Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

17 October 2008

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 990, recorded on 17 October 2008.

In this issue...

1 - Calendar
2 - Federal election results
3 - New Parliament: Keep building all-party support for passenger rail services
4 - VIA passengers up 12%: On-time up but ... Corridor 72%, East 49%, West 20%
5 - Metrolinx: No Hamilton rapid transit until 2012
6 - OPP-patrolled roads: Deaths down 33.7%: RSV 2010 safety targets exceeded
7 - $1.5 billion Calgary commuter rail
8 - Britain's top environmentalist: John Stewart, Executive Director of Transport 2000 UK
9 - New Government's transportation agenda

1 - Calendar

Nov. 1: Transport 2000 Canada: Board meeting: Vancouver

Nov. 13: Ontario's Inaugural Road Pricing Forum: Toronto

Nov. 19: Road collision victims: National Day of Remembrance

2 - Federal election results

With near-final results from the Oct. 14 federal election showing 143 Conservatives out of 304 elected members, Canada has another minority government.

The Canadian Urban Transit Association said a minority government "will affect CUTA in a number of ways as the House of Commons continues to be a place of negotiations where the role of individual Members of Parliament is strengthened. Now, more than ever, a continuous strong grassroots lobby effort and close ties to your local MP can effect change at the highest levels".

CUTA said the Conservatives will require support from other parties to pass key platform measures, which include:

continued federal gas tax monies to municipalities for infrastructure including transit;
reduction from 4 to 2 cents a litre on diesel fuel to assist, among others, transit operators.

3 - New Parliament: Keep building all-party support for passenger rail services

Minister of Transport Lawrence Cannon was re-elected. Transport 2000 Canada awarded last year's Orange Prize to Mr. Cannon in part for VIA Rail's recapitalization budget. Transport 2000 wishes Minister Cannon well and hopes he remains in a strong position to continue his support for transit and VIA Rail.

Transport 2000 notes a minority Parliament creates more opportunities to strengthen all-party support for passenger rail services as witnessed in the last Parliament. The Rail Passenger Service review studies will soon be presented to Parliament and could prove a useful focus for further expansion.

4 - VIA passengers up 12%: On-time up but ... Corridor 72%, East 49%, West 20%

VIA statistics as reported in the company magazine VIAlogue for August, year to date: Passengers up 12%, almost equally in corridor, eastern transcontinental and the west. Direct revenue/expense ratio up 2 to 3 % in all three regions. For the "corridor" this figure has reached 98% (meaning any new trains almost break even, given that no new infrastructure or administration is needed (of course this does not take into account overall costs which would still exist even if no trains ran). Revenue is up about 7%. On-time performance is up but remains poor: Corridor 72%, East 49%, and West 20%.

5 - Metrolinx: No Hamilton rapid transit until 2012

"Regional transportation agency Metrolinx gave Hamilton a reality check yesterday, suggesting planning won't even begin for local rapid transit until 2012 or 2013. Hamilton city staff -- confident that the city has a good case for light rapid transit -- had hoped for shovels in the ground by 2011", the Hamilton Spectator reported.

"Metrolinx chair Rob MacIsaac said Hamilton rapid transit will likely appear later in the 2009-2013 budget which "will outline timing, but not whether Hamilton is to get rail or bus rapid transit". (McCormick-Rankin had recommended bus rapid transit but the City has rejected that). City staff ... said they are "ready to go" on a new light rail system," the Spectator reported on Oct. 15.

To start, Metrolinx has $11.5 billion in provincial cash, enough to fund seven years of a $50-billion, 25-year plan revealed this fall. MacIsaac, noted that the first projects to be funded in the Metrolinx budget are likely to be those being studied now: mostly Toronto projects and the electrification of GO Transit's Lakeshore line, which serves Hamilton, the Spec reported.

6 - OPP-patrolled roads: Deaths down 33.7%: RSV 2010 safety targets exceeded

"As of October 5, 240 people had been killed on roads the OPP patrols, compared to 362 last year, a 33.7 per cent decrease. Of that total, excessive speed was involved in 81 of the deaths, down from 134 last year, a 43.5 per cent decrease. Non-use of seatbelts resulted in 60 deaths, down 40 per cent from the 100 deaths in 2007. Alcohol played a part in 40 deaths, a 40.3 per cent decrease over 2007 when 67 people had died in alcohol-related crashes," the OPP's Operation Impact reported.

Transport 2000 notes these statistics suggest Ontario, in one year, has reached three of its Road Safety Vision 2010 targets.

"Operation Impact is supported by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and Transport Canada and is part of Road Safety Vision 2010, which has a goal of making Canada's roads the safest in the world by 2010. It is also part of the OPP's Provincial Traffic Safety Program," the OPP reported on Oct. 10.

7 - $1.5 billion Calgary commuter rail

"This coming Friday afternoon, at Premier Ed (Stelmach's) southern Alberta HQ, the business plan for a $1.5-billion commuter train service operating on heavy rail track between Calgary and neighbourhood communities will be presented to the man who has the final say" the Calgary Sun reported.

"The Calgary Regional Partnership, is doing detailed work ... including the locations of stations, any issues over land, the actual routes, what is needed to upgrade the existing rail"

"'I'm still very amazed we've been fast-tracked as much as we have,' says Truper McBride, mayor of Cochrane and lead hand on this file," the Sun reported on Oct. 11.

8 - Britain's top environmentalist: John Stewart, Executive Director of Transport 2000 UK

Britain's most successful transport campaigner has come top of the first comprehensive list of the country's most effective greens compiled by The Independent.

The Chair of the Campaign for Better Transport (Transport 2000), John Stewart, "who leads the onslaught against a third runway at Heathrow, soundly beats far more high-profile figures - ... from Sir David Attenborough to Prince Charles - to take the honour," the Independent reported on Oct. 12.

He does so in the wake of an important breakthrough for his campaign - the announcement by the Conservative Party that it plans to scrap the runway in favour of high-speed rail links that would supplant short-haul flights".

Mr. Stewart took up aviation and Heathrow ... after winning a successful campaign - as head of the pressure group Alarm UK - against the then Conservative government's plans for a road-building drive... Of an original 600 schemes, only 150 remained when John Major lost office in 1997, and the incoming Labour government cut those down to 50.

9 - New Government's transportation agenda

Transport items selected from the Canwest News Service report "What the Conservatives promised" of Oct. 15 include:

Create a cap and trade system to cut greenhouse gases.
$600-million annually: to cut the excise tax on diesel and aviation fuel to two cents per litre from four.
Allow more foreign investment, especially in airlines and uranium mining.
Be able to block foreign takeovers that endanger national security.
Invest in science and technology.
Strengthen pollution laws in the north.
Facilitate the development of a northern pipeline.
Prevent the export of raw bitumen from the oilsands to countries with lower environmental standards.
Invest in alternative energies.
Work towards a target of 90 per cent electricity from non-emitting sources by 2020.
$24-million one-time funding: to expand cruise ship tourism along the St. Lawrence River.

Selections from a Canadian Press report of Oct. 14 "Highlights of a list of Conservative transport promises in the federal election campaign"

Allow 49 per cent foreign ownership of airlines and foreign ownership of uranium mines.
$400 million more over four years for the repayable Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative and Automotive Innovation funds.
Abolish industrial tariffs on imported machinery and equipment. $345 million.

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