The Business Case for Trolleys

The main argument being put forward by TransLink for not returning trolleys to Cambie is simply they do not believe they have enough trolley coaches to meet future needs. However this is faulty logic when trying to gain optimal usage of these important greenhouse gas fighting vehicles. If TransLink finds itself short of trolley coaches, they could rebuild some of the older trolleys for use during peak hours. The estimated cost of rebuilding is $100,000 per coach. This is less than one-tenth of the cost of a new trolley and one-fifth the cost of a diesel bus.

Upon delivery of all the new trolleys there will be a total of 228 of the new vehicles (plus a potential to rebuild the older trolleys). At the height of the afternoon rush hour the peak utilization of trolleys is currently 193 vehicles. This will leave 35 spare coaches just sitting in the yard. TransLink continues to make a public display of how expensive and advanced these vehicles are, so why are they leaving 35 sitting in the yard? TransLink will tell you this is their "spare vehicle" ratio, these vehicles are in reserve in case of breakdown. They maintain a similar spare vehicle ratio for diesel buses as well.

TransLink will also try to tell you some of these 35 spares are needed for trolley route extensions to connect with the Canada Line. These extensions along Marine Drive from Main and from Oak to Cambie & Marine Station will at the most reqire four more trolleys. That will still leave 31 spares in the yard.

Because the cost of a trolley is approximately double that of a diesel, logic would dictate to get the best utilization out of the trolleys, TransLink should continually run all the trolleys, and instead hold only diesels in reserve as spares. In other words, increase the number of diesels sitting in the yard and put those 35 trolleys on the road. Diesels could be substituted for one of the fleet of 228 trolleys only when needed. In this way, there would be as many clean trolleys running at all times as possible, keeping as many polluting diesels off the road as possible and still have spare vehicles to cover for mechanical issues.

However TransLink could gain even greater utilization of the trolleys be increasing their usage outside of peak hours. During non-peak hours approximately one-third of the fleet is sitting parked in the yard. That could be up to 79 of these expensive trolley coaches just sitting idle. By putting the wires back up on Cambie and running the trolleys there all day the base utilization of trolleys could be increased further and get even more use out of these vehicles.

Taken further, to gain 100% usage of the new trolley fleet, it would make sense to attempt to use trolleys on as many routes as possible during the base hours, and instead of requiring additional trolleys to cover rush hour peak requirements, bring diesels out to cover this additional need - even on trolley routes. By doing this, trolleys would operate the entire service day wherever possible. Supplement service using diesel (and CNG) buses only be during peak times, there-by keeping these noisy, polluting vehicles parked for most of the day.

By doing this, dollars are saved with less diesel (and CNG) fuel being burned (which will only continue to rise in price), air quality is improved by lower greenhouse gas emissions, and there would be a near 100% utilization of the investment in the trolley fleet. However there are not enough routes currently electrified to make this possible. This is why TransLink must maintain it's commitment to re-electrify Cambie Street and not only help fight global warming but also save a significant amount of money in operating costs.

Why Putting the Wires Back Won't Cost More Money

A large percentage of wires on Cambie Street were not removed during Canada Line construction, this means there will be significant costs in removing the remaining wire on the street.

An even larger number of trolley wire support pole bases were not removed during construction, these stronger lighting pole bases are the major cost to trolley wire installation. The ones that have been removed will need to be replaced to re-erect street lighting, why not put the heavier bases in while doing this? To install the smaller ornamental light pole bases rather than replacing the original larger trolley pole bases, could be considered as stealing from the taxpayers of Vancouver.

TransLink had already budgeted for the re-installation of trolley overhead on Cambie Street, and they will have to pay additional funds to remove the remaining overhead. The light posts must be reinstalled upon completion of construction, it makes no financial sense to spend the same amount to remove infrastructure as to reinstall it.

Why the Canada Line Won't Change Cambie Bus Usage

Another argument being put forward by TransLink is the fact a majority of transit users on Cambie Street will begin using the Canada Line when completed. This was why they originally proposed using only small community shuttles on the street terminating at Broadway, instead of continuing over the Cambie Bridge. However, their own re-consideration would seem to show even TransLink has woken up to the reality with their new proposal of operating full-sized 40-foot Nova diesel buses on Cambie and running them all the way downtown.

The fact is, there is a large distance between some Canada Line stops, particularly in the very dense population and business area between King Edward and Broadway. It would be unrealistic to expect residents will walk as far as eight blocks to a Canada Line station or to take a bus to Broadway, then climb down a floor of stairs (no downward escalators) into the Canada Line station to continue their trip downtown, and then walk to such places as the Main Library or BC Place. This will thereby add more walking and waiting time to their journey. It would be even more unrealistic to expect commuters to do this in the opposite direction, disembarking at Broadway and potentially waiting in the rain for a bus, or walking up a steep hill to return home. Commuters in this large gap between stations will want to have a continuous journey downtown as they currently enjoy, something even transit planners are finally realizing.

For this reason it would make sense for TransLink to keep the promise of reinstalling trolley wires on Cambie and use trolley coaches on the 15 Cambie bus route, maintaining a 58 year tradition of reliable service.

Why there is precedence for parallel trolley routes

With the introduction of the 99 and 98 B-Line services on Broadway and Granville Streets respectively, complementary trolley service was maintained on these streets. The initial speculation was demand would drop on these routes, however the opposite has occurred.

On both of these streets it's not unusual for standing loads to be seen on the "slower" non-express trolley routes. This is partially because many riders are boarding or disembarking at destinations between the distantly spaced express route stops. On Granville, the 98 B-Line stops are at the exact same cross streets as will be the Canada Line stations. There is no reason to believe this trend will not continue on Cambie, particularly because the Canada Line will replace the currently parallel running 98 B-Line on Granville.

Even with the extension of the 19 Kingsway route to Metrotown over twenty years ago, BC Transit's own promotional material trumpeted this trolley route was "following" Skytrain to Metrotown. Transit planners at the time understood running a local bus service parallel to an express is necessary to meet local service demands. TransLink must continue this trend by re-establishing trolley service on Cambie to meet heavy local demand.