Sitting here in the BCIT Evolution 107.9 radio newsroom, it’s the buzz: Is this transit program, as promised by the provincial government for September 2010, going to be implemented? Students from the Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Douglas College, and Vancouver Community College have been demanding that TransLink and the B.C. Liberals implement a universal $25-a-month pass for all postsecondary students in Metro Vancouver.
But then Ken Hardie, director of communications for TransLink, steps into our studio for an interview, and puts his own points into perspective. According to Hardie, there is just not enough revenue to make a $25 pass available to smaller institutions. He says that the price is based on the size of the school, and explains why UBC students pay $23.75 per month: it is large, and the cost can be distributed evenly—yet thinly—amongst the population. He adds that TransLink has to generate as much revenue from people using the U-Pass as it did before it was introduced.
Furthermore, Hardie says that it is quite feasible for students to get together from all postsecondary schools across Metro Vancouver and agree on a reasonable cost. He also says the offer TransLink has made is the best they can manage, and they simply cannot afford to grant the students’ demands. A U-Pass expansion would require TransLink to purchase more buses, hire more drivers, extend service miles, et cetera—something Hardie says is not feasible for the regional transportation authority at this point. TransLink asserts it cannot expand in such a way without gaining more revenue. And that revenue would have to come from the provincial government.
Yet the B.C. Liberals are still promising to make the U-Pass universal for the rest of Vancouver’s postsecondary institutions—regardless of what TransLink has to say. However, it also seems the government is having issues defending their choices regarding funding these days. (Student aid, anyone? Anyone?)
At BCIT, we have faced the obstacle of the student body dividing itself in the past. There are more part-time students attending our institute than full-time. It makes more sense for a full-time student, then, to contribute to the U-Pass than it does for someone taking a class once a week. There needs to be some sort of deal worked out in that situation between BCIT and TransLink.
In any case, let’s hope that somehow, sometime soon, the issue is resolved and a system is created that works. This way, all students, including those at BCIT, will enjoy something so affordable.
Amanda Eyolfson is the vice president for public relations and marketing at the BCIT Student Association.
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Comments
http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/the-greer-report-review...
One can't keep building premium priced metro and putting customers with deep discounted ticked on it!
Ken is awfully good at creating half-truths; otherwise, he wouldn't be getting paid the zillions that he is to control the media at the Vancouver Sun and to control public opinion in the Lower Mainland in order to spread TransLink’s propaganda intended to bring most of the gullible or indifferent population into line with TransLink’s self-serving transit-agenda.
For the cost of the $2,000 million RAV Line, TransLink could have replaced its entire cancer and asthma causing diesel bus fleet totaling around 1,000 diesel buses with 1,000 hybrid buses or trolley buses and then add another 1,000 hybrid or trolley buses to meet transit demand well into the future for BCIT and all other colleges and universities while improving transit service and offering the U-Pass to all colleges and universities.
However, TransLink is not in the business of providing affordable transit and good service. TransLink is in the business of increasing ridership by expanding transit as much as possible to generate profits because TransLink is a semi-private organization and needs to provide good returns to its shareholders.
After another new wave of out of province arrivals fills TransLink’s RAV Line and proposed Evergreen Line, we will be back where we started and we will still have over-crowded buses and poor transit service. What we need to do now is to expand our trolley bus network, to buy more hybrid and trolley buses and to replace the cancer and asthma causing diesel buses with trolley buses and hybrid buses. Ken likely won’t agree.
TransLink is discriminating against BCIT students for not being as worthy or deserving as UBC students. What gives TransLink the right to decide who receives the U-Pass and who doesn’t receive the U-Pass at $25/month/student? What we really have at TransLink is a culture of corruption, and the inequality of the U-Pass program favouring university students is just a manifestation of this corruption.
Translink revenue is sourced from three major sources: fares, property taxes and fuel taxes. What's interesting is that these three sources make up about 1/3 each of the revenue stream.
Although I agree that cheaper transportation costs is advantageous for students, the reality is, transportation costs are going up and with ten years of a Translink policy of 'spend and tax' the appetite for more taxes from the region's taxpayers (who are picking up 2/3 the cost of current capital and operation costs).
The Canada Line or what was formally called the RAV Line was originally estimated to cost $750 million...by the time the region got serious about building the line, which incidentally happened at the same time of Vancouver's 2010 Bid, the cost increased to $1.2 billion. Shortly thereafter it rose to $1.3 billion and by the time the dust settled and the Cambie deep trench warfare ended, the line cost well over $2.1 billion if you count the cost of utility relocations, expropriatioins, and other costs not yet released.
When Translink began it presumed that revenue from fares would not increase more than 1% per annum. In addition, when BC Transit transferred its assets: buses and skytrain cars, to Translink it included an inventory of those assets as well as the remaining life left on these assets. More than 70% of the fleet required replacement within 7 years, however, this assessment did not include replacing the trolley buses which already had achieved the end of their lifespan.
Building the Millenium Line, a poor decision, required Translink to upgrade both the Expo Line stations and fare machines and required the purchase of very expensive SkyTrain cars. This was the reason for the vehicle levy, to offset the costs of yet another expensive expenditure for trains in the region and prevented any further increase in the bus fleet.
Unfortunately, Translink has come back whining to the taxpayer to help cover minimum shortfalls of $140 million a year. This does not cover any further expansions or even building another expensive rail line, the Evergreen Line.
I realize this issue is hot for students, but think about the whole picture, how we got there and what can be done to stop the mad spending that continues at Translink, can you say $100 million smart card system.
In addition, when Translink was created, it was the wisdom of the first CEO and directors to split the various modes of transit supplied by Translink into subsiduaries. This increased the need for administration and executives. The only reason to split into subsiduaries was to prevent the unions from joining together during labour negotiations. We have been paying for this boondoggle for a decade now. In the meantime, there has only been one strike by those who provide transit services to us, the bus strike of 2001, some 8 years ago!
Those in post secondary institutions are there because of their thinking ability. I ask you to investigate and study the current and historical financial aspects of Translink and find ways to rescue this Frankenlink from its current RedInk situation.
The rest of us have reached our limits.
I don’t exactly know what the carrying charges and payback period are on the RAV Line’s outstanding balance but if you consider 5% as the carrying cost and use 35 years as the payback period for the $1.4 billion outstanding balance of the RAV Line (subtracting the ~$700 million grant from the federal and provincial governments), TransLink is paying over $100 million annually for the RAV Line for a long time and at the end of this time, the RAV Line will supposedly be at the end of its design life and require replacement or substantial costly upgrades. In effect, after spending this $100 million/yr, TransLink will not have anything of value when the RAV Line is paid-off. TransLink will be holding a crumbling and rotting concrete-crime-riddled-drug-deal-making piece of junk.
The cost to TransLink to extend the U-Pass to BCIT is approximately the difference between a regular single zone pass ($876/yr/student) and the cost of the U-Pass ($300/yr/student). For all 50,000 BCIT students, this cost to TransLink is ~$29 million/yr. TransLink can afford the U-Pass for all college and university students if it concentrates on providing transit to students instead of making transit a business for profit. Just curious, does the TransLink CEO use transit or does he drive a BMW or other expensive vehicle to work?