Quote:
Originally Posted by milomilo
This keeps being said but is not true. I'm not a huge fan of LRT but realise it is the only sensible thing to build in some cities - like Calgary. There is no chance buses could adequately do the job of either LRT line, and building a full metro would have given marginal extra benefit for much greater cost (though we do need the downtown tunnel now).
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Doesn't disprove anything. Calgary shows there are other options, but not that they're the best options.
Bogata is functional as a city of 8 million with buses only, it's straining as it's well past the size where it needs a metro and is in a developping nation where funding is lower and transit usage is higher, but it hasn't completely broken down. A well designed BRT system for Calgary would probably serve the city at least as well or switching to a more robust over all bus network.
Plus the C-Train is basically a light commuter rail outside the core, as the city was built and designed around it (effectively the ideal scenario for rail transit). You can't plop that into an existing urban framework as would be needed for Hamilton, London, etc. Instead all they can really get is a glorified streetcar, which provides marginal capacity benefits while burning up political capital amongst suburban councillors and voters. Bus lanes allow for a way cheaper improvement while being far less alienating to non-transit users (the majority of voters and therefore who councillors have to appease).