Vancouver transit success and car registrations
Speaking of transit successes, in Vancouver they’ve actually seen a leveling off and even a decrease in automobile registrations (as of 2004). This article details some of the successes of transit in that city.
Such a change is evident in Greater Vancouver as public transit service and cycling infrastructure slowly improves. After years of increase, car registration is leveling off, and the number of registered cars in the City of Vancouver dropped by 1,500 in 2004, according to ICBC. Reports suggest that traffic around the University of British Columbia has been significantly reduced by the introduction of the “U – pass” which gives every UBC student a transit pass with the cost deducted from student fees.
The decrease in vehicles vindicates Vancouver’s 1997 transportation plan which gives priority to pedestrians, cyclists, public transit and goods movement over cars. There have been few road expansions, some improvements have been made to transit, and cycling routes now reach many areas of the city—even though the City has been slow to implement the plan.
Sure, even though it may be a stretch to project this as a long-term trend or even to directly link it to the transit successes, but it’s still very cool to see the number of car registrations leveling off and then decreasing in a transit-friendly city. I’d love to see the same thing happen in Seattle!
