TransLink’s Regional Transportation Commissioner released his review of TransLink’s application for a fare increase and our operations. The results of the review and where TransLink is positioned in relation to it can be found on The Buzzer Blog here.
My immediate response:
The mandate is clear, whether from the Province, the TransLink Commissioner, the Mayor’s Council, the TransLink Board and the public: TransLink will have to find efficiencies internally. At best, it will be able to maintain its level of service. It is doubtful, however, that it will be able to proceed with already anticipated expansion or any major project in the future, whether a B-line service on King George Boulevard or rapid-transit anywhere.
Given the rejection of a fare increase, no politician is likely to call on any other source, whether property taxpayer or car driver, to fund significant expansion of the transit system now that the transit users themselves will not be paying more (over the 2 percent allowed in the legislation). Add in the volatility of gas prices, costing TransLink more to operate while reducing gas-tax revenue, and the uncertainty of a replacement for $30 million in property-tax revenue due to expire in two years, proceeding with expansion plans would be foolhardy.
Unfortunately this impacts the fastest growing parts of the region the most, particularly south of the Fraser, which can fairly make the case that they need new transportation options the most. At a time when they will be seeing new tolls, there will be less choice. The danger is that they will become even more car-dependent, disproportionately affecting the young, old and poor, while also seeing a potential reduction of some existing services in the name of effiiciency and no hope for an extension of the Frequent Transit Network or new services such as light rail.
This is immensely discouraging, given the political consensus to plan for a more transit-efficient region and the success with which new transit services have been received.
The question now is whether we, the public and our leadership, will be satisfied with a vilified TransLink and stagnation for at least a political generation, or whether a new determination and consensus can be crafted to move forward.
Just get on with equitable road tolls…………show some leadership instead of counting votes…..history will prove it’s the right decision……all other major cities/countries support their road and transit systems this way and it’s long overdue here in Metro Vancouver….
This is frankly pathetic. I’m so sick of translink twisting in the wind, getting pulled at from all directions while nothing gets done. South of the Fraser is condemned to highway oriented sprawl with no viable alternative.
The message that I hear, loudly and clearly, is that the province and every municipality in the region want better transit and know the benefits of it. But, no one wants to pay for it. Pay for it though achieving internal efficiency? again? Not gonna happen. If we want better services, we need to think long-term (beyond the short-term political cycles) and WE have to pay for it.
Yet TransLink is hell-bent on spending a $billion increasing the road capacity of the Pattullo Bridge to 6 lanes, even though it is right next to their SkyTrain bridge and a railway bridge which needs to be replaced. Somehow it seems there might be some efficiencies to be found here.
While the transit system languishes, TransLink’s dreams are big in the road building dept…
Sad for Translink, but good for many low-income users. Transit users have had to face the burden of far above inflation fare increases for the past 10 years. When there is service increases that is at least somewhat justifiable, but the last fare increase came at a time with service stagnation, and yet users still had to pay up. All the while this was going on the province continued to reject a vehicle levy out-of-hand, and recently did so again.
Sure, Translink’s expansion is in doubt, but that’s not because the fare increase didn’t go through. It’s because of Christy Clark. She’s the one who shot down the previous consensus to fill that $30 million gap, and transit users shouldn’t be stuck paying more for less because of provincial ineptitude.
If we want people to use transit, to grow the ridership, then increasing fares beyond inflation is perverse. It doesn’t make sense, it never did. Translink deserves a stable source of funding – this isn’t it.