Transport Action Atlantic

A VIA Rail train sits in the snow with the locomotives and several cars off the tracks with visible damage to the front end of the train.

This year is already off to a rough start for VIA service in Atlantic Canada, with a derailment, cancellations, and now reduced capacity for the next month. This is a worrying sign for VIA's future in the region, with years to wait on new equipment. transportactionatlantic.ca/via-ocean-se...

news-pei-prime-minister | CBC News The federal government is slashing tolls on the Confederation Bridge and lowering ferry fares in Eastern Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced while in Prince Edward Island on Monday.

A very welcome announcement today! We're thrilled to see this action to bring down ferry rates between the Atlantic provinces, especially on Marine Atlantic to Newfoundland. This is concrete action toward one of TAA's major election campaigns. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

People lacking good public transport more likely to feel lonely, UK study finds Research finds correlation between car dependancy and loneliness, particularly in rural towns

Interesting new study from @smfthinktank.bsky.social finds a correlation between car dependency & loneliness, particularly in rural towns.

This might be due to there being “fewer ways to reach others” and space given to cars creating “barriers in what might have been walkable neighbourhoods.”

This is a brave endeavour considering the current state of bus connectivity between provinces:

This whole thread is an excellent look at what's involved in crossing Canada by bus today - and highlights the gap across the Quebec-New Brunswick border. Having to walk nearly 5km between buses is not an acceptable connection!

Transportation barriers and equity: Values and experiences of elected officials Despite the importance of elected officials in shaping transportation policies, there has been little direct research on their values and experiences. Understanding the values of elected officials ...

Interesting study from Canada on transport equity.

Finds that “… elected officials have little direct experience with transportation barriers, with few experiencing issues such as unaffordability, disability, or harassment, and evidence that this influences their values related to equity.”

Transit leaders here in Canada could learn from this - for starters, we should be regularly benchmarking and trying to improve our transit systems' inclusivity too!

Equally applicable to the Canadian federal government and provincial and municipal governments across the country.

Halifax Transit adds 60 electric buses in push toward zero emissions Halifax Transit announced Tuesday that it has added 60 battery-electric buses to its fleet as part of a $112 million project aimed at cutting carbon emissions and modernizing public transit in the cit...

Halifax's full fleet of 60 electric buses are on the road at last! Emissions savings equivalent to taking 650 gas cars off the road - even more if the buses are more popular than the diesel ones they replace. www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/nov...

We're still big fans of buses, but if you believe it takes light rail to get passengers on board, maybe this lower cost construction technique has a role to play!

When Driving Is Not an Option

Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. For those in the transportation ecosystem, drop some coins on fellow @islandpress.bsky.social author @nondriver.bsky.social “When Driving is not an Option”.

islandpress.org/books/when-d...

How Did This Suburb Figure Out Mass Transit? Transit ridership is off the charts in Brampton, Ontario, despite its typical low-density suburban layout. Here’s how the city got residents to get on the bus.

Brampton, ON (pop 700,000) has 226,500 bus riders on an average weekday. How? Simple. The core bus network runs every five minutes and secondary routes run every 30 well into the late evening. Ridership went up 288% (!) between 2004 when they started and 2018 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

It looks sturdier and more comfortable than anything on offer in Newfoundland!

Terrible. But also here in Newfoundland and Labrador a reminder we don't have a publicly supported, scheduled, inter-community bus service at all! (unless you count the meagre local St John's/Mt Pearl/Paradise route)

@transportaction.ca @transportactionatl.bsky.social

As populations across the Atlantic provinces continue to age, we need to make sure that our elderly don't feel they have to keep driving if they want to stay active and independent without avoid forcing friends and family to act as chauffeurs

The role of transport in improving access to opportunities There are significant regional and demographic differences in accessing opportunities, including jobs and education. How can transport improve connectivity?

Helpful new summary of the role of transport in improving access to opportunities produced to prompt discussion in Parliament.

In sum: “Adaptable, reliable, accessible, sustainable, resilient to disruption and affordable transport is essential for accessing economic and social opportunities”

Wow - UK-focused but much will surely be applicable to 🇨🇦 as well - topics include transportation poverty, disabled people's access transport needs, a just transition for transit and more. Downloading now!

Just two days left to sign this petition to fix the only remaining public transit link between the Maritimes and the rest of Canada!

A train decked out in Christmas red and white, snowflakes, candy-cane colours etc.

In case you needed a city-making smile. A #Christmas metro train in Warsaw, Poland decked out for the holidays, shared by @adambielitz.bsky.social.

How you create a #CityOfSmiles.

In Nova Scotia, transit was a key election issue. Meanwhile in the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador...

It's a 🎄miracle! Metrobus announced a new bus route 33 - an express between the Village Mall, Avalon Mall and Memorial University. Not until the new year, not on weekends or in the evenings but better than a lump of coal! www.metrobus.com/33/33details...

When NL negotiated in 1988 the shutdown of the railway in exchange for road improvements, we were promised we'd "always have passenger services comparable to those provided in the rest of Canada". Roadcruiser had 25 buses and carried 161,000. Its successor DRL runs two coaches a day, without subsidy

Did a little archive work and back in 1983 a study found making a standard gauge railway across NL would cost the equivalent of $2.1bn over the existing alignment or up to $5.7bn with better alignment. That would fund a *lot* of buses/coaches.

Are you fed up with trains being infrequent, slow, or late?
A Fair Rail For Passengers Act would allow more passenger trains to run on time while keeping freight moving too.
Sign our petition to Parliament:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-5097

Do we love taking the #viarail #train to the Maritimes?
Yes! But 50 km/h is s-l-o-w. Simple track repairs would make it 110 km/h again.
Sign our petition to Parliament to get it done:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-5107

The ongoing conflict between VIA and CN affects not just Ontario and Quebec but Atlantic Canada as well. Indeed we have a petition right now pushing for action on the deplorable state of the CN-maintained rail network in NB transportactionatlantic.ca/petition-rep...

Neglected rail service (English) YouTube video by Green Caucus Vert

Let's get 'all aboard' with fixing our neglected rail lines in Northern NB! 🚂 Coastal erosion and eroding tracks pose serious safety risks. The government must act, but this requires the Premier to appoint a Minister specifically responsible for public transportation.

youtube.com/shorts/nwbCe...

Building HFR/HSR will help, eventually, but making VIA Rail's existing routes frequent and reliable through better regulation of track access and modest investments, would improve the situation in months, not years.

The second order effects of self driving vehicles are arguably even more alarming - it will make suburban sprawl and endless commutes more appealing because drivers will find the time they now spend looking at the road more enjoyable.