Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

21 June 2002

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 659, recorded on 21 June 2002, Bert Titcomb reporting.

In this issue...

1 - Ontario has safest roads

According to an article in the Ottawa Citizen, Ontario is the safest place to drive in Canada. The article states, Ontario has the safest roads in Canada and beats out every U.S. state except Massachusetts, according to provincial statistics released recently. The figures for the year 2000 show that although the number of licensed drivers has doubled since 1973, the number of fatal road accidents has dropped by half. In 2000, Ontario had 849 road fatalities, the lowest number of deaths since 1950, despite the increased numbers of drivers and vehicles. The province now has more than 8.1 million drivers and that number is growing by 2.9 per cent every year.

2 - Transport committee goes slow on truck black boxes

A report by the federal transport committee has recommend that the government introduce mandatory electronic on-board recorders for all long-haul trucks on Canadian highways to help enforce restrictions on the number of hours truckers can drive. The report concludes that the recorders would be preferable to the paper pencil system of log books which truckers now use to record their hours and which are often called "comic books" in the industry because of their perceived level of truthfulness. The idea of mandating the recorders, which would give enforcement officers an unalterably true picture of whether a trucker has been working too long, "has merit and would greatly enhance the ability of the regulator to monitor compliance," the report says. However, the report cautions the government to make the recorders mandatory only if the U.S. and Mexico are willing to do the same so that Canadian truckers won't be at a competitive disadvantage.

MP Bev Desjarlais, NDP transportation critic, who sits on the committee, criticized the report for not going far enough. In a dissenting opinion she wrote to accompany the report, she said her party rejects the "tepid" position of the committee and calls for introduction of mandatory recorders right away. She wrote, "The committee should have put public interest ahead of the special interests that seek to circumvent safety regulations."

3 - Extra seat charges for larger air passengers

Southwest Airlines' decision to begin charging larger passengers for a second seat is unlikely to affect Canadian airlines' policy. The trend-setting U.S. discounter said recently that it intends to more strictly enforce guidelines for "persons of size" when it determines a passenger will not fit comfortably into a single seat. As of June 26th, whether a plane is full or not, large passengers will be asked to buy an additional seat, although a refund may be requested afterward if the flight is not full. Air Canada has no plans to amend its current policy, which is to charge large passengers 50% of a full economy fare for a second seat in North America and the regular applicable fare on international flights.

4 - Internet in the sky

British Airways will install an in-flight Internet and e-mail system made by Boeing Co., making it the second customer for the technology after rival Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The U.K. carrier plans to test the system, called Connexion, for three months starting in February on a 747-400 flying the London to New York route. It will allow passengers to use their laptop computers to browse the Internet and to send email. The trial is an unexpected boost for Boeing, which halved the Connexion unit's workforce as airlines curbed spending on new technology after September 11th. In November, the three largest U.S. airlines pulled out of plans to put the service on as many as 1500 airplanes.

5 - Maglev train for China

According to an article in the Financial Post, the first wagon on the Transrapid, a high-speed electromagnetic levitation train, was on its way to China this week. The Transrapid, which Berlin boasts is the most advanced transport technology in the world, has been bought by Shanghai to link the Chinese metropolis with its airport. The train will operate on a 30 kilometre stretch between the city and the airport. Maximum operating speed will be 430 km/h. The train was developed by a consortium headed by the German electronics giant Siemens and industrial group Thyssen-Krupp.

6 - Rail transport in Europe

On a personal note, I have just returned from a 11 day vacation in northern Europe, where I had the opportunity to ride on several trains in various countries. These included; a diesel powered intercity train in Denmark, an electric commuter train from Warnemunde to Rostock in Germany, and a narrow gauge steam powered train in Bad Doberan in Germany. The electric three-car trains between Rostock and Warnemunde operated every 15 minutes for most of the day. During the two hour rush hour period in the morning and late afternoon the trains operated every 7 minutes. Was very impressed with the public transportation systems in Helsinki and Stockholm.

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