🚀 go-pugleaf

petert@unixg.ubc.ca (Peter Thomas Chattaway) wrote:

>Martin_Williamson@mindlink.bc.ca wrote:

>Well, those mornings on business days when the system's broken down and a
>thronging sea of people bustle about the stations *do* leave a lasting
>impression on one's memory.  (And it does seem that most breakdowns happen
>during the peak hours.) I also seem to remember some dreadfully
>inconvenient weekend service when they had to set up a shuttle SkyTrain at
>Columbia Station and everyone had to get off, wait, get on, etc.

That was necessitated by maintenance work done on the Skybridge.  Most
track maintenance is done between 02:00 and 04:30 when the system is
shutdown.  However some work takes longer than the 2 to 3 hours
between service days and therefore trains operating passed maintenance
workers must be manually run rather than by computer.
>Kind of
>like what happens now with the buses at 10th & Blanca (and what's the 
>purpose behind *that* set-up?).

BC Transit found that the scheduled times for the Broadway service
were insufficient, so they inserted shuttles to shorten the route that
the scheduled buses have to do in their allotted time.  Due to
contract restraints it is not possible to adjust schedules by very
much until the next time the drivers sign for shifts.

>: The 337 service was cut down due to lack of demand.  Most often the
>: bus ran empty.  It was felt that the equipment and manpower required
>: could be better utilized elsewhere.
>
>Funny, I remember it being a fairly full bus at those hours.  (When the
>bus runs empty -- i.e., *between* the morning and afternoon peak hours --
>it's only bouncing between Guildford and Fraser Heights anyways.) 

Unfortunately that's not true.  Most of Transit's routes are
'interlined'.  That is to say, one bus covers many different routes
during its day.  For instance, the bus that covered the 337 route also
did the 326, 345, and (if memory serves) the 317.  So by moving the
bus off a route that has no demand, and integrating it with a route
that has higher demand, more people are served.  Your point is
understandable though, since you were the one adversely affected.