From The Globe and Mail: Cash-strapped TransLink can’t keep up with growth
It spent $1.4-billion, leaving a surplus of $36.8-million.
That was the result of some noticeable cost-cutting at the agency, which has been persistently criticized by the province and the Canadian Taxpayers Federation for waste.
Ms. Szel emphasized that executive pay has been frozen at 2012 levels, bonuses have been eliminated and the number of executives reduced to 19 from 30.
The agency also cut costs by reducing bus service on less-travelled routes and clamping down on overtime.
Well, that’s good news – for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. Pretty much covers everything on their list, including some pain for the riders and workers.
I expect any day a release from CTF congratulating TransLink and announcing that they will support a funding referendum, given these results and the economy-boosting importance of transit.
How long do you think we will have to wait?
Tweet Jordan Bateman and CTF relentlessly until they do.
The just announced Compass Card delay is not a vote of confidence of TransLink competence.
Where are there any stats for unionized security work force, train mechanics and bus drivers ? Much room for improvement here most likely, too ( but unlikely due to excessive union power in BC).
“The just announced Compass Card delay is not a vote of confidence of TransLink competence.”
On the contrary, I think it speaks very highly of Translink that they’re insisting on a system that works properly despite the pressure to get it up and running. Other agencies have shown what a mess you can get into if you cut corners during implementation.
The decision to go with a particular smart card solution was likely based mostly on sales presentations, technology demonstrations and testimonials. That’s how most things are sold. In the public sector there’s one other factor that sometimes trumps all others: political interference.
I seem to recall one company was named as the likely smart card system vendor before the bidding process had even begun. That suggests vendor selection was never really TransLink’s decision to make.
To their credit TransLink didn’t trust the sales pitch completely and started with a public beta that exposed many problems with the Compass card software/hardware. They then rolled out production cards to a limited set of target users to give them ongoing data.
My conclusions are that the system continues to exhibit an unacceptable number of defects and that the vendor has been unable to provide a firm date by which all defects will have been satisfactorily addressed.
If it’s true that there continue to be issues then I’m happy TransLink is putting the brakes on a wider distribution of cards.
The alternative is a nightmare I don’t think any of us wants to envision.
Considering that TransLink had about $60 million whipped out from under its feet when the Mayors Council rescinded a short term property tax after the 2013 budget was already set, to end the year with a surplus wasn’t too shabby. The organization has followed through on its hierarchy of priorities: first, sustain service levels and second, keep things in a state of good repair.
The Compass project is a toughie, mainly because of connectivity with the bus fleet; a key issue still being worked out. The organization has said that it will not launch until the system is performing reliably – nothing wrong with that.. Ottawa had to shut it’s system down after launch because there were too many glitches.
Poor Calgary tried for the longest time to get a smart card going on its transit system, but ended up ripping out all of the gear and showing their supplier the door. Other places have seen their original budget estimates totally blown out – so far not the case here.
Ken, why couldn’t Translink just have bought London’s Oyster system off the shelf, as it works seamlessly between bus, tube and overground?
Because Oyster is a different fare structure (Flat Fare/Single Tag on Bus, Zone-based/Dual Tag on Rail, with Peak/Off-Peak Fares [certain modes only] and a multitude of transfer rules with National Rail, Overground, etc). The cost often lies in redoing the software/calculation logic and testing it in a particular region.
Plus, Oyster’s original/existing system didn’t easily allow for migration to contactless/open payment. They have only recently got the functionality up and running on the Bus and are still getting it working on Tram, DLR & Tube. TransLink opted to purchase devices with that functionality already (although it won’t be activated initially) to allow for a more streamlined transition to contactless/open payment in the future. Oyster won’t go away; the customer will simply have multiple choices for how to pay for travel (Mastercard, Visa, Oyster, etc).
London’s Oyster system is built on top of Linux. Compass is using Windows as its operating system, which is not exactly known for its stability and consistent performance characteristics. Such a weird choice.
London is getting rid of the Oyster card this year to replace it with contactless bank cards or the Multipass. Perhaps that’s the reason.
In that case I wonder if TransLink could have purchased London’s Oyster System second hand, and saved even more $$$…. I like Oysters !
The Oyster (London) and Octopus (Hong Kong) are both great systems, and I believe TransLink’s supplier, Cubic, had a hand in the London system. The issues being faced here are purely local in nature, due largely to a very large service area where wireless coverage is dodgy at best.
One of TransLink’s criteria is that transactions be in ‘real time’ – if you load your Compass Card at home, it will be transferred to your card the first time you tap in on any reader. In some systems, notably Ottawa’s, it takes about 24 hours for value loaded online to appear on your Presto Card.
For the benefit of irregular readers, previously on pricetags: http://pricetags.wordpress.com/2013/08/29/the-bateman-strategy-killing-translink-and-the-regional-vision/
“(3) Maintain that any new programs can be paid for by eliminating ‘waste, fraud and abuse.’ Never give credit for any instances where that actually occurs. TransLink has already had three performance reviews and an audit, it has already saved millions in ‘efficiencies’ (often a euphemism for cuts) – but never mind. Always maintain that spending is ‘out of control.’”
What wireless system will Compass use? If it’s using existing cell/mobile towers and frequencies there are areas here where there is simply no coverage. For it to fully work there will need to be a different radio system. Satellite?