It’s time for Translink to trim its fat and cut transit fares
I moved to North Surrey 10 years ago, and have been a three-zone transit pass holder ever since.
Our family owns a car, but between my spouse riding her bike to work and me taking transit to work, we only put 5,000 kilometres on the car last year.
I think our efforts to use the car less should be rewarded by lower transit fees. I am in full support of the carbon gas tax being a source of transit revenue to motivate transit fees being lower.
Translink is on the same path as B.C. Ferries; sooner or later it will price itself out of the market and average citizens will have to take out a loan to use the services.
Translink should announce a five-per-cent fare reduction and be forced to trim the fat and find internal cost savings.
It’s a big fat bureaucracy with little to no accountability.
Bob Atchison, Surrey
Make users pay
It’s about time Translink started making transit users pay for the service.
They use the system, they beat up the interior and exterior of the buses and Skytrain cars — the vinyl seat covers and the flooring — and of course there are those who don’t even pay their fares.
Enough of subsidies from vehicle owners in the rural areas. We already pay enough for the vehicles we use to get to and fro. So should they.
Debbie Atkinson, Langley
Pricey Seabus
I live on the North Shore and it is a good chunk of change to take the Seabus to Vancouver.
We are two adults and three kids and the return fare is around $25.
To drive and go wherever I want is cheaper and more convenient than the $25 for just the Seabus, even with parking.
James Hoar, North Vancouver
Why the Evergreen?
My only objection to the fare hikes is the money wasted on the Evergreen Line. I believe it will be a boondoggle.
A useful Skytrain expansion would be to link the Expo and Millennium Lines in East Vancouver.
One would think transit officials would have noticed the congestion problems during peak hours in commuting to or from Downtown Vancouver via the Millennium Line.
Vincent Lizee, Coquitlam
Stop handouts
Translink has long had the reputation of showing up with its hand out for more money. The problem isn’t that there isn’t enough money; the problem is Translink’s mismanagement of the funds.
It’s time for Translink to do what the rest of us are doing — cutting back on expenses to survive in these tough financial times.
Doug Lewindon, Surrey
Common ground
I don’t believe the concerns of citizens will ever be totally, automatically or easily accepted by the oil industry. The priorities of citizens and the industry are fundamentally different and, at times, directly opposed. This does not mean we cannot work together to find common ground.
This idea that local citizens should be involved in decisions about oil transportation became a necessity after the Exxon Valdez
spill. It does not require a disaster before positive changes can take place. How much better can it be? The fact we are talking about it is a very good sign.
William Perry, Victoria
Harper’s pet
It’s great that Finance Minister Kevin Falcon was able to negotiate a five-year, no-interest HST payback plan with the feds.
But it would have been better if the Liberal Party was forced to pay it back rather than taxpayers, since it really wasn’t a B.C. deal, but rather a Gordon Campbell and Co. deal.
However, inquiring minds want to know why it took less than 12 hours between the announcement of the deal and your initial public support of the Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline, which appears to be Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s pet project, after weeks of “no comments” from your government.
Things that make you go “Hmm.” That’s the problem when a government isn’t trusted. They operate under a microscope.
Cheryl Baron, Maple Ridge
Junk the idea!
My thoughts on the proposed junk-food tax are that it is a waste of time.
People are willing to go to extremes these days. Adding a tax will just make people spend more money on junk food and treats.
Megan Loong, Richmond
Eating rights
The proposed junk-food tax is just another tax grab.
Until the Canadian Food Inspection Agency requires identification of the country of origin on our food products, we as consumers have little to no choice on what we ingest.
We should have a right to choose when buying a food product that may originate from countries with dubious quality regulations.