Transit News Update

Over in Bus Rapid Transit Ottawa, a new poll suggests that transportation and transit will be the number one issue during their fall election according to the Ottawa Citizen. The poll also suggests that light rail enjoys a strong major of support.

Asked for the single most important local issue facing their community, nearly three in 10 named transit or transportation.

That’s triple the number who named the No. 2 issue, high taxes, and nearly six times more than those who said the top issue was the Lansdowne Park redevelopment, which ranks third.

According the UK Telegraph, taking public transit helps you lose weight.

Taking the train, tram or bus instead of your car increases physical activity so much that the average person drops more than six pounds in as little as a year.

The findings suggests that increasing the use of public transport could improve health and lower obesity levels.

Check out the article from more information.

Finally, the Province has a story about a young man who's upset about the pending price hike at Scott Road and West Coast Express station for parking. What I found interesting about this story wasn’t his concern about the price of parking, but that his employer pass (which saved about 15% on the cost of a monthly pass) is the main reason that he takes transit. Also, I found it interesting that he would pay double to take West Coast Express from Coquitlam instead of the bus. This prove again that “choice riders” prefer rail over rubber.