SkyTrain is only feasible option to extend transit service to UBC: report
Posted January 23, 2019 6:10 am.
Last Updated January 23, 2019 8:22 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Housing affordability is pushing UBC students to live further away from campus, and that’s increased demands for transit to the university.
A new staff report to the Mayors Council says SkyTrain is the only viable option.
It’s the priciest option, with an estimated cost between $3.1 billion and $3.8 billion. But SkyTrain is the only technology that makes sense in the long run, according to staff who studied alternatives like light rail transit (LRT).
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On weekday mornings, UBC students currently fight for space on crowded B-Line buses shared with other commuters.
“A lot of times, it has made me late, yes,” said one student Wednesday morning.
Another commuter said the current bus system just doesn’t work. “It’s always late. Sometimes half an hour.”
A SkyTrain would provide nearly twice the capacity of LRT options, according to the report. It says LRT would not meet demands within 15 years.
The report notes SkyTrain has the best reliability with an “on-time performance” estimated at 95 to 97 per cent. By contrast, LRT would offer 83 to 89 per cent “on-time performance.”
Under the already-approved and funded Phase 2 of TransLink’s 10-year plan, a subway has been approved along Broadway to Arbutus. But the Mayors’ Council wants to see rapid transit extended to the fast-growing UBC campus.
