Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

31 October 2008

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 992, for 31 October 2008.

In this issue...

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

http://www.transport2000.ca

2 - Transport 2000 Québec veut mobiliser les usagers des transports en commun à Trois-Rivières.

"L'association Transport Québec 2000 était de passage à Trois-Rivières, afin de soutenir les activités d'information et de concertation des organismes locaux en ce qui concerne le transport en commun", selon L'Hebdo Journal (Cap-de-la-Madeleine).

Transport Québec 2000 suggère un plan échelonné sur 10 ans qui comprend une baisse des tarifs, l'établissement d'une charte et d'un guide sur les droits des usagers et une plus grande accessibilité aux transports. L'association est en démarche auprès de l'Assemblée nationale afin d'avoir une rencontre. Il souhaite qu'éventuellement un amendement soit fait à ce sujet", a rapporté L'Hebdo Journal le 25 octobre.

3 - Medicine Hat passenger rail service: Transport 2000 wants it back

"More than 125 years ago it took businessmen, with a vision of the future, to link this vast country with a transcontinental railway and provide passenger transport even to the relatively sparsely populated West. Transport 2000 Canada continues to lobby for restoration of the system, particularly in view of the need to cut carbon emissions and need to provide a viable alternative form of public transport," the Medicine Hat News reported.

Why was passenger service through Medicine Hat discontinued? Primarily inconvenient service, said Jon Calon, vice-president, Transport 2000 Canada's Prairie Region. Schedules were not oriented to daytime user travel needs", the Medicine Hat News reported on Oct. 25.

4 - Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines

"Welcome Aboard Toxic Airlines," a documentary on aircraft contaminated air, was shown at the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival on Sunday Oct 26 at the ROM in Toronto.

CUPE Flight Attendants say: The film tells the story of what some airline crews call the biggest cover-up in aviation history. Passengers and crews have been breathing unfiltered air taken directly from aircraft engines for nearly 50 years, despite the fact that the air is believed to be contaminated with engine oil containing neurotoxins, carcinogens and other hazardous chemicals.

"This is a very powerful documentary, which addresses serious concerns about the health and safety of airline crews and passengers. CUPE is studying the issue and developing information for its members and health and safety representatives," said Brian Buchanan, flight attendant and health and safety representative with CUPE 4090.

http://www.cupe.ca/airlines/

5 - Windsor rail rewrite

"Hoping to spur construction of new Via rail station close to downtown, elimination of more than four-dozen at-grade crossings, and consolidation of freight rail yards and tracks, city council gave final approval Monday on its future vision for railways in Windsor. ... The 75-page report recommends abandoning the old CN railway line being used by Via Rail between Chatham and Windsor. Via would instead use an enhanced CP Rail corridor, located further to the south, and also relocate its station in Windsor, likely to an area off Crawford Avenue or Wellington Avenue," the Windsor Star reported.

This would cost about $175 million, according to the study, which also recommends the abandonment of the CASO rail corridor in South Windsor, again in favour of freight trains using the enhanced CP corridor, the Star reported on Oct. 27.

6 - Transport Est-Ontarien

La Commission de Transport Glengarry-Nord Prescott et Russell (TEO) annonce le prix des abonnements et les horaires de son service d'autocars qui démarrera le 3 novembre 2008 dans quatre municipalités de l'est ontarien: Glengarry-Nord, La Nation, Casselman et Stormont-Nord. Le horaires sont publiés avec le concours d'OC Transpo dans le cadre des partenariats ruraux de ce transporteur urbain. OC Transpo offre aussi un abonnement mensuel de correspondance aux usagers de ses partenaires.

Le prix des abonnements varie selon la distance et selon le niveau de soutien offert par chaque municipalité. Dans le cas de La Nation et Casselman, cela veut dire que le coût mensuel est moins cher de 20,00$ pour chaque usager résident comparé au prix payé par la Commission.

http://www.teo-eot.ca

7 - Ottawa busway network observes 25th anniversary

The initial portions of Ottawa's bus roadway network opened for revenue service in 1983. OC Transpo, the city transit agency, hosted a series of 25th anniversary events at selected Transitway stations this week featuring a specially-decorated bus, refreshments and free souvenirs.

On Tuesday, OC Transpo unveiled its first two 40-foot hybrid buses, to enter revenue service within a few weeks. Another 200 hybrid vehicles are expected to enter revenue service over the next two years.

On Wednesday, the transit cash fare throughout Ottawa was lowered to 25 cents for the day. On Thursday, Kylee Mackay won a year's free transit service when she was declared the busway's 1.5 billionth rider.

8 - China to invest billions in rail system

China's train service will be boosted with investment equivalent to CAD$360 billion, according to a Reuters report this week. The country expects to expand its rail network by 28% to 160 900 km by 2010, and is partly intended to curtail the effects of the international economic slump.

China's State Council has approved the plan, according to The China Daily, noting that the massive investment plan was much like the massive road building program launched in 1997 during regional economic troubles in Asia. The country must also deal with infrastructure which broke down under blizzards during the Chinese New Year holiday period.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,24551437-38197,00.html

9 - Problems with hybrid 'lemons' delay new deal for Daimler diesel buses

On Oct 24th the Toronto Star revealed that the Toronto Transit Commission has delayed ordering $61 million worth of diesel buses from Daimler because of problems with hybrid diesel-electrics previously purchased from the company. The hybrids achieve only a third of projected fuel savings and their batteries last about 18 months, far short of their five-year anticipated lifespan. Councillors decided to delay purchasing 120 regular diesel buses for 2010 until the battery issue is resolved. The TTC also has a standing order for 130 hybrids for next year and will enquire about changing these to regular diesels.

"Buying diesel buses in 2010 will make the fleet more reliable and save about $24 million initially because each hybrid costs about $200,000 more than a diesel. But it's not clear what the switch might cost, because one-third of the funding comes from the federal government, which stipulated hybrids. That condition will apply until 2010, so the TTC may have to forgo the federal money for next year," the Star reported. Without the federal contribution for hybrids, the TTC wouldn't have had the money to renew its aging fleet.

10 - Free Audio of 1967 Turbo Train news conference

High Speed Rail Canada is offering, to anyone who signs up for its newsletter, free access to the complete audio of the 1967 TURBO TRAIN press conference in Montreal. The 50 minute tape is a fascinating bit of passenger rail history. Some of the same issues facing passenger rail thirty years ago, still are problems today in Canada.

http://www.highspeedrail.ca

Thank you for calling the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline. For additional information, please contact our web site at:

www.transport2000.ca.