Time for Alternative Transportation

[youjustcomplain]

We had that opportunity when the rail line from downtown to Vernon was abandoned. Instead, the city chose to rip up the rails and create a walking/cycling path which is only usable for 6 or 7 months of the year. What a wasted opportunity. Typical Kelowna stupidity.

I dunno about stupidity. I love that we'll have a nice bike path. I'll use it daily.

If we get to a point of needing high speed transit, then I suggest a skytrain that follows the rail trail line. But then we're talking billions of dollars that we don't have. For now, I'll take the crushed rock trail.

[LTD]

yup used it in LA and can say its fantastic i was a little sceptical at first but after using it steady for 2 weeks i will never get in a stinky overpriced thieving taxi again its quick convenient and very reasonably priced that's why cab companies are fighting so hard to stop it coming here. No money exchanges hands you know how much it costs before they even show up cars are all newer clean and drivers are friendly you rate your driver after your ride if you wish so good ratings keep them busy all in all it cant come soon enough, this city really needs a break from being bent over by cab companies

I too have used the Uber service many times and have always been satisfied.
The only reason the cab companies are "fighting so hard to stop" Uber and are considered "overpriced / thieveing and bending over" their customers is because the cab owners have been forced to pay ridiculous six figure sums simply in order to operate and justifiably need to recoup those ridiculous amounts if they want to make a living. If it was a level playing surface and Uber drivers were forced to pay over $100k for a licenses to operate their rates would be similar to what cabs are charging so they too would be viewed with the same distaste by some as cabs are.
If the authorities in charge want it to be a level playing field then they either need to be charging Uber drivers the same ridiculously high licensing fees to operate or refunding the fees the current cabbies have paid.

that ridiculous fee is a one shot deal and guarantees them a job as only so many licenses are permitted, after using cabs here and having a twenty dollar difference in price from the same location two days apart i couldn't care less if they all go broke that's not an isolated incident either its a thieving industry. Heres another example of these fine cab drivers i left my phone in a cab after being dropped at a friends phoned my phone and the cab driver answered it, he then agreed to bring my phone to me but it was going to cost me fifty bucks i told him no and reported him and picked up my phone the following day, he was less than 3 minutes down the road so it wasn't a big inconvenience for him but he chose to be a dick instead, to this day i have never called that company i would rather walk in a snowstorm change cant come soon enough

[cv23]

that ridiculous fee is a one shot deal and guarantees them a job as only so many licenses are permitted

The license fee does not "guarantee them a job" it simply permits the licensee to operate their vehicle as a cab if they choose to do so is up to the owner. The fee was taken by the government on the premise that because the government was limiting the number of the licences (opportunity to operate a cab in a given area) that the licences had significant value from now into perpetuity, hence a "one shot deal" payment rather than charging and collecting an annual fee for each license.
The government created an exclusive market and charged operators heavily to be permitted to compete in that oh so exclusive market. Now people want to see an end to this exclusivity, that their elected official representatives created and and that they themselves profited from, not to mention totally reneging on the commitment of continued exclusivity which they falsely represented to the cab owners. The government/people will have essentially taken money under false pretenses if they now through open the market to everyone.
Charging each new Uber driver a similar license fee is not possible as the fee was based on exclusivity which there no longer will be. The government/people owe it to the cab owners to return the funds they took under a false pretense then everyone is whole and the playing field is level for all participants.

[Skyrossm]

We need a skytrain system from West Kelowna to Downtown, UBCO and the airport. With several major stops to move people around.

Latest 11km stretch of Skytrain (Evergreen line) cost 1.4+ billion.
I can't imagine the total cost from Main st West Kelowna to the airport (roughly 30km) + a bridge, ouch.

The substantial cost of that line came from bad planning.

Kelowna is a growing city, it will be cheaper to put in a skytrain now then it will 20 - 30 years in the future.
At an average of about $90m per km (source) , the skytrain isn't cheap with a total cost for 28km being just over $2.5 billion. Plus another $50~ million for another bridge crossing the lake. BC already paid for the $150m bridge, which was a failure, what makes it so they can't afford this. The roads in Kelowna are falling apart, or being torn apart and being rebuilt with the cheapest possible materials. They're not going to last 15 years.

Kelowna is not very dense right now, there are plenty of route options available that won't require the diversions and height needed in Vancouver, meaning the cost per km could be lowered.

Finally, Kelowna (and the entire Okanagan valley) is due for some much needed transit improvements. The joke of the McCurdy stop being closed forever, the bus strike which left thousands forced to take alternative transportation, and the problem with overcrowded and under crowded bus loads ; now a skytrain doesn't seem so bad.

[LTD]

A light rail system here would be great but a looooong way off its no where near busy enough here to justify it,its bad enough watching empty transit busses driving in circles all day imagine watching the empty billion dollar train doing laps

[Bsuds]

By the time we get a decent bus/light rail system they will have perfected a transporter.

Beam me up Scotty

[Anonymous123]

By the time we get a decent bus/light rail system they will have perfected a transporter.

Beam me up Scotty

There's no intelligent life down here.

You forgot the rest of the quote.

[Skyrossm]

A light rail system here would be great but a looooong way off its no where near busy enough here to justify it,its bad enough watching empty transit busses driving in circles all day imagine watching the empty billion dollar train doing laps

Maybe people would actually take a light rail system if the trains arrived and departed on time

[LTD]

nowhere near enough people here to justify the cost

[390625]

I love how cab companies feel they need protection because they did not innovate! Did Blockbuster get protection when they ignored Netflix? Did HMV get protection when streaming services started up? Did retailers like Sears get protection from Amazon? If you don't innovate you die, it is the cab companies fault if they go under, no innovation, horrible service and over priced..can't last forever.

[Bsuds]

no innovation, horrible service and over priced..can't last forever.

Not to mention (some) horrible drivers.

[AlienSoldier]

The license was an investment and like all investments it comes with a risk. No one complained when it went up in price, now that there might be competition and the price goes down for these licenses people are complaining. The government does not owe you a guaranteed return on your investment.

[GordonH]

Bumped
As I suspected a massive price tag, are the central Okanagan taxpayers willing to cough up $$$ needed.
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/2 ... ss-transit

[AlienSoldier]

Bumped
As I suspected a massive price tag, are the central Okanagan taxpayers willing to cough up $$$ needed.
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/2 ... ss-transit

Some of those numbers that were presented seems strange and out of touch to me. I've worked on the projects in Toronto and those numbers would be high for a large City, let along a community like Kelowna where land purchase to build on would be lower. Also the assumption that you need lots of little stops is also puzzling. If the community is further apart and to move transit faster you do not need to build stops in close proximity to one another. Its one of the reasons GO Transit has less stops in the City, it moves the people from the outskirts in faster.

Also, since there is a gas tax in BC, a portion of the transit infrastructure should come from their, others from the federal and provincial government. This should leave Kelowna with a manageable amount of debt to build this infrastructure.

Also, there was no mention in that article about what the ROI is on the investment. Most Cities see 4 dollars returned into the community through increased real estate prices, increased consumer movement and higher wages for each dollar spent in transit build out.

The person mentioned that fast, reliable service would also be beneficial, but the current model where transit shares the road with vehicles does not support that. Which he mentioned before stating that the current model should continue.

[Jflem1983]

Bumped
As I suspected a massive price tag, are the central Okanagan taxpayers willing to cough up $$$ needed.
https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/2 ... ss-transit

Some of those numbers that were presented seems strange and out of touch to me. I've worked on the projects in Toronto and those numbers would be high for a large City, let along a community like Kelowna where land purchase to build on would be lower. Also the assumption that you need lots of little stops is also puzzling. If the community is further apart and to move transit faster you do not need to build stops in close proximity to one another. Its one of the reasons GO Transit has less stops in the City, it moves the people from the outskirts in faster.

Also, since there is a gas tax in BC, a portion of the transit infrastructure should come from their, others from the federal and provincial government. This should leave Kelowna with a manageable amount of debt to build this infrastructure.

Also, there was no mention in that article about what the ROI is on the investment. Most Cities see 4 dollars returned into the community through increased real estate prices, increased consumer movement and higher wages for each dollar spent in transit build out.

The person mentioned that fast, reliable service would also be beneficial, but the current model where transit shares the road with vehicles does not support that. Which he mentioned before stating that the current model should continue.

Hey didnt u say u live in Toronto.


This is about Kelowna. We dont take transit here. We drive.