I saw the Xcelsior bus on the Corydon route this Friday evening. It is a smart looking vehicle and the colour is fairly cool.
The bus is supposed to represent the future in bus travel as it is quieter and features lightweight materials and LED lights.
I don't know how quiet it is based on this video.
The bus apparently comes in a hybrid as well.
I don't know what to think on the LRT versus BRT debate other than the city approved a plan and now seems to have doubts. Welch's Gripe Juice details what some of those issues are.
I know one thing. Any public transit coming my way doesn't have a lot of density to work with to make it frequent enough. And then there is the issue that I travel from suburb to suburb in terms of work. The bus doesn't start early enough or run late enough for me to drop my car.
Now, I know that I could change jobs, move to a higher density area and live on a busier street but it is worth noting that people work in areas of city where there are jobs in their chosen field, live in neighbourhoods that they can afford and on the best routes possible to traverse the distances to school, work, shops and the like. It isn't always easy.
In short, planning makes it possible to consider diversity, density and distance in terms of how people live and work. The city needs to work on that.
A snazzy bus might be sexy but in practicality, I would benefit if the city went ahead and improved transit corridors so that they were attractive to employers and home and apartment builders. This would not end the use of a car in a city as spread out as Winnipeg but it would help create a new dynamic where it might be possible for me to catch public transit seven days a week.
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