GEOG 1150 Project: Challenges of Metro Vancouver Transit Integration

This project examines the challenges faced by Metro Vancouver in integrating its multimodal transit system. The introduction highlights the city's reliance on various transport options like rail and bus services, driven by population growth. The paper identifies the limitations of existing systems, including sustainability concerns and overcrowding, and discusses the plan to integrate these services under a centralized authority. The research question focuses on the challenges of meeting commuter needs, reducing waiting times, and cost-cutting within this integrated system. The thesis proposes that a centralized authority is crucial for the success and sustainability of the proposed multimodal system. The assignment includes an introduction to the problem, a research question, and a thesis statement, supported by cited sources.

Running Head: METRO VANCOUVER AND THE NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED TRAVEL NETWORK FOR
THE CITY
Name

Running Head: METRO VANCOUVER AND THE NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED TRAVEL NETWORK FOR
THE CITY
Introduction to the Problem
Metro Vancouver is a landscape which is surrounding by sea from three sides. The natural
increase in the population of the city forced the city planners to create many options for
transportation like Rail services and bus services. These mediums of transportation were
developed with the intention to cater to various types of objectives. For instance, in some
places, they are working as a parallel line to release the pressure from the main transit
systems. Some of them are an attempt to connect the decongestion points of the traffic. Most
of these arrangements soon crossed their carrying capacity and left the commuters of the city
to crave for more options (Curtis, 2017).
Since the year 1960 many planners came up with various alternative plans to create
infrastructure for various means of transports. However, the practical limitations attached to
these plans raised poignant issues on these developments. The biggest issue was related to the
sustainability of the system. The second issue was related to the fact that after another lease
of increase in the population these systems will start collapsing (Farmer, 2011).
This we can see in the case of the overcrowding of community bus services and rail services.
Under a recent development, the authorities are planning to expand the span of the services to
become overnight services. According to the authorities, this move will help the individuals
that are working in the service economy of the city.
In recent years, the commuters of the city faced another problem when they find that there are
no direct paths to connect certain points of the city with another point in the other part of the
city. None of the previous plans succeeded in creating a straight line for the commuters. In
order to cover the length and breadth of the city, the commuters take resort in various
alternative methods like shared bicycles, cabs and freeways.

Running Head: METRO VANCOUVER AND THE NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED TRAVEL NETWORK FOR
THE CITY
The present status of the mass rapid transit system existing in Vancouver gives us an idea that
many commuters in the city are using these alternative methods to create a straight line from
destination A to destination B. This type of computation is also known as multimodal
commutation. Recently, the controller of the mass rapid transit system of Vancouver came up
with a plan to integrate these multi-model based services into one cluster.
Research Question
What are the major challenges that this multimodal transit system may face in the terms of
meeting with the commutation needs of daily commuters, cutting down the waiting time of
the commuters and cost-cutting for the commuters?
In the current research program, we are planning to check the comfort levels and expectations
of the commuters that can be considered as the probable users of this integrated transportation
system. This type of an arrangement seems promising on paper; however, this integration can
become a fruitless exercise in the absence of proper flow of the revenues, a cut down in the
waiting time of the daily commuters and seamless connectivity.
The thesis of the research
The proposed multimodal mass rapid transit system of Vancouver can fetch right kind of
results only if we integrate the systems with the help of a centralized authority controlling the
various models of transportation rather than singular authorities striking tie-ups and creating
an umbrella of services for the commuters, the creation of a centralized body will also add to
the sustainability of the system as well.

Running Head: METRO VANCOUVER AND THE NEED FOR AN INTEGRATED TRAVEL NETWORK FOR
THE CITY
Bibliography
Curtis, C. (2017). Urban Public Transport: Planning Principles and Emerging Practice.
Journal of Planning Literature,
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0885412217693570.
Farmer, S. (2011). Uneven Public Transportation Development in Neoliberalizing Chicago,
USA. Environment and Planning economy and Space,
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1068/a43409.