To the editor,
Re: Connect the dots, make rail a reality, Letters, July 20.
People, stop speculating that the start up of the railway on Vancouver Island would be economical. That will never happen. Why? People want to drive their own cars.
In 2016, a bus company started up a daily commuter service from Langford/Colwood to Victoria and suspended it in 2017 as the average daily passenger count was 18 people.
The PGE railway (later B.C. Rail) had passenger service from North Vancouver to Lillooet. That service was cancelled as people found it more worthwhile to take their car for the four-hour drive.
Before retirement, I drove from Lake Cowichan to Victoria return daily to my workplace. When meeting traffic coming on to Highway 1 out of Colwood and Langford, I noticed many cars with only one person in the car. That proves that 10 people living on the same street do not car pool, and each take their own car to work and are fine with paying to park while they are at work.
The same applies to long weekend ferry traffic. They line up for hours, get on the ferry, arrive at their relatives’ on the other side, park their car and never use it again until it is time to head home and line up again at the other end.
Having patience is the greatest victory in life, but there is no patience left in the people of today, thus the must in driving a car.
In summary, the return of the railway on Vancouver is now history. Unbelievable.
Joe Sawchuk, Duncan
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