Free Transit
2.1 COPE will work to reduce transit fares, with the goal of eliminating them within 4 years and issuing community transit passes.
2.1.1 COPE will immediately create free transit passes for school-age children and low-income people, and create affordable passes for people earning under $50,000 per year.
2.1.2 COPE will advocate that Carbon Taxes collected in Vancouver be allocated to subsidize transit fares and expand transit infrastructure.
2.1.3 COPE will dedicate some parking fees and violation fine revenue to facilitate the implementation of free transit.
2.1.4 COPE will expedite the shift from automobile to public transit usage. The current City Council is seeking to reduce automobile usage in Vancouver from 55% of trips to 33% by 2040. With free transit Vancouver could approach that goal within the first year.
2.1.5 COPE will explore ways of replacing the Broadway extension with cheaper fast transit that will not transform and gentrify the neighbourhoods.
Accessible Transit
2.2 COPE will work with Translink to make transit more accessible, especially to riders who face physical and economic barriers, with the capacity to accommodate mobility scooters & wheelchairs, and will advocate for increased HandyDART service and All Ages & Abilities bike facilities.
2.2.1 COPE will implement an identifying card or sticker for riders with disabilities to display when using transit.
Electric Buses
2.3 COPE will advocate for Translink to buy more electric buses with enough battery capacity to maneuver traffic when necessary without tolley lines.
Transit Planning
2.4 COPE will use best practices, proven precedents, and intelligent planning to create a strong and cost-effective transit system that will serve both existing demand and expected growth.
2.5 COPE will ensure public consultation and transparent planning for all major projects.
Democratic TransLink
2.6 COPE will work to improve TransLink by advocating that:
2.6.1 Control of TransLink be returned to Metro Vancouver, and its governing board be democratically elected;
2.6.2 Excessive executive and management salaries be reduced; and
2.6.3 HandyDART be made a direct subsidiary of TransLink rather than contracting it out to for-profit operators.
Pedestrian Safety
2.7 COPE will protect pedestrians by:
2.7.1 Targeting accident risk locations using best practices safety measures to
eliminate vehicle collisions with pedestrians;
2.7.2 Introducing pedestrian scrambles at intersections where most collisions with pedestrians occur;
2.7.3 Encouraging a mixed use of city streets by making streets more attractive to bikers, walkers, children and skateboarders, through boulevard gardens, street paintings, public art, community events, car-free weekends and other creative measures that work to traffic calm neighbourhoods;
2.7.4 Increasing enforcement of speeding and other laws affecting pedestrian safety.
Encourage Transit Use
2.8 COPE will encourage increased transit use by:
2.8.1 Ensuring equitable transit access and work to reduce car use;
2.8.2 Contributing to climate target reductions in greenhouse gas levels set by provincial government;
2.8.3 Allowing civic U-Passes for welfare recipients, low-income families, or other targeted groups.
Increase Transit Capacity
2.9 COPE will ensure effective consultation with transit users, neighbourhoods and businesses to develop the following projects as quickly as possible:
2.9.1 Three new B-Lines (Victoria/Commercial; 41st Ave. to UBC) with priority traffic signals and dedicated bus lanes;
2.9.2 80% more Night Bus service immediately, plus examination of more routes;
2.9.3 30% more HandyDART service, plus lobbying efforts to increase to 50% more;
2.9.4 More frequent all-day and peak service on all bus routes;
2.9.5 Add more transit capacity to eliminate pass-bys on all bus routes;
2.9.6 Improved pedestrian walking and waiting facilities at transit stops.
Diverse Transit Options
2.10 COPE supports affordable transit alternatives such as the broad use of electric trolley buses (both local and express bus services including Electric Bus Rapid Transit) and surface light rail transit on some routes (such as the Arbutus Corridor) to service the whole City’s arterial grid rather than a short, expensive Broadway subway tunnel.
2.10.1 COPE calls upon the City to plan these lands, also known as the Arbutus Corridor, as a regional transportation asset and reserve the newly purchase land for LRT, the verges for gardens and pedestrian sidewalks, and ensure that streets and/or verges are reserved, where appropriate, for bicycle lanes.
TransLink Accountability
2.11 COPE will reduce Translink and Metro Vancouver's powerful influence on Vancouver's transportation and land-use planning by making all decisions of those bodies subject to extensive public review by Vancouver voters.
Port Expansion
2.12 COPE recommends to the Port of Vancouver that the expansion of the Centerm facilities be a long-term project east and north, and
2.12.1 That any interswitching of rail lines be resolved by the Canada Transportation Act's section 127 and 128.
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