ONE OVERWHELMING
facet cropped up time and
time again in the recent
‘GVRD/provincial govern-
ment transportation study,
Transport 2021: mere peo-
ple prefer to use their own
cars than transit, and the
nuatber of motorists is in-
creasing.

The report reveals that despite a
23% increase in the number of
people using transit between 1985
and 1992, automobile trips went
up twice as fast. The study also
shows that transit’s share of
commuters in Greater Vancouver
has dropped 13% since the $2
billion SkyTrain began operation:
in 198€.

Today, 83% of journeys within
the GVRD are taken by private
vehicles, while nine per cent are
. taken on public transit.

This fact is an enigma to GVRD
transportation planners. They just
can’t understand why most people
don’t want to be packed into large
rectangular transportation devices
and ferried to and fro between
designated work centres ard resi-
dential areas,

They can’t understand why
people don’t like standing up in a
crowded bus for half-an-hour
sandwiched between someone who
had garlic toast for breakfast and

LHS interior very roomy

rear seat area. With 507 litres

From page 23

without the standard iow-speed
_ traction control on the LHS.
Quick, safe stops are achieved
with the help of four-wheel disc
brakes with an anti-lock system
for help in emergency braking sit-
uations.
The LHS?’ larger 16-inch radials
provide slightly better grip than
-the New Yorker's 15-inch tires.
_ They Icok better, too.
The interior, as mentioned, is
extremely roomy, especially the

AUTOMOTION

someone else who didn’t have time ©

to shower.

They’re just not sure why peo-
ple don’t want to take the
SkyTrain when it can cost up to
five dollars a day in fares, fre-
quently breaks down, and is
almost always overcrowded during
rush hours,

B.C. Transportation Minister
Art Charbonneau has said he
finds it ‘‘absolutely confounding’’
that transit share has dropped.

Despite the encouraging news
that fewer people are driving their
cars to the downtown core from
the suburbs, Glen Leicester, vice-
president of marketing and transit

(17.9 cu. ft.) of cargo capacity,
the trunk will easily swallow lug-
gage for five passengers. However,
the rear seat does not fold down
a.d there is no ski pass-through.

With more standard equipment
than a New Yorker, the LHS has
a higher base price: $33,435 versus
$28,855. That still compares
favorabiy with most comparably
equipped domestic luxury cars,

‘and is considerably less expensive

than comparable imports.

planning, is still concerned that
‘‘more and more jobs are being
relocated to the suburbs and more
and more people are left with
really no other option than the
automobile.”

The transport study states that
“the region remains automobile-
dependent and this dependency is
growing."

Hey, guys, wake up! People like
their cars, Private, personal trans-
portation is still the best way to
get around. It’s more comfortable,
often faster than transit, more
convenient, and it’s ready to go
when you want it to go.

And perhaps more importantly,
it's what most people prefer,

If mass transit wants to compete
with personal transportation, it
must offer the features people
want, primarily speed, comfort
and low cost.

Since transit doesn’t meet these
needs, the government has decided
to tax us out of our cars.
Measures being considered are
bridge tolls, highway tolis, doubl-
ing of downtown parking fees,
and doubling the fuel tax.

Toll measures will raise an

1993 Ti

4 door, automatic, AM/FM cassette,
and much more.

GEE

estimated $1.1 billion annually
towards the $30 billion needed
to finance highway and transit
projects over the next 20 years.

Obviously, the high fuel taxes,
income taxes, and sales taxes that
we are already forking out are not
enough. Is there something wrong
with this picture?

GVRD chairman Gordon
Campbell says that the automobile
encourages urban sprawl.

Gosh,Gordon, what’s wrong
with economic growth? What's
wrong with wanting to raise a
family in a single-family home
with a yard for the kids to play in
and a garage to put the car in?

A young family certainly can’t
afford a house in Vancouver these
days, especially if decent highways
are not built to make it easier to
get to the suburbs, because then
the price of real estate in the city
will go up even faster.

The government is looking into
the possibility of rebuilding the
Lions Gate bridge, widening the
No. t freeway from Cassiar to the
Port Mann bridge, and widening
the Port Mann bridge.

All I can say is, why wasn’t this

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It doesn’t take a rocket scientist
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As far as the issue of
automobile pollution goes, the
strict emission standards and
vehicle emission testing now in
place in B.C. will eliminate the
bulk of harmful emissions from
newer cars.

And future developments in
alternative fuels and engine tech-
nology look promising.:

In addition,-working at home
using a computer and modem, and
working at satellite offices in the
suburbs will help cut down on
commuting.

Let’s face it, transit is just not
as convenient, as comfortable, or
as fast as a private vehicle. Rather
than force us out of our cars, ‘why
not make transit attractive cnough |
to fure us out of our cars? :

I would like to sce the govern-
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personal transportation, such as -
monetary incentives for using :
small urban cars within city
boundaries. “

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