Transit with a Growing Family

We are blessed to live in a city and region that has good transit service available.  However, as I’ve levelled up in adulting, going from Single to Married to having now Three Children, how I use and what I value in transit has changed with me.  Taking kids on transit brings a whole new set of issues that were not a concern before I had kids, and unfortunately the sum of those issues ultimately drove me away from using transit as a primary transportation method. 

As a single and newly married bloke, I was carless.  Over the last eight years, we’ve gone from zero to three kids and back and forth between zero and one cars (about four years each).  During my seven months in hospital, my wife was a single mom with three kids (including a one-year-old) and no car.  We chose where we lived in Vancouver and New West in large part due to access to transit and to be within walking distance of many services we use.  So we’re not a family that looks at transit and says “no way!”  We’re a family that has tried it for years, and eventually said “fuck it.”

While there are many things that have gone into our decisions on transportation, for sake of discussion I’ll break them into cost, convenience, and ‘other stuff.’ 

Cost

While transit in Metro Vancouver is very economical as a single adult, it gets relatively less so as your family gets larger.  Kids under 5 are free.  That’s fine, but as soon as you want to take your kids to school on transit you need to pay up.  They do get a reduced fare, and can travel all three zones at that price, but it’s not an insignificant expense, particularly as you have more children. 

For example, the cost for transit passes for our family would be $230, soon to be $280.  That includes the freebie three zone pass my wife gets.  Additionally, if we’re primarily using transit and going carless, there are other costs for cabs, car rentals/car shares and other such, for us around $125-$150 per month.  Overall transportation costs: $350-$400 per month. 

Running a car full time costs us $350 a month, all in.  That covers most of our transportation needs – commuting three days a week, activities, occasional road trips to the interior and so on.  We do use transit for some things, which is maybe another $50 per month in tickets.  So total transportation costs of ~$400 per month.  So by going primarily transit, it doesn’t save us much if any money.  It’d be even worse if we had to pay for my wife’s pass.

Convenience - Can I Get There?

While transit service overall is good in Metro Vancouver, depending on where specifically you want to go it can range anywhere from terrific to terrible.  Downtown New West to Downtown Vancouver?  Terrific!  Fleetwood to Poco?  Terrible. 

Then there’s going somewhere not within the transit service area.  If you’re hitting one of the main lines in the Fraser Valley, transferring over to FVRT can sometimes work.  But anywhere else it becomes highly impractical.  Going to Victoria?  That can work if you’re heading to Sidney or central Victoria.  The kids love riding on the double deckers.  Nanaimo or the Sunshine Coast?  It’s fine until you get off the ferry on the other side.  That can work great for adults.  But two adults and three kids typically means we need two cars to meet us, and we’re dragging three carseats along the whole way.

If I want to visit friends in Mission, it’s over two hours on four busses.  And that’s only where the busses go, while they run.  Want to explore some of our incredible provincial parks?  The North Shore can be done, but that’s about it.  Car rentals/shares offer alternatives here, but multi-hour trips start driving up that side of the cost equation pretty quickly. 

Convenience - Timing/Flexibility

Timing can be an issue for short trips and long.  Suppose we wanted to hit up Mongo Bongo in Uptown for dinner.  By car it’s a 10 minute drive each way, free parking, we can enjoy dinner at our own pace and have a nice time. 

Transit:  25 minutes each way (remember, there’s kids involved) and $6.25 to get there.  Once we’re there, we need to decide.  Do we press to finish dinner quickly, run outside to catch the bus downtown just before our transfers expire (hope it’s on time!).  Or do we eat dinner at a relaxed pace and spend another $6.25 to go home? Tight connections are far more manageable as an adult than with multiple kids.  

Multiple stops on one trip.  This is a huge issue for us, and I believe is a big part of what pushes people to drive their kids to school, especially in the suburbs. It’s not the getting the kids to school that’s the issue, it’s the where the parents are going next that makes the decision. 

When we moved to Quayside, our kids went to John Robson.  I could walk them there in 15-20 minutes, back to the skytrain in 5-10, and take the train and a bus to work in another 25.  A 45-55 minute commute.  Not my ideal, but workable. 

Then things changed.  First our school moved to the other end of downtown.  Then Translink extended my bus route 10-15 minutes each way.  Now a 45-55 minute commute became nearly an hour and a half.  I could reasonably walk or bus my kids to school.  I could reasonably transit to work.  But when trying to combine the trips it became unworkable. 

After school has the flip side of this – picking up the kids is fine, but trying to combine that with after school activities or appointments becomes a logistics planning exercise. 

Other Stuff - Accessibility

If you’re taking a bus or train during a busy period, good luck trying to keep your kids contained.  Getting a few seats together, for at least the littlest ones?  Maybe if someone is kind enough to offer up a spot for you.  But for seven months my wife would be taking the train downtown during rush hour and have to pack our one year old (at the time) in her arms. 

Accessibility can be an issue in certain areas.  While we lived in Uptown, we would regularly take the 155/156 buses.  At the time we had a newborn and a two-year-old and often used a stroller.  Given the ridership of those routes, the accessible seats were frequently taken up by older people with walkers, wheelchairs or scooters.  I don’t begrudge them those spots at all, but when we’re regularly getting passed by because we can’t fit on the bus with our kids, transit becomes less attractive. 

One great thing about transit in Metro Vancouver is that essentially all the busses are low floor.  High floor buses (257, I’m looking at you) were a pain to deal with strollers (and wheelchairs and other mobility aids), so props to Translink for getting their whole fleet low floor.  That said – Community Shuttles and strollers?  Don’t even bother. 

Other Stuff - Hassle

Stuff.  Packing 2 adults and 3 kids onto a crowded bus is one thing.  Trying to do it with multiple suitcases when you’re going to the airport, or bringing everyone’s car seats for when you get to Nanaimo, or a even just a couple of sports bags and the process becomes exponentially more complicated.  This is one area where the kids getting older has helped somewhat, but has also lead to an increase of lost items. 

People.  Taking kids on transit introduced us to some of the best and worst in people.  We have had countless experiences of our kids engaging with fellow riders, making friends, receiving gifts (careful with this – it can be really sweet or really creepy depending on how it’s done) and just incredible kindness from total strangers.

Conversely, we had people who think your kid singing or giggling is an intrusion on their silent morning commute.  People who are outraged a two year old is standing on a seat to look out a window.  And God forbid your child has a meltdown – you will meet several professional parents who know exactly what you need to do (and a blessed few who help settle them down or otherwise support you). 

Weather. A climate controlled car is just a lot more comfortable than a crowded bus in summer, or an exposed transit stop in winter, and kids tend to be a lot moodier about it than adults.  Of course proper clothing and preparation can make it more bearable, but it’s hard to compete with a car for comfort. 

Mental Space:  Here is another area where having kids completely reversed transit for me.  With no kids, I often enjoyed time on transit.  I could get comfy on a seat, drift off in my thoughts or enjoy some music or a podcast.  Taking transit was far less mentally draining than driving. 

Enter children.  Mental space on transit is now mostly consumed with managing said children.  And the space they consume grows exponentially with their number.  There are good days and bad, but with kids a long transit ride isn’t the pleasant, relaxing experience it was before. 

Other options

Car sharing/car rentals.  We do utilize this for some things.  I’ve been a Car2Go member for many years.  Combined with transit, it’s a dandy way of getting around Vancouver.  Until recently, it was just a 2-seater though.  Now between it and Evo there are five-seat one-way options available.  Haven’t had the chance to try out the Car2Go one yet, but I’m keen to. 

Rental cars were a regular supplement to our transit years, and worked pretty well.  That said, I find this option worked best for longer timeframes.  When we were carless, we would sometimes rent a car for trips to the Kootenays, and it was brilliant.  Getting one for a few hour picnic at Rolley Lake was less appealing.   

Human Powered Wheels.  We do make use of bikes, skateboards, scooters and a big red wagon.  For the older kids, a combined bike to school/work could potentially work well on some days, but it’s something we still need to try.  But generally these options tend to replace walking trips as opposed to driving trips. 

What can be done?

None of the issues I raised are deal breakers on their own.  It’s the combination of effects that pushes us away from transit.  If I’m going to get out of my car, I need something better in at least one of these areas.  Why would I pay more for a longer, less convenient, more hassle filled trip? 

The stronger the benefit transit offers in any area, the more likely I am to take it.  Going downtown?  Skytrain is cheaper, faster, and at least as convenient.  It usually wins.  Metrotown – driving’s cheaper, they take the same time, and to me the hassle of parking at Metrotown is worse than the hassle of bringing my kids on the train.  Toss up.  Taking my kids for dinner Uptown?  Driving is cheaper, faster, and more convenient. 

Some things would be improved, through general service improvements.  More buses overall means less crowding and easier connections. 

I don’t mind paying for my kids transit fares in theory, but as the kids and costs accumulate it makes the driving option relatively more appealing, as those costs don’t increase in the same way.  Even small things, like the old Family Pass, would go a long way.  We go to church in downtown Vancouver so this made the skytrain ideal for us. 

Increasing the cost of driving through things like mobility pricing will push the cost equation more in transit’s favour.  That said, it would take a very major increase to get us to shift to principally taking transit just on the cost. 

Similarly, finding a way to get passes into families’ hands would go a long way.  The U-pass program has shown if you give people passes they will use them.  Currently, it’s a vicious cycle.  If we had passes, we would use transit much more often.  But given the issues above, I can’t justify getting passes.  So if we do want to use transit, we need to buy tickets, which are even more punitive farewise. 

During the transit plebsicte, I half-jokingly suggested enacting a major vehicle levy (on the order of several hundred dollars), but including an annual transit pass with this.  I’d still pay to register my car even with such a large fee.  But I’d at least have a pass then, which would get me on transit far more often.   

EngineerScotty had some interesting things to say on this at HumanTransit, particularly on how transit oriented neighbourhoods are often not family friendly and vice versa. 

But overall, there’s no magic bullet.  It’s all the small things that add up together that determines how we travel.  Overall, I think our region is moving in the right direction on this.  Hopefully transit will become more and more attractive as things take hold.

Mayors' Council Part 2

I thought I was done with the Mayors Council, but then I saw this - more whining from the Mayors

Opposition to the Referendum

• “Referenda are tools without context and would be divisive to the region.” You have control over the referendum process.  You provide the context or lack thereof.  If you propose solutions that will divide the region, it will divide us. The region supports the LRSP and Transport 2040.  Show us the plan for that.  
• “Making complex policy by referenda is contrary to principles of good governance.”  You are not making complex policy by referenda.  You are seeking approval of tax increase. 

All this is short for we don’t want to do the work to with the region to increase their taxes and improve their transit.  We want the province to force it on them instead.  How is that good governance and accountability, some of the key points on the Governance proposal?

Project Priorities

• “Transit and road and bridge improvements need to be coordinated and implemented in a timely and expedited fashion to support the success of TransLink’s 2040, the Provincial Transit Pacific Gateway,”  September 23, 2010. 

So in 3.5 years, all the Mayors have managed to do is affirm they support the Transport 2040 vision.  A vision, even a strategy, is not a plan.  Neither the Base nor Supplemental 10 Year Plans discuss anything about what could or should be done if any of these major sources of funding become available, or how they will move us closer to the Transport 2040 vision.  So the Mayors are asking for new taxation to support a dream. 

I keep hearing the Mayors are unified.  They are unified in only two things – they want the province to increase their powers of taxation and they support the Transport 2040 plan.  Step one level below that though, and the unity falls apart.  Watch what happens when you ask

• Which comes first – West Broadway or Surrey rapid transit?
• Surface or grade separated?
• What form of bike infrastructure should we focus on?

I can see the fur flying from here. 

What they’re asking for the province to give them $200 million more a year to support Transport 2040, with no visibility into how they will do it  Forget it.  That money will get lost, absorbed into operations, and frittered away as the Mayors bicker over what to do with it.  We’ve already seen that with the squabbles over the Millennium and Canada lines. 

Conversely, if they ask us for $200 million more a year from a vehicle levy, a region specific 0.25% sales tax, and a $2 toll on the Pattullo to help us reach Transport 2040 by

• A subway along West Broadway to UBC  by 2020
• A skytrain extension in Surrey to Newton by 2022
•  A commuter rail a la Westcoast Express from Aldergrove by 2018
•  Addition of 50km of separated bike lanes per year until 2030
•  Extension of the Evergreen Line to PoCo by 2025
• Park and Rides at 20 stations over the next 10 years
• Frequent Transit Network expanded to the following routes....
• etc

people will get onside.  We all know we need this stuff.  Share how this work will improve life for everyone along the way?   Now we see why of late most transit referenda are passed.  It’s an easy sell, if you’re willing to do the work.  Apparently Metro Vancouver mayors are not.  If you think they can’t sort this out now, wait till they actually have the money. 

Funding Solutions

• “…the Mayors’ Council is against the use of property taxes as a further funding source…” So the Mayors are unwilling to use the existing tools they have, the tools which they bargained and gainedconcessions in other areas for, but they want the province to force new taxes on us? 
• “Appropriate funding sources for TransLink will include the vehicle levy in the short term and road pricing in the long term and land value capture;” Sure, just tell us what you’re going to do with it.
• “Emphasize that TransLink should not meet current budgets through service cuts or liquidation of assets” and “The Mayors’ Council has previously confirmed its view on additional short and long term funding sources" We’re not willing to live within our budgets or use the tools you already gave us to increase funding.
• “As per the legislation, the Mayors’ Council will consider supplemental plans that include funding proposals with the extension of funding sources being the responsibility of the province in consultation with various parties” You give us the money; we spend it how we want.

Governance Proposal

Everyone agrees this needs to change. 

If the Mayors spent the energy they have fighting the referendum to actually preparing it and getting the people of the region onboard, they’d be halfway done already.  We’ve done enough visioneering:   LRSP, Transport 2040 and its predecessors, and regional growth strategies have been spouting visions out for decades

The Transit Referendum, or Be Careful What You Wish For…

We all have our stories about things we wished for so much, and then once we got them found out it was a burden, not a gift.  Translink would do well to remember this as they seek new governance and more money from the province. 

All of the mayoral complaints boil down to the same thing: “the big bad Province won’t give us what we want.”  What do they want? 

1. A blank cheque
2. Complete authority to decide where to spend it

Where does the province fit into this?  They provide item 1.  Then go away. 

The province, rightfully, said hold on, we gave you that authority and changed the funding structure so you could own it 15 years ago.  But all you did was bicker for the first 10 years, fight with us when we offered to pay for major improvements, and blow every gas tax increase we gave you.  So we took control back, but still left you with oversight and final authority.  You want us to go back to the old way and give you more money?

The Mayors should be grateful the province didn’t spit in their face.  To their credit, the province is willing to discuss governance reform and is willing to commit 1/3 of costs to new rapid transit systems as well as the Pattullo replacement as a starting point. 

As for other money the province said

1. It needs to come from your region (you can’t tax the provinces stuff)
2. Your people need to agree (hold a referendum)

This is seen as an offence by those who consider the province the rich benefactor.  Those of us who lived here prior to 2007 think it’s not a bad check on their power.  Translink is dysfunctional now?   I remember when the cities were in charge…

A major strike that ended in back to work legislation.  Planning and building systems on funding not yet committed, let alone in place (federal gas tax, vehicle levy), the blaming everyone else when they have to make ‘cuts.’  Every time the province has come with funding for a major system, the board or equivalent fought with the province pushing for their own agenda instead of working with the province. Despite that, they have managed to find and gain significant funding from a variety of sources such as

• Increased fares, fuel and property taxes ($80 million / year)
• Increase parking sales tax from 7% to 21%
•  Expand parking taxes to cover all off street parking $18 million / year (later replaced with more property tax)
• New Deal for Cities ($60 million / year)
• Additional 3 cent gas tax
• Regular property tax and fare increases

As well, Translink did pass the vehicle levy in an attempt to generate additional funding.  But the NDP pulled the rug out from this. 

I think it speaks volumes that all rapid transit in Metro Vancouver has been driven by the province.  Expo Line?  Mid-80’s, transit was fully provincial.  Millenium Line?  Put together by the province just as Translink was being created.  Canada Line?  Shoved down Translink’s throat by the province.  Evergreen Line?  Finally going with the provincially appointed Board of Director’s.  Curiously, most of those were done under Liberal/Socred governments.  All this in a period when the federal government was practically shoving money out the door for infrastructure improvement. 

In short: the region wanted control over transit funding and operations and the province to butt out.  They got it and then some, trading provincial funding for municipal taxes and control over those taxes and operation.   But, surprise surprise, 22 municipalities couldn’t agree on what to do or how to do it.  To their credit, after 10 years the province recognized this and put an end to it.  Enter cries of ‘undemocratic’ etc.

The province is doing what it needs to do. It is responsible for inter-municpal transport, and can’t let the region or province wither while the Mayors bicker.  This is a ‘crisis’ of the Mayor’s own creation.  First by insisting on control, then by failing to manage it, and finally by whining when taken to task for it. 

If anything, this demonstrates why these major transit initiatives and inter-municipal transport should remain with the province.  Translink and the municipalities have shown them incapable of managing it to date. The first step to getting back on track would be to take this referendum as an opportunity.  Stop whining about it.  Todd Stone’s letter calls for the Mayors to define a vision with priorities and costs.  The vision thing is good – we've done that a dozen times by now.  What we need are for the Mayors to hammer out priorities and costs. 

So Mayors - we all want better transit for the region, and I believe most of us are willing to pay for it. I certainly am. But before we cut you the cheque, show us that you can work together as a region.  Show us what you’re going to buy with our money, when we’re going to get it, and how it will improve things for us.  If it’s reasonable, we’ll give you the money.  But if you’re not willing to do that, then you don’t deserve it, and we all will suffer for your pride. 

Sixth Street Streetcar

When you think of San Francisco, what do you see?  For most people who haven’t lived there, it’s probably two things – The Golden Gate Bridge, and F Market Streetcar running up and down Market Street. 

While New West and San Francisco don’t share a lot of similarities, a significant one is the steep hilly terrain.  Anyone from New West can testify getting up or down the hill along 6^th, 8^th, or even 12^th street gives you your thirty minutes recommended exercise for the day. 

This means people coming into or out of New West using the Skytrain are either limited to walking the Downtown and Quayside areas, or getting a bus or taxi to get up the hill.  Cabs are a limited option due to the expense.  The bus service up the hills is generally decent.  Busses generally operate 10 to 15 minutes or apart or faster on 6^th street, and 15 – 20 minutes apart on 8^th and 12^th.  The 6^th Street bus is particularly well used and often crowded.  It is also part of Translink’s Frequent Transit Network, dictating service at least every 15 minutes 15 hours a day. 

Partially due to that crowding, along with many other well know reasons, many people are reluctant to ride the bus.  New West needs a frequent, reliable, attractive public transit option for getting up and down the hill.  To that end, I believe New West should restore a streetcar route along 6^th Street.  Just picture it – image the red and green car sitting in the Old Spaghetti Factory passing by City Hall, the Royal Westminster Regiment, dropping commuters off at uptown and with tourists checking out other parts of the city they may not have seen before. 

Historically, two streetcars ran up the hill; 6^th Street, which then went along Edmonds, and 12^th Street.  The two then joined near Kingsway and connected with the interurban.  6^th Street is a major commercial corridor all the way to Edmonds, and Edmonds is developed all the way to Kingsway, so matching that part of the route makes a good starting point.  However, there is no major anchor at Kingsway and Edmonds, so it would probably make sense to run the line right out to Edmonds Skytrain, matching that portion of the current 106 bus route. 

You can find a map of the old streetcar routes at Matthew Laird's History of the BC Electric Railway page. Matthew also writes regularly on Tenth to the Fraser.  

The benefits of a streetcar, particularly in New West are plentiful. 

-          Environmentally friendly: the streetcar is electrically powered, thus getting powered from BC’s relatively clean hydro power. 

-          Attractiveness:  Rails has consistently been shown to be more attractive to users than a bus.  Witness the recent change to the Canada Line from the 98 B-Line.

-          Historic: Fits with historical character of New West, particularly the downtown area.

-          Touristy:  As San Francisco has shown, a heritage streetcar in the right place can be very attractive to tourists.  This would also open more of the city up to tourism opportunities. 

-          Reliability: Rail service tends to meet service schedules better than busses do

-          Quieter:  Streetcars will fit into neighbourhoods better, and be less disruptive

-          Capacity:  higher capacity than busses as demand on the corridor increases

Cons

-          Overhead wires restrict some tall traffic.  6^th street doesn’t carry a large amount of truck traffic, but there are major crossings (Royal, 8^th Ave, 10^th Ave) that would be affected. 

-          Accessibility issues – I’ve only ridden historical streetcars which are not accessible at all.  Modern ones, like the new streetcars going to Toronto are accessible.  I would presume modern designed cars, even those with an historical bent, are made friendly for those with wheelchairs, strollers, et al.  Worst case, modern accessible cars could be mixed with heritage types. 

-          Traffic flow – currently, buses on 6^th pull out of the main travel lane allowing vehicles to pass while passengers embark/disembark.  Streetcars would block the lane while loading passengers.  Pedestrian bumps currently on the road are just for crossing, but maybe they could be modified for use by a streetcar.

Naturally, some study needs to be done to implement a project like this.  Specific routing at the southern terminus, traffic impact studies, where to locate the northern terminus, who will pay for what – these and more questions will need to be answered.  However, lets not get so lost amongst the questions that it takes a decade to move forward at all (a la Vancouver’s downtown streetcar project).  Do the studies.  Look at the results – I believe they will be strongly in favour.  Then get it going.  As my son would say, “Ding Ding!”