Valley Line LRT | TransEd/Marigold | City of Edmonton

I was just on the train half an hour ago, finally able to transfer to Churchill for a 102 Street bound train. Peak laziness. šŸ˜œ I estimated around 80 people disembarked.

According to Transit app, there was a gap in trains. I got on at 7:40 and the one before that got there at 7:24 and 7:17. The next one was estimated to arrive at 7:51.
 
whattheheck said:
On the other hand, for the casual user, the VL doesn't make sense. For example, going to a concert or hockey game is still more attractive taking the private auto. Two non-regular ETS users would have to pay $14 in fares and take a train that's slower than the private auto. With the private auto, I'd have much easier mobility, and private parking rates are pretty competitive! (and unlike the old coliseum, with multiple ways to get in/ out of DT, there isn't much traffic congestion before/ after arena events.)
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For me this is the biggest sticking point. I own a car, and my drive downtown from Bonnie Doon is 8-10 mins. Taking the Valley Line is around 20-25 mins when including walking to the closest station. I like taking the train, and when you factor in parking time, I think this trade-off would be worth it to me. I would rather take the train.

It's the cost that makes this not make sense for me. I own a car, and need to continue to own one. At $2.75/ride with an ARC card each way, it's only going to make sense to take the train if I'm going to be downtown for more than say 3 hours, and only if I'm going downtown by myself. If I'm going with my wife, it would have to be more than 5 or 6 hours. If I'm going with other friends/family, there's not really a good argument for taking the train. I'm never going to take it enough to hit the fare cap, since it's way faster to bike/drive to work than to take transit.

I would love to take transit every time I go downtown, and I probably will more than most would. I just wish that it was cheaper so that it could compete with the cost of driving. Fare zones would help a lot with this, but for now, at the current costs, I'll probably mostly keep using my car.
 
YegMark said:
For me this is the biggest sticking point. I own a car, and my drive downtown from Bonnie Doon is 8-10 mins. Taking the Valley Line is around 20-25 mins when including walking to the closest station. I like taking the train, and when you factor in parking time, I think this trade-off would be worth it to me. I would rather take the train.

It's the cost that makes this not make sense for me. I own a car, and need to continue to own one. At $2.75/ride with an ARC card each way, it's only going to make sense to take the train if I'm going to be downtown for more than say 3 hours, and only if I'm going downtown by myself. If I'm going with my wife, it would have to be more than 5 or 6 hours. If I'm going with other friends/family, there's not really a good argument for taking the train. I'm never going to take it enough to hit the fare cap, since it's way faster to bike/drive to work than to take transit.

I would love to take transit every time I go downtown, and I probably will more than most would. I just wish that it was cheaper so that it could compete with the cost of driving. Fare zones would help a lot with this, but for now, at the current costs, I'll probably mostly keep using my car.
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I think this is the fundamental challenge for us. Unlike cities with major office commuting patterns, or big TODs with thousands on the doorsteps on stations, we will see a lot more 5-10 times a month users vs daily users.

So how do we make the LRT attractive for that use?

And as soon as move to 3 people or more doing something together, parking costs donā€™t matter either. 2 couples heading DT for dinner is $5-10 to park vs $20+ for LRT.

My best idea yet is a ā€œfirst 5 rides freeā€ or something like that. Gets ARC cards into peopleā€™s hands. Gets them familiar with the train and using it. Hopefully would drive increased ARC and transit use enough to make it worthwhile.
 
thommyjo said:
I think this is the fundamental challenge for us. Unlike cities with major office commuting patterns, or big TODs with thousands on the doorsteps on stations, we will see a lot more 5-10 times a month users vs daily users.

So how do we make the LRT attractive for that use?

And as soon as move to 3 people or more doing something together, parking costs donā€™t matter either. 2 couples heading DT for dinner is $5-10 to park vs $20+ for LRT.

My best idea yet is a ā€œfirst 5 rides freeā€ or something like that. Gets ARC cards into peopleā€™s hands. Gets them familiar with the train and using it. Hopefully would drive increased ARC and transit use enough to make it worthwhile.
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I really like the idea of "first 5 rides free". I brought my parents (who are solidly car people) for a ride on the Valley Line on Saturday, and my Dad decided to take it to meet up with a friend Downtown today instead of driving because he enjoyed the experience. It's so much easier to convert people after they've ridden the LRT for themselves!
 
Steady to very busy again today. Seems to be nice synergy with the renovated Milner library for families in particular. Next spring will be nice once the plaza is done too.

One thing Iā€™ve noticed during my trips is the police presence going around the stations and bikes on patrol. Iā€™ve seen them more in a week than my whole life on the other lines lol. Still loitering in the connector though unfortunately.
 
Friendmonton said:
Steady to very busy again today. Seems to be nice synergy with the renovated Milner library for families in particular. Next spring will be nice once the plaza is done too.

One thing Iā€™ve noticed during my trips is the police presence going around the stations and bikes on patrol. Iā€™ve seen them more in a week than my whole life on the other lines lol. Still loitering in the connector though unfortunately.
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Yup, I've noticed increased police/peace officer presence in that area of downtown in general. I was at the Churchill connector earlier today at midday and no loitering, but a strong smell of spoiled yogurt. I did see some loitering some other times I've been in the connector last week, but they tend to disperse pretty fast now.

Frankly, it seems loitering is becoming less and less common now (from my own anecdotes).
 
I rode the VL yesterday to and from the Oilers game. Parked at Davies and rode into the city. It was decently busy on the way there, though less than expected. However I did leave a little earlier than I had to, to have time to get a bite to eat before the game so that could have something to do with it. The way back was quieter, still busy enough, but not nearly as full as I thought it might be directly after the game, although I walked from the rink directly to 102nd street while most people might take the Metro Line to Churchill and transfer, meaning I either got there before or after the big rush. Still running very smoothly, although it's still making a lot of squeaking noises when it goes around a corner.
 
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Stony Plain Rd
 
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