As we age we get sore, slower, injured easier, and our immune systems begin to weaken. Exercise and good living habits can push that off for a while, but as we get weaker we look for easier ways to do things, like having someone else do it!
Elderly people tend to have more medical appointments and friends and family spread about the island from years gone by.
Comfort and ease is key to traveling between cities to socialize, something we all need to do.
The train represents a simple, reliable, accessible, and spacious way to get to appointments and friends and family up and down the island. With a beautiful view along the way, what better way is there to travel? And, if you've got to go, there's bathrooms onboard too!
Life costs a lot and for many, graduating from School is the first taste of how much life actually costs. For others, they are forced to enter it early on for any number of unfortunate reasons.
The cost of living is off the charts, it will be tuff to make ends meet besides getting ahead in life.
A well integrated transit system on Vancouver Island using the Train as the comfortable reliable backbone for the whole thing, can save you money by lowering your travel. Save fuel by using a park and ride, or go all in and save money by not having car payments, maintenance payments, fuel expenses, wipers, windows, tires... its tiresome, isn't it?
Modern accessible means easy to board and navigate, with lots of room to move. Being able to travel without assistance is feeling independent and supported by society. Trains run on precision built tracks so the gap between ramp and train can be very small.
5 Million overnight visitors expected this year and winning global awards for Tourism!
Tourists could board the train at non-resident rates and tour the island from Victoria through Esquimalt, View Royal, Colwood, Langford, Shawnigan Lake, Duncan, Ladysmith, Chemainus, Nanaimo, Parksville to Courtenay and Port Alberni!
Shipments would be more reliable, and super heavy cargo off the roads. Limited driver resources could augment end point delivery, and employees would be free from delays at traffic choke points like the Malahat and Highway 4.
Board the train with your bike, scooter, skateboard, backpack, and stop and go anywhere from Port Alberni and Courtenay through Parkville, Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Chemainus, Duncan, Shawnigan Lake, Langford, Colwood, View Royal, Esquimalt, to Victoria!
Commuters may not use it every day, but they would use it during the winter!
They would also use it on Holiday Fridays and especially on long weekends when all the Boats, Campers, RV's and Trailers are on their way up the Malahat. They might just get used to having a right-of-way and all that time to get things done and start using it all the time.
Warren Skaalrud "Born and Raised" Islander
Shawnigan Lake, Canada, Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia V0R 2W1, Canada