Tech blog backs LRT
Posted May 17, 2011 04:36:14 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Waterloo start-up has entered the region’s rapid transit debate.
Snapsort, based in the Accelerator Centre, has created an “infographic” in support of a light rail system for Waterloo Region. Company co-owner Chris Reid was one of the designers of the graphic, which is based on researching nearly two dozen different pieces of data.
“It took a fair amount of time to pull it all together and to get it into what we thought was a consumable form,” Reid notes. “The goal was to make this easy for the average person to look at because no one wants to go and read a 50-page report.”
Reid says while the rapid transit argument is between bus rapid transit (BRT) and light rail transit (LRT) the reality is that there’s not much difference in cost between the two technologies. According to Snapsort’s research, trains could be running in the region for only $2.65 more per person, per capita. Reid refers to this as a “rather small” difference.
You can listen to the full interview as well as take a look at the graphic pages that were produced by the company in the video below.
Reid says light rail will help the region remain competitive as it tries to become the kind of world class technology centre he believes we’re trying to become.
“These are things that are very difficult to do and they need a lot of leadership and they need a lot of investment,” Reid asserts. “And I think those are things the region and the government should be responsible for because it’s very hard to accomplish it without that kind of leadership.”
Snapsort describes itself as a company aiming to be the first choice for anyone making a purchasing decision, “from real estate and travel to stocks and hot yoga studios.” While not directly connected to the transportation industry, Reid feels that Snapsort’s infographic could still help people make a better decision on rapid transit by capturing all of the talking points in a digestible form.
See the graphic for yourself by clicking here.
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