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Light Rail supporters get facts wrong again

  • Debunking Myths

Once again, Light Rail supporters in the City of Surrey are demonstrating that they can’t be trusted to tell the truth. Today, we are debunking the following 3 statements by Light Rail Links coalition chair Anita Huberman in a letter to the Surrey Leader:

MYTH: For the approximately $2-billion cost of 27-kms of LRT, only 17 kms of SkyTrain on Fraser Highway could be built.
    • 17 kilometres of SkyTrain and 10 kilometres of bus rapid transit (BRT) could be built for the same cost.[1]
    • SkyTrain and BRT proposal would have the same travel time benefits at a lower annual operating cost of just $6 million.
    • LRT’s annual operations cost bill of $22 million would put an end to further expansion of bus services.[2]
    • SkyTrain on Fraser Highway would generate 72% higher ridership over LRT on the same route.
MYTH: According to a 2013 survey, 80 percent of Surrey residents support LRT and almost two-thirds say they would use at least one of the proposed LRT lines.
    • No such survey has ever been released by the Light Rail Links organization or the City of Surrey.
    • High public support for SkyTrain in Surrey has been demonstrated in numerous media surveys.[3]
    • Even former light rail advocate Paul Hillsdon has expressed his support for SkyTrain on Fraser Hwy.[4]
MYTH: In LRT’s first year of operation, the peak hour demand on King George Boulevard is expected to equal what is carried on Vancouver’s Broadway B-line today.
    • A full BRT system would offer higher capacity than Broadway B-Line services.
    • Double-articulated buses, such as the Hess lighTram, can offer an LRT-like high capacity with space for between 250-300 passengers.
    • Surrey has time to foresee and prevent Broadway-like overcrowding through effective zoning policies.
Bi-articulated Hess Lightram
Double-articulated buses, such as the Hess lighTram, can offer an LRT-like high capacity with space for between 250-300 passengers

Furthermore, our organization has completed 10 points debunking myths and inaccuracies about Light Rail, SkyTrain and Bus Rapid Transit. The 10 myths have been released on our website at:

skytrainforsurrey.org/debunking-myths

Footnotes

  1. Surrey Rapid Transit Study Phase 2 Final Evaluation Report — TransLink[↩]
  2. MEDIA RELEASE — Funding still missing for LRT operating costs[↩]
  3. MEDIA RELEASE — High public support for extending SkyTrain in Surrey[↩]
  4. SkyTrain to Langley top rapid transit option for Surrey: TransLink — Surrey Leader[↩]

Pictured in header: Surrey LRT mock-up vehicle

Debunking Myths

SkyTrain for Surrey is a BC-based community organization that has advocated for the expansion of the Vancouver SkyTrain system, including our successful advocacy for the under-construction Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension.

Media Contact: Daryl Dela Cruz ​– Founder, SkyTrain for Surrey ・ Phone: +1 604 329 3529, [email protected]

Light Rail supporters get facts wrong again