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Letter: Bold strategy needed to overcome small-minded approach to transit

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During our recent trip to central Europe, one could only marvel at the efficiency of the transportation network. Whether inner city or rural or between countries, the network of rail, metro subways, trams and bus are fast, frequent and fairly priced.

Fast forward to our return to Vancouver International Airport: actually quite a good experience at first. The Skytrain from the airport to a convenient connection to the 620 bus to the Tsawwassen Ferry and then to Swartz Bay is great! Then it all goes south.

If you live in West Sidney, the closest you can get to home is a drop off at either the Mctavish Exchange or Lochside and Weiler, 1.5 km from home. With our heavy back packs our thoughts turned to the European system of subways supplemented by electric trams fed by shorter bus routes as necessary.

There are some options to west Sidney for connection to subsidiary routes closer to home but they remain extremely infrequent (despite promises from BC Transit otherwise), bizarrely timed and, if you do manage a connection, double the cost as BC Transit has eliminated transfers.

Our collective small mindedness regarding Public Transportation in Greater Victoria continues. Whether it involves connections to suburban communities or dealing with congestion issues on the Malahat we cannot expect to alleviate traffic congestion or reduce environmental impact if we cannot provide a usable transportation service.

What is required is bold strategy to provide an integrated, comprehensive and sensible transportation network which addresses our transportation needs. Anything less will cause commuters to simply continue to drive their cars - at great expense to the environment and the economy.

Dan Rowe

Sidney