Transport 2000 Canada Hot Line

18 September 2009

This is the Transport 2000 Canada Hotline, issue number 1038, for 18 September 2009.

In this issue...

1 - Calendar

2 - Transport 2000 urges co-ordinated action to address Greyhound cuts

In a letter to the Prime Minister, the premiers of Ontario and Manitoba, and ministers responsible for Transportation to request urgent and co-ordinated action on a developing crisis in public transportation. "The recent announcement by Greyhound Canada that it would shut down bus operations in northern Ontario and Manitoba, (and possibly later in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia), should surprise no one. ... The combined loss of passenger rail and intercity bus service limits access to services and results in a loss of mobility for persons in many Canadian communities. Reduced availability of public transportation also negatively impacts the environment. Many public services, businesses and individuals also rely on parcel service by bus. For example, Canadian Blood Services and local hospitals use the bus for transport of blood products and laboratory test samples. The cuts will severely impact access to health services for many Canadians," David Jeanes, President of Transport 2000 Canada wrote on Sept. 12.

"Solutions to the decline of for-profit, common-carrier intercity Bus operations exist. They do NOT include wholesale deregulation, which normally leads to intense competition to serve express routes between big cities, but abandonment of service everywhere else. ... Transport 2000 Canada does not believe that all of Greyhound's subsidy or regulatory demands are necessarily justified, nor that they would result in a solution satisfactory to communities served."

Transport 2000 recommends:

1) that the federal and provincial governments act in a concerted manner ... A joint committee should investigate the needs and options and report quickly, so that co-ordinated action could be taken to ensure continued cross-Canada and regional bus services;

2) that immediate relief be provided to intercity bus operators by a reduction in fuel taxes similar to that provided in Québec ... ;

3) that consideration be given to restoration of VIA Rail Canada services to assume a more active role in moving people.

http://www.wawa-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3973&Itemid=99999999

3 - Greyhound veut abolir: Ottawa-Gatineau et Grand-Remous, en passant par Maniwaki

« La compagnie d'autobus Greyhound, qui assure le service entre Ottawa-Gatineau et Grand-Remous, en passant par Maniwaki, veut abolir cette ligne. Le porte-parole de l'entreprise, l'avocat montréalais Donald Blair, a indiqué que la compagnie veut cesser d'offrir ce service parce qu'il n'est pas rentable. Greyhound est en pleine phase de restructuration et l'entreprise a annoncé, la semaine dernière, des suppressions de services à travers le Canada » Le Droit a rapporté le 15 sepembre.

« En 2006, Greyhound a aboli le service Maniwaki-Ottawa-Gatineau mais avait maintenu le service entre Grand-Remous et la capitale, en passant par Maniwaki. Pour les résidents de Maniwaki et de la vallée de la Gatineau, cela signifiait qu'il ne restait qu'un seul voyage, aller-retour, par jour. »

»La députée de Gatineau, Stéphanie Vallée, a l'intention de suivre de près les audiences de la Commission des transports du Québec qui entendra la requête de Greyhound, le 5 octobre prochain, à Maniwaki. » Charles Thériault a rapporté.

4 - Greyhound to continue operations in Manitoba

"Greyhound bus service will continue in Manitoba and there will be no layoffs (among the 200) employees, Transportation Minister Ron Lemieux said late this afternoon after meeting with Greyhound officials. ... But Stuart Kendrick, senior vice-president of Greyhound Canada, warned that if a solution to the bus company's money-losing woes is not found by the end of October, it may yet withdraw its services," the Winnipeg Free Press reported on Sept. 16.

"'We provided the Manitoba government here with a lot of detail on our finances. They've looked at it and I think they understand now, on a bigger scope, just exactly what this means what it means to rural Canada and what it means to Manitoba,' he said" According to Minister Lemieux:"'We didn't promise anything,' he said. 'Our discussions were very frank and open with each other, but there were no promises other than a promise to work diligently with, certainly, other provinces and the federal government to look at some real solutions.'"

"Both the company and the province said an Oct. 22 meeting of federal and provincial transport ministers will be crucial to arriving at any future deal. The company has asked Ottawa for $15 million in short-term aid. It also wants an overhaul of government regulations that require it to operate unprofitable routes. Kendrick said his company has been hurt by rural depopulation and a faltering economy," the Winnipeg Free Press's Larry Kusch reported.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/greyhound-stays-on-road-59602412.html

5 - $3 billion to extend the Métro: Airport train shuttle, Pie IX, tramway network, new métro cars?

"Before spending $3 billion to extend the métro in Montreal's east end, Laval and Longueuil, officials should consider faster, cheaper ways to improve public transit and come up with an integrated regional transportation plan, transit activists say," the Montreal Gazette reported on Sept. 16.

"(Transport 2000's Normand Parisien) pointed to the long-discussed plan to buy new métro cars; the airport train shuttle, which would also improve West Island commuter service; the new train to Repentigny and Mascouche; and the Pie IX reserved bus lane, which shut in 2002 after two fatal accidents but has yet to reopen because of a struggle between transit authorities. A métro expansion should not come at the expense of Montreal's announced transit plans, which include a tramway network, he said.

"It's impossible to say whether extending the métro is a good idea because the region still lacks an "integrated metropolitan transport plan," Parisien said. "That's important so we can evaluate different scenarios and compare various projects and the cost and benefit of each one," the Gazette's Andy Riga reported.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Métro+extension+Good+idea+hold+just+minute/1629905/story.html

6 - Transport Canada uses pipeline budget to cover air safety program cost

"Opposition MPs are calling on Auditor-General Sheila Fraser to investigate Transport Canada's air-safety practices after government inspectors warned of fictitious accounting inside the department," the Globe and Mail reported on Sept. 15.

Transport Canada allegedly told its safety inspectors to bill their expenses to a fund covering Mackenzie Valley pipeline construction.

"(Northwest Territories New Democratic MP Dennis) Bevington said the fact that officials were billing a pipeline fund to cover routine inspection duties raises questions as to whether Transport Canada is struggling to cover its basic safety tasks. "If you need money for inspections, put it in the budget," he said. "This comes from mismanagement of the aviation safety sector," the Globe's Bill Curry reported.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/air-safety-probe-sought/article1287987/

7 - Make national urban transit funding permanent: Toronto Board of Trade

Toronto Board of Trade President and CEO Carol Wilding called for a permanent 'national transit strategy'. The Board of Trade is calling for additional funding for public transit across Canada totaling $1.8 billion annually.

This amount would build upon funds already dedicated through the federal Gas Tax Fund, introduced by the Martin government and made permanent by the Harper government, the Board announced on Sept. 10.

http://www.bot.com

8 - STC provides a great adventure: Catherine Verrall, Transport 2000

"In my 80th year, and fairly new to the West, I set out to discover Saskatchewan by STC. ... The (Saskatchewan Transportation Commission) bus can lead to adventures: the conversations build human community, the landscape changes, places in the news become real," Transport 2000's Catherine Verrall wrote in the Regina Leader-Post on Sept. 12.

"STC seats are comfortable, the buses are clean and drivers are super. And through September, STC is offering the $7 Seniors Anywhere Fare for those aged 60 plus, for each one-way travel in Saskatchewan on any STC scheduled route. So let's "save some green" and go adventuring with the STC," Verrall, President of Transport 2000 Prairie region wrote in the Leader-Post.

http://www.leaderpost.com/provides+great+adventure/1986026/story.html

9 - New Brunswick leads in 4-lane highway infrastructure per 100,000

"Over the past weeks I have been travelling around New Brunswick for both work and fun. My travels have taken me to Bathurst, Edmundston, Miramichi, Fredericton, Saint John and Fundy National Park. On every single one of the roads I travelled on there was construction activity. ... It isn't too much of a leap to say this is the provincial and federal government "stimulus" dollars at work to try and limit the effects of the current economic downtown," David Campbell wrote in the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal on Sept. 16.

"Last week I received a copy of Statistics Canada's latest report on research and development spending in the higher education sector in Canada. ... I was disappointed to see New Brunswick dead last among the 10 Canadian provinces for R&D spending within higher education (on a per capita basis). ... The federal government spends less on R&D in the higher education sector in New Brunswick than any other province in Canada again by a wide margin (53 per cent less per capita than in Quebec). Our provincial government also spends very little on R&D in the higher education sector. The just over nine dollars per capita was second lowest in Canada and a trifle when compared to Alberta's $64 per capita. ... Coming back to the frantic spreading of asphalt around the province, I can't help notice that politicians are quick to draw the link between paving roads and economic development. ... Now it's time to set similar targets for research and development activities in New Brunswick".

http://nbbusinessjournal.canadaeast.com/journal/article/793037

http://www.davidwcampbell.com/

10 - Transport 2000 Québec a tenu à souligner le succès de la journée portes overtes organizsée par la STM

L'association Transport 2000 Québec a tenu à souligner la qualité de l'organisation déployée par la Société de transport de Montréal (STM) lors d'une journée portes ouvertes, qui s'est déroulée ce dimanche 13 septembre, au tout nouveau centre d'entretien d'autobus de la rue Legendre à Montréal. À cette occasion, des milliers d'usagers et de citoyens ont eu le privilège de profiter d'une visite derrière les coulisses de leur société de transport, accompagnés d'employés fiers de leur servir de guide.

Présent lors de cet événement, le président de Transport 2000 Québec M. Jean Léveillé ne tarit pas d'éloges et n'a pu que constater le plaisir qu'éprouvaient les nombreux visiteurs et les employés à découvrir une facette peu connue des opérations de la STM.

Monsieur Léveillé souhaite que d'autres événements de ce genre se produisent dans l'avenir afin de sensibiliser les citoyens à l'importance d'utiliser les transports en commun tout en améliorant l'image de marque de la STM, dont le patrimoine appartient à l'ensemble de la collectivité faut-il le rappeler.

11 - OC Transpo : Une baisse d'achalandage: 14 %

« Le conflit de travail chez OC Transpo est terminé depuis plusieurs mois, mais les conséquences se font encore sentir. La clientèle du transporteur est à la baisse, une diminution qu'il attribue aussi en partie à la mauvaise performance de l'économie » SRC Ottawa a rapporté le 15 septembre.

»Selon une compilation dont Radio-Canada a obtenu copie, au cours des six premiers mois de 2007, il y a eu 46,5 millions de déplacements enregistrés chez OC Transpo. Au cours de la même période en 2008, on note une augmentation de 5 %. Puis, pendant dans les mois qui ont suivi la grève, en 2009, le nombre de déplacements a chuté à 42 millions, ce qui représente une diminution de 14 % »

« Transport 2000 croit que la grève y est pour beaucoup dans cette baisse d'achalandage. Le groupe soutient qu'OC Transpo ne fait rien pour aider sa cause avec des hausses de tarif trop élevées » SRC Ottawa a rapporté.

12 - OC Transpo's smart bus plan: David Jeanes, Transport 2000

"The city's transit committee is considering the purchase of a $17-million smart bus suite that would put OC Transpo near the forefront of customer interactivity, but the options and the cost are far more than they asked for. ... The city initially budgeted $6.72 million to purchase a next-stop announcement system, but transit staff are now recommending a more complex system that includes a predictive arrival system to notify riders using real-time online maps how long they have to wait for their bus, from transit technology company Clever Devices," Metro Ottawa reported on Sept. 16

"OC Transpo is purchasing the NSAS to comply with a 2007 Ontario Human Rights Commission order. Transport 2000 president David Jeanes said he's concerned OC Transpo has skipped the public consultation process and is now preparing to purchase a system without public input and from only one real offer," Metro's Tim Wieclawski reported.

http://www.metronews.ca/ottawa/local/article/311920--bus-price-tag-balloons


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