit map highlights public transport lines (from the Open Street Map database) on top of the regular OSM map. Buchanan used it to map transit lines in Vancouver.
Trains and inter-urban buses, Transport Action Atlantic
“Worried about a plunge in passengers, the province is trying to arrange a meeting with one of the region's biggest rail services and long-distance bus lines. For the last two years, Acadian Coach Lines has had a drastic drop in paying customers. The number of passengers taking Via Rail has also been in sharp decline since 1996 in a province that traditionally had one of the highest ridership per capita in Canada for both trains and inter-urban buses,” John Chilibeck wrote for the Telegraph-Journal on Oct. 31.
"The trend line is steadily down," said Margaret Grant-McGivney, an assistant deputy minister of Transportation, who addressed a Saturday meeting of Transport Action Atlantic, an advocacy group for public transport. "This creates a significant concern for us," the Telegraph-Journal reported.
Cab fare from Fredericton bus station to downtown
During Transport Action Atlantic’s Annual General Meeting “members of the advocacy group blamed Acadian for the drop, arguing that the company has made poor decisions, such as building its new bus stations in Saint John and Fredericton outside the downtown areas. They say this leaves passengers stranded or forces them to take a city bus or cab to their final destination,” the Telegraph-Journal reported.
“To underline their point, Nova Scotia members of the group said they had planned on taking the bus to the Fredericton board meeting but decided against it because the station on the outskirts of New Brunswick's capital city was too far from downtown. "We're carpooling," said president Marcus Garnet of Darmouth, N.S. "You pay more for your cab fare to the bus station than it's worth," the Telegraph-Journal reported.
CAPT's newest board member, Chief Isadore Day
Coalition for Algoma Passenger Trains board member Chief Isadore Day talks about the development of Serpent River First Nation's rail spur, and how this is having an important impact on the economy of the First Nation community and contributing to rail development in Northeastern Ontario in feature story by Northern Ontario Business.
AMT, l'absence d'un système de protection contre les incendies
«Par l'absence d'un système de protection contre les incendies, des systèmes de ventilation et des routes d'évacuation, le présent tunnel ne correspond pas aux exigences (de la norme) NFPA-130», indique le rapport commandé par l'AMT à la firme d'experts Hatch Mott MacDonald. Cette norme a été établie par la National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) et est en vigueur partout en Amérique du Nord. Bruno Bisson et André Noël ont écrit pou la Presse le 31 octobre 2011.
Wakefield tourist train needs cash
The board of governors of the Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield steam train says it will do all in its power to keep the popular train in our region. An offer of $550,000 has been received by the board from a group of developers from outside the region. Board chair Louise Boudrias says they can't raise the money alone. They'll need help from local, regional, provincial and federal governments. It's estimated the train generates more than $8 million for the economy in our region,” CFRA reported on Nov. 2.
Le train de Wakefield pourrait être vendu aux Innus de Sept-Îles
« Le train à vapeur Hull-Chelsea-Wakefield pourrait être vendu à la communauté innue de Uashat-Mani-Utenam, tout près de Sept-Îles, dès la fin du mois. Le directeur général de l'entreprise, André Groulx, a confirmé hier avoir accepté une offre d'achat d'un groupe de Sept-Îles qu'il n'a pas voulu nommer. Selon les informations obtenues par LeDroit, il s'agit de la Société de développement économique Uashat mak Mani-Utenam, propriété de la communauté Innue (Montagnais) » Charles Thériault a rapporté pour Le Droit le 3 novembre.
Winnipeggers will either be dead or retired before the city gets a rapid-transit system
“The city's new transportation plan envisions four rapid-transit corridors over the next 20 years, and two more after that, which is roughly what's been on the drawing board for the last 10 years. At this rate of progress, most Winnipeggers will either be dead or retired before the city gets around to building an effective rapid-transit system,” the Winnipeg Free Press reported on Oct. 29.
Steve Munro, Memo to Queen’s Park
Almost a month after Ontario’s provincial election, the political landscape in Toronto is shifting away from the Ford Brothers and “Ford Nation”. … The Liberals, content to re-announce past commitments, proposed little on transit during the election. Queen’s Park remains silent on any transit initiatives. This might be a sign of consistency if only we did not hear daily about “congestion” and the need for much better transit in the GTA.
Bob Chiarelli, formerly Mayor of Ottawa, replaces Kathleen Wynne as Minister of Transportation (also as Minister of Infrastructure). The Ministry’s website describes Chiarelli as “a champion of public transit, including clean light-rail expansion”, and for once we have a transition between Ministers that might not wreck a pattern of support for transit within the government. There is much to do. … Herewith, a few suggestions about what the “major minority” (Premier McGuinty’s term for a not-quite majority) of our new government might do on this file.
Ontario coroner to lead review of cycling deaths
Dr. Cass will lead one of the most extensive reviews of cycling deaths ever undertaken in Canada, probing the circumstances behind roughly 75 fatalities on Ontario roads and sidewalks from 2006 to 2010. He will look for common factors and propose potential solutions to improve cycling safety and to prevent similar deaths,” Renato D’Alieso wrote for the Globe and Mail on Oct. 24.
L'Agence métropolitaine de transport (AMT) projette de faire passer 12 millions de passagers par année dans le tunnel du mont Royal, sur trois lignes de trains de banlieue, avec des locomotives remplies de carburant inflammable. Or, ce tunnel vieux de 100 ans et long de 4,8 kilomètres ne respecte pas les normes de sécurité les plus élémentaires contre les incendies, selon un rapport obtenu par La Presse.
Year of Road Safety, Transport Canada backs out
Transport Canada reports: “The National Year of Road Safety 2015 aims to promote road safety across Canada and reach the targets and sub-targets set out in Canada's Road Safety Vision. Transport Canada and other road safety organizations are taking (minimal) action to meet this goal.”
In fact Transport Canada is taking a lesser role in road safety (except trucking. Consider the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators’ new Road Safety Strategy 2015 outline the direction of road safety in Canada for the next five years. Compare it with old Road Safety Vision 2010 plan or Australia’s new plan. http://is.gd/2FDLU4
Rick Mercer reports on High Speed Rail reports
http://is.gd/9QAR7j
VIA Rail chops chef service on Churchill trips
Winnipeg Free Press, Oct 29, 2011
http://is.gd/FV1Qxy
Transport Action Canada
Hotline 1138, Nov. 4, 2011
(formerly Transport 2000 / anciennement Transport 2000 Canada)
info@transport-action.ca
(613) 594-3290
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/TransportAction
RSS: feed://www.transport-action.ca/rss/tarss.php
http://www.transport-action.ca
Calendar
Nov. 12, Ottawa, Transport Action Canada, Special meeting of members, 10 Years of the O-Train, 2 pm, 211 Bronson Avenue http://www.transport-action.ca
Nov. 22, Toronto, Transport Futures, Mobility pricing stakeholders forum http://www.transportfutures.ca/
Nov. 23, 2011, National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims in Canada,
http://ccmta.ca/remember_souvenez-vous/home.php