A Calgary non-profit made headlines recently when it was revealed that the organization was required to build a parking lot for an affordable housing complex that is effectively empty. The housing is provided specifically for helping people transition from out of...
Transportation
Providing Mobility in Communities That Can’t Fill a Bus
Many small communities struggle to provide adequate transportation to people with limited mobility and those who cannot afford to drive. Unlike major cities, public transit use in small communities outside the heart of metropolitan areas is rarely a lifestyle choice....
Thrive 2040: Toward a Less Competitive Minneapolis-St. Paul
Originally printed in Newgeography. In a Wall Street Journal commentary entitled Turning the Twin Cities Into Sim City, Katherine Kersten of the Center of the American Experiment describes how "a handful of unelected bureaucrats are gearing up to impose their vision...
Road Tolls Could Fund Winnipeg’s Roadway Improvements
Winnipeg’s roads are in bad shape, to put it mildly, and the City’s coffers aren’t exactly overflowing. That makes it tough to scratch together funds for roadway maintenance, let alone improvements. Even projects as crucial as the Inner Ring Road could bump up against...
Featured News
Leon Fontaine – A Passionate Canadian Thought Leader – RIP
This past weekend, we learned of the tragic and unexpected passing of Pastor Leon Fontaine at 59 years of age. Leon was a gifted leader playing many roles both nationally and internationally. He was, with his wife Sally, the senior Pastors at Springs Church with...
Public Inquiries and Public Trust
Testimony before the Public Order Emergency Commission reveals the case for government invoking the Emergencies Act is either weak or very weak. The Prime Minister was, in fact, opposed to members of his cabinet or senior public health officials meeting with protest...
Calgary bus company plans to compete with Greyhound in Manitoba
Calgary based Pacific Western Transportation (PWT) is currently touring Manitoba to consult with the public and show off its fleet of buses as the company attempts to introduce new inter-city bus services to the province. They will be stopping in Winnipeg this Friday....
The Case For Overhauling STC
STC currently receives $9 million in operating subsidies, yet still has higher prices for bus transit between cities than in the rest of the country. In order to solve this, the government should become a purchaser, rather than provider of intercity bus transit.
Mass Transit: Could Raising Fares Increase Ridership?
Keeping transit fares as low as possible does not necessarily promote high ridership levels. The key to convincing people who can afford driving to instead take public transit is convenience, not lower prices. The best solution for reducing the automobile’s advantages over transit is to operate transit on a for-profit basis. Transit services must also be converted into transit commissions, which would coordinate and contract transit routes to competing private companies.
Can Higher Fares Save Public Transit?
Funding public transit is one of the biggest problems facing cities today. Often the trouble is that a few high-cost, low-ridership routes drag down an entire system. That puts policymakers in a tough spot.
Qantas’ Final Destination
Given its current direction, Qantas as an airline brand will most probably disappear. Its likely future is as an owner and manager of franchised other branded airlines. The transition could happen with a comparative speed that may surprise. In fact, it's well...
Britain to Raise Highway Speeds to Boost Economy
Britain’s government is set to raise its motorway speed limit to 80 miles per hour from 70 mph (128 km/h from 112 km/h), saying the first change of its kind in almost half a century would benefit the economy.
Parking Fees are About More than Just Revenue Collection: Saskatoon needs to fix downtown parking system glitch
A recent Star-Phoenix article revealed that a glitch in Saskatoon’s automated parking system is allowing downtown parkers to get free parking. While losing a few dollars on parking doesn’t seem like a big deal, free parking leads to less parking turnover. This makes it tougher to find parking, and increases congestion from people cruising around looking for free spots. The city should needs to fix the glitch.
Light-Rail Disease: Politicians love light-rail, even when it makes no sense and cost overruns are sure to follow
Waterloo is the latest North American city to opt for a light rail transit system, but many Canadian cities are likely to follow. Funding from upper levels of government leads municipal politicians to believe that LRT is a bargain, but municipal taxpayers are left holding the bag for inevitable cost overruns.
Reducing Commute Times Requires Strategies that Work: More public transit won’t reduce commute times
Governments should work to reduce commute times, but not necessarily by increasing spending on public transit.