More Proof that SkyTrain is a Waste of Money

A report called “A Cost Comparison of Transportation Modes” has been making the rounds on listservs and blogs, so I thought I would talk about it as well. This is a report from Professor Patrick M. Condon and Kari Dow from the Sustainability by Design program at UBC.

Condon and Dow looks at the total costs of transportation modes. I encourage you to read the whole report, but I wanted to post this telling tabling. One of the thing that we are told is that while SkyTrain costs double or more to build than light rail, you get major saving in the operating costs. This savings is suppose to offset the capital costs. This apparently is not true according to Condon and Dow. SkyTrain costs $2.66 per passenger-mile; light rail is $1.68 per passenger-mile.

Click Table to Enlarge

Also telling is that Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) cost more to build and operate than light rail! So, why are we building BRT and SkyTrain? It doesn’t make sense… I hope someone from the Ministry of Transportation sees this report.