Neptis' Review of Metrolinx's Big Move

[diminutive]

I don't think the criticism was unwarranted. His obsession with ALRT is utterly bizzare and his connections to UTDC and involvement in Vancouver's SkyTrain brings his objectivity RE technology selection into question.

No, it doesn't. It would be akin to suggesting SM is nothing but an LRT-obsessed fanboy, because he consulted for TC.

Transit consultants consult for all sorts of projects. It doesn't make them biased.

If there is bias, the way to address it is to criticize the underlying rational for a choice, not to just imply bizarre conspiracy theories about people's motives.

 

[ShonTron]

I find any and all comparisons to the Northlander profoundly odd. I mean, I too have a sentimental attachment to trains - and certainly there is social service and tourism value to that route as well. But the Liberals have quite clearly been aiming all of the GO Transit (and more recently, high speed rail) talk and plans at economic growth at a big scale. You can get those kinds of effects with better transit, especially when roads are at capacity. You don't get those effects by running trains to distant, extremely low-density, low population areas in which you need a car to get anywhere.

Not quite true - the Northlander was met by buses to/from Timmins and Kapuskasing/Hearst; thankfully Ontario Northland's bus system wasn't cut when the train was. You can get pretty much anywhere in northeastern Ontario by bus as long as your town has over 1,000 in population, the train at least was designed to make those connections (VIA used to do this in Atlantic Canada for connections to places like Charlottetown). The same is not true in Southern Ontario where many towns no longer have any scheduled bus services.