TransLink in a financial trap
If TransLink can’t generate an additional $450
million per year, there will be no new
rapid-transit lines built after the Canada Line
(above) opens this year.
Don’t even think of a new rapid-transit system on Broadway, the busiest corridor in Vancouver. Forget about an extension of the Expo Line in Surrey. And ever seeing the long-awaited Evergreen Line go into Port Moody and Coquitlam.
Based on TransLink’s financial projections, no new rapid-transit lines will be opened in the Lower Mainland unless the province steps in to allow the regional transportation body to raise a total of $450 million in additional revenues per year.
“The problem we face is the municipalities simply can’t afford it,” Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs told the Georgia Straight . “And the province has not yet indicated an understanding of the problem, and they keep telling what we can’t do instead of what we need to do.”
Meggs was interviewed on June 16 after the assistant city engineer for transportation, Jerry Dobrovolny, made a presentation to council about funding options for TransLink’s 10-year plan starting next year.
According to Dobrovolny, TransLink needs to raise $260 million in new revenues a year just to maintain existing levels of service.
This would involve increases in the fuel tax and parking sales tax, as well as fares. Based on the transportation body’s figures, it needs to raise the fuel tax from the present rate of 12 cents a litre to 15 cents, the parking sales tax to 14 percent from the current seven percent, and transit fares above inflation in order to raise $110 million, still $150 million short.
One source for the extra $150 million is a vehicle levy, a tax that TransLink has the authority to impose. This annual levy may involve either a flat fee of $120 per vehicle or a range of $65 to $165, depending on fuel efficiency. Another source is property taxes, which municipalities are loath to raise. Dobrovolny recalled in his presentation that the Mayors’ Council, which approves plans and funding for the regional body, decided in a meeting in April this year that mayors will not support raising property taxes.
Meggs explained in the interview that the problem with increasing property taxes is that although this move can raise revenues, it doesn’t affect people’s transportation choices in the way that hiking parking taxes, for example, will discourage car use.
With $260 million in additional revenues, the regional transportation body could deploy 160 additional buses and 100 new SkyTrain vehicles over the next 10 years.
Dobrovolny told councillors that the expansion program being eyed by TransLink would require an additional $190 million from new funding sources on top of the $260 million, for a total of $450 million in extra money per year.
With $450 million, the transportation body projects that the region would have funding for not only a rapid-transit system on Broadway, an extension of the Expo Line, and the construction of the Evergreen Line but also for 138 additional SkyTrain vehicles and 400 new buses on the streets.
TransLink has identified funding sources for the $190 million, but all of these would require approval by the province. One revenue generator could be getting a share of the carbon tax. Designed to be revenue-neutral, the carbon tax is expected to generate a total of $2.3 billion from July 2008 to July 2011.
Another source is the tax being collected by the province on property transfers. Road user fees are also a potential funding source, as is what TransLink describes as a “goods movement fee”.
Dobrovolny indicated in his presentation that a third option is for TransLink to just maintain a base plan with no revenue increases except those resulting from adjustments for inflation. According to him, this scenario would entail drastic service cuts starting in 2010.
Mayor Gregor Robertson said that members of the Mayors’ Council will face a “real predicament” if no new funding sources are made available. “One way or another, we have to get the $450 million,” Robertson declared in council.
Acting on a motion by Meggs, council unanimously voted to endorse the $450-million transportation plan. The same motion also called for the implementation of a universal pass for postsecondary students.
“The biggest obstacle is that the province has been downloading too much of the cost of transit, especially capital cost, on municipalities,” Meggs said in the interview. “They [municipalities] may be able to afford operating costs, but we see a huge need, and it’s unanimous across the region, for a big investment in more buses, SkyTrain, light rail, everything.”
Meggs noted that Premier Gordon Campbell promised $14 billion in new investment for transportation about a year ago. “We don’t see that commitment coming through right now,” he said.
Follow us on Twitter
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Google
Comments
Hey Mr. TransLink stop running buses on routes that don't have any passengers!
God, this lot couldn't even run a whorehouse at a profit!
The real reason is that raising property taxes is political dynamite. The bite shows up visibly, in hundred dollar lumps each Spring. Vehicle levies have the same political problem as the property tax. There has been a bias for a very long time against taxing real property in B.C. for local services, including transportation, compared to the average across other Canadian cities and towns.
But gas taxes and parking fees are charged a few cents at a time. So they are the prefered source.
The talk about discouraging car use is the greenwash on what is basically a very timid political decision to AVOID taxing real property, partly out of fear of what higher property taxes might do to property prices. For what it's worth, the use of the gas tax envisioned in these pronouncements, and possibly a vehicle levy too, goes far beyond principles of user-pay here and instead gets into deterrent pricing, rather like the "sin" taxes on alcohol and tobacco.
Is it too late to ask for a provincial Royal Commission on taxation of all types where scholars in public finance could study the entire provincial and local tax system, its purposes and effects?
Rod Smelser
The obvious solution for the Broadway corridor is to build a streetcar system. While we're at it, why not seek out alternative funding and look at building small local systems that would serve neighbourhoods and stimulate local economies by carrying riders for FREE? Local streetcar systems in the West End, False Creek, and Commercial Drive would have a significant positive impact.
And what's with buying more diesel buses? Sure, trolley buses are far more expensive per unit, but there's no comparison when it comes to environmental impact. How does it make sense to replace the trolley buses on Cambie Street with diesels when most of the trolley infrastructure still exists? Or is it to punish Cambie residents and merchants who complained about building the Canada Line in such an inappropriate manner?
Of course all of that is crazy talk. Considering that we have a provincial government hell-bent on building a 10-lane Port Mann bridge with no transit provisions, paving over Burns Bog and destroying our pristine watersheds so that Liberal friends can profit from run-of-river power projects......what chance is there that urban areas will see decent transit any time soon?
Doesn’t Jerry represent the residents who are not only choking on diesel bus soot along the 99 B-Line route but also being shaken out of bed from the earth shattering noise from the 99 B-Line diesel buses on the UBC trolley bus routes? How did we ever get to the point where TransLink is running the City of Vancouver Engineering Department?
TransLink is dysfunctional. Transit fares have steadily increased and transit service has steadily worsened. TransLink believes that building another Toronto with its misguided Regional Transportation Plan is the answer. This plan is the problem.
TransLink is creating an unnecessary transit demand by taking people, who would otherwise be living close to work or school, and putting them on diesel bus rapid transit routes such as the 99 B-Line route and future (unless we do something about it) 95 B-Line route. TransLink is heavily subsidized by taxpayers. So, more transit means either more taxes for taxpayers or more loses for TransLink.
TransLink is trying to get you on board with more regional transit which is going to keep the executives at TransLink collecting their $300K plus annual salaries but it isn’t going to improve transit. Cut back on regional transit service, expand affordable streetcar and trolley bus transit for people to go to school and work locally and do away with diesel buses on trolley buses routes. Jerry, Be Part of Real Plan, you work for us, not TransLink.
This city has gone to the dogs, and it is going to take a big shake up to turn things around if Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs has what it take to do it. Does he or is he content to pass the buck like his predecessors who just played kissie with TransLink?
TransLink you are sickening. TransLink's fares are on average the highest in Canada, and TransLink provides mediocre service at best. TransLink has failed to deliver better and more economical transit service. What value do you add? TransLink isn’t anything more than an extra layer of transit bureaucracy skimming money from taxpayers. We can do much better without you.
Thats all the banks do when they want more money... they just create it out of thin air.
Doesn't seem that hard.
My guess is that is its executives at TransLink are panicking for lying about the number of riders who might take the RAV Line and are trying to raise cash to cover up the lies. Is it better to let TransLink implode without more cash or to maintain its corruption by giving it more money?
Hows that for fairness?
http://cityofvan-as1.insinc.com/ibc/mp/md/open/c/317/1199/200906160921wv...
You see a City of Vancouver engineer acting as TransLink's representative with Vancouver City Council lapping it up as TransLink asks for $4.5 billion over 10 years to continue what it does best, waste your money. It is extremely disheartening as TransLink is leading us down the garden path to pay off its RAV Line while adding in a little more to squander.
TransLink is already charging us the highest fares on average in the country. We don't want to give TransLink any more money; we just require better transit management.
How did Translink manage to be able to tax people without being elected, to hold secret meetings and then they cannot manage their own mess without asking for BILLIONS more from the taxpayers who are gouged?
The apple cart has to be flipped over before Translink takes anyone seriously but they won't and the reason is that while people moan and groan about it, the mis-managers at Translink are raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars a year plus perks. Next time you are packed like rotten sardines in a can in the bus and you look out at the person in the nice car beside you with the air conditioning on, just realize it may be a Translink upper mis-manager driving a car that your fare paid for.
So seriously, why would or why should they care? Maybe if some performance goals were set with the penalty being tossed out, it would shake things up. They seem far too comfortable to me.