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12-09-2009, 05:01 PM
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#101 | | OWNER/C.F.O./MONEYMAN
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Translink's higher up salaries were publicized somewhere (forgot which member actually put up the link). Now for the salary they got, i really do not see the amount of work THEY put out for it. Im not aiming at those employees that actually work, do their hours, and go home, i think they deserve their pay.
You mentioned public servants being scrutinized by the public on everything they did, nothing would get done... NOTHING IS BEING DONE! Gov't didnt create translink, they hired them. Stipulation was that some gov't officials would have to be on the board of directors. Its a complete corporate structure like any other business.
My arguement is they are still doing a piss poor job, and every year just scream for more and more money, and find more and more ways to tax ppl. I've seen public transit systems overseas, and they make ours look like crap! Quote:
Originally Posted by Tapioca  I'll preface this by saying that I'm not in any way affiliated with Translink.
The higher-than-usual salaries of the big shots at Translink should raise a few eyebrows, but really, they constitute a small portion of Translink's overall operating budget.
I commute using transit and it's not like the money isn't going somewhere. Let's list the improvements:
- new buses (electric trolleys, diesels, hybrids)
- new Skytrain cars
- Canada Line
- station upgrades
- bike route upgrades
In my view, the service has improved. Translink has a mandate to make Metro Vancouver a more 'livable' region (whatever that means.) For the most part, this means getting cars off the roads (so that freight can be transported) and getting people to exercise different options. Was spending money on shiny new buses and Skytrains the most cost-effective way of doing this? That's debatable, but I have noticed that over the last several years, Skytrain has become crowded, even in off-peak hours.
If public servants were scrutinized by the public on everything they did, nothing would get done. The provincial government created Translink so that the 'tough' decisions could be made without political interference. Is this right, strictly from a democratic perspective? Probably not. But, sometimes you need to get things done.
The MTR Corporation is obviously something that Translink views as a role model. But getting there takes decades, not just years.
Don't view this as an attack on you personally, but would I be wrong to assume that most of your clients are fairly well-to-do people who wouldn't really fret too much over a few bucks on top of their bills (say an average of 100 bucks per visit?) I assume that you're going to pass your costs down to your clients. | | 
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12-09-2009, 05:02 PM
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#102 | | OWNER/C.F.O./MONEYMAN
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haha, it costs that for now! until the new tax comes in. then its gonna easily jump. Quote:
Originally Posted by Tapioca Bang on.
If you're visiting downtown for a meal, shopping, show, etc., your best bet for parking in the downtown core is the Pacific Centre parking lot. It costs $4 on weeknights, weekends and holidays. | | |
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12-09-2009, 06:26 PM
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#103 | | I bringith the lowerballerith
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Originally Posted by XtC-604 Disperse them? why? so they can spread like fucking rabies? | according to taylor197,studies show that dispersing the problem will rid that one area of their current situation.
If canada were to be like China and beat a few to get the message across,fuck where do I sign up,I will be the one swinging the lead pipe and pressing the button on the stun gun.
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12-09-2009, 06:30 PM
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#104 | | I bringith the lowerballerith
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Originally Posted by !SG its like advertising disneyland... EVERYONE already knows it, via word of mouth, via other means. it wasnt exactly like no one knew where vancouver was on the map! we arent buttfuck manitoba.
Im one for infrastructure improvements, so i will agree with you there. but using that excuse as a byproduct of the olympics is just wrong. sure we will now have some post olympic structures that can be used, but how many ppl will actually use it? these structures benefit the few, not the many. i for one do not plan on taking up speed skating any time soon. look at calgary, they still have all those winter games setup's on the side of the mountain, absolutely not in use.
We dont need to show off our city. Everyone already knows about vancouver already. | Studies show that,if a city spends enough of the taxpayers hard earned money on uesless shit like the olympics and other forms a retarded advertisements,we might just get a very small portion of the money back from tourism.
Sound like a good idea?
According to the "studies",vancouver is pretty well known to the rest of the world.
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12-09-2009, 06:33 PM
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#105 | | I *heart* Revscene.net very Muchie
Join Date: May 2004 Location: Edmonton
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[QUOTE=!SG;6720632]Translink's higher up salaries were publicized somewhere (forgot which member actually put up the link). Now for the salary they got, i really do not see the amount of work THEY put out for it. Im not aiming at those employees that actually work, do their hours, and go home, i think they deserve their pay.
QUOTE]
My friend works in public service and he sent me this a while back. It's a bit outdated, but shows public sector salaries. I think they are before the raises. http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/...PIorderBy=Name Quote: |
BC Transit Leslie, C Transit Operator $97,878
| Bus driver makes almost 6 figures. He must have high seniority.
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12-09-2009, 07:18 PM
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#106 | | Marcosexual Fan Club, CEO
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Yay, more parking for the rich.
I live in Boston, which is a way more expensive city than Vancouver and street parking is $1 / hr.
Private garages are $8-$15 an hour though! I pay usd$350/mo to park my car downtown Boston in a private garage.
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12-09-2009, 07:29 PM
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#107 | | I *heart* Revscene.net very Muchie
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Anyone watch the show Parking Wars? Pretty funny to watch sometimes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlCDvs9QDms | |
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12-09-2009, 07:35 PM
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#108 | | Unofficial Tin Foil Hat Specialist.
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Originally Posted by Marco911 Yay, more parking for the rich.
I live in Boston, which is a way more expensive city than Vancouver and street parking is $1 / hr.
Private garages are $8-$15 an hour though! I pay usd$350/mo to park my car downtown Boston in a private garage. | Wait, you work in Boston now? Damn...
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12-09-2009, 07:58 PM
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#109 | | Marcosexual Fan Club, CEO
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^^Yeah, puts me closer to my dream city - NEW YORK!
It's free parking all day Sunday in New York and it's impossible to find parking on the street. I once drove from midtown all the way to 72nd on the upper west side just looking for a parking spot (about 30 blocks). Finally we decided to leave the 911 parked and just subway it around the city for the day. NY and London are two of the only cities I would gladly give up my car and ride transit!
Hong Kong is one of those exceptions. It's a major city but parking laws are rarely enforced, even at meters. Meter parking is ridiculously cheap compared to private parking ($0.80/hr). Nevertheless, I parked illegally 95% of the time and got ticketed (for a measly $40) about 1% of the time, so I pretty much drove everywhere.  Memories. I miss Hong Kong.
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Last edited by Marco911; 12-09-2009 at 08:22 PM.
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12-09-2009, 08:09 PM
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#110 | | Marcosexual Fan Club, CEO
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Vancouver city councilors are out of their minds if they think a city like Vancouver justifies a $6/hr parking charge. Vancouver is not Chicago, NY, London or Toronto. Seattle, which is probably the most similar American city, except for the fact it actually has major global corporations headquartered there charges $2-$2.50/hr.
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12-09-2009, 08:33 PM
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#111 | | OWNER/C.F.O./MONEYMAN
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parking around bentall center is like 25 cents for 3 minutes.a buck gets u like 15 minutes, thus 4 bucks an hour if i remember right.
boston probably also has a better avg wage. Quote:
Originally Posted by Marco911 Yay, more parking for the rich.
I live in Boston, which is a way more expensive city than Vancouver and street parking is $1 / hr.
Private garages are $8-$15 an hour though! I pay usd$350/mo to park my car downtown Boston in a private garage. | | |
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12-09-2009, 10:02 PM
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#112 | | RS.net, where our google ads make absolutely no sense!
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Originally Posted by Marco911 Vancouver city councilors are out of their minds if they think a city like Vancouver justifies a $6/hr parking charge. Vancouver is not Chicago, NY, London or Toronto. Seattle, which is probably the most similar American city, except for the fact it actually has major global corporations headquartered there charges $2-$2.50/hr. |
the biggest difference being american cities are allowed to charge a sales tax, canadian cities are not. there are only so many ways to generate revenue in a city. parking, permits, property taxes, some recreational stuff.
if you don't want to raise property taxes, then you gotta generate revenue else where. with building permits down, then you're left with.. parking.
and when u have a big ass dent in your pocket book with olympics, a stupid expensive condo, etc, you either got to generate revenue or shutdown facilities.
besides, you're all bitching and whining over a hike of 1$. if you can afford to eat in a restaurant and drive to downtown, that 1-3$ extra isn't going to really hurt you.
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12-09-2009, 11:24 PM
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#113 | | 14 dolla balla & Bradford Chow aint got nothing on me!
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Originally Posted by ncrx the biggest difference being american cities are allowed to charge a sales tax, canadian cities are not. there are only so many ways to generate revenue in a city. parking, permits, property taxes, some recreational stuff.
if you don't want to raise property taxes, then you gotta generate revenue else where. with building permits down, then you're left with.. parking.
and when u have a big ass dent in your pocket book with olympics, a stupid expensive condo, etc, you either got to generate revenue or shutdown facilities.
besides, you're all bitching and whining over a hike of 1$. if you can afford to eat in a restaurant and drive to downtown, that 1-3$ extra isn't going to really hurt you. | I say shutdown facilities, not useful ones but retarded bullshit gov't crackhouses. That will lower the running cost of the city. Then throw those bums into abbotsford or something and beat the shit out of them too while we're at it. All criminal charges should have a fine as well, if they already have fines, increase it. IE, assault = charge money + jailtime + probation. DUI=increased fine.
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12-10-2009, 12:03 AM
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#114 | | I bringith the lowerballerith
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Abbotsford?
hell no.it's still to close to Vancouver,I say throw them all to Alberta.
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12-10-2009, 05:21 AM
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#115 | | OWNER/C.F.O./MONEYMAN
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thats the thing.
everything is going up next year, property tax was given the ok to be raised something like 2-3% (which is some what ok because at least its a rate that falls within reason and inflation)
the biggest jump is this parking meter, parking rate, parking tax. as it jumps 7-21% across the board depending where u park. this means for some ppl that rent monthly parking stalls, say that would be around $300/month, its now gonna be an extra 50-65 bucks for them. you didnt expect the landlord to actually swallow the increases themselves did you?
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12-10-2009, 06:21 AM
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#116 | | Marcosexual Fan Club, CEO
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Originally Posted by ncrx the biggest difference being american cities are allowed to charge a sales tax, canadian cities are not. there are only so many ways to generate revenue in a city. parking, permits, property taxes, some recreational stuff.
if you don't want to raise property taxes, then you gotta generate revenue else where. with building permits down, then you're left with.. parking.
and when u have a big ass dent in your pocket book with olympics, a stupid expensive condo, etc, you either got to generate revenue or shutdown facilities.
besides, you're all bitching and whining over a hike of 1$. if you can afford to eat in a restaurant and drive to downtown, that 1-3$ extra isn't going to really hurt you. | That assumes a $6/hr parking charge does not reduce demand for parking spaces, which it certainly will, especially since they are extending hrs to 10 PM! Less demand = less patrons for restaurants, retail shops, entertainment facilities = less tax revenue. Downtown Vancouver is boring as it is, with an almost non-existent night life. This is going to make things a lot worse.
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12-10-2009, 06:24 AM
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#117 | | Marcosexual Fan Club, CEO
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Originally Posted by spyker Abbotsford?
hell no.it's still to close to Vancouver,I say throw them all to Alberta. | Hear! Hear! We should do what New York does and pay bums to leave the city. Buy them a 1 way airplane ticket anywhere they want to go.
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12-10-2009, 07:49 AM
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#118 | | Banned (BBM)
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Originally Posted by Marco911 Vancouver city councilors are out of their minds if they think a city like Vancouver justifies a $6/hr parking charge. Vancouver is not Chicago, NY, London or Toronto. Seattle, which is probably the most similar American city, except for the fact it actually has major global corporations headquartered there charges $2-$2.50/hr. | im telling you dude, weed paranoids ppl man  | |
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12-10-2009, 08:40 AM
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#119 | | OMGWTFBBQ is a common word I say everyday
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Originally Posted by !SG Translink's higher up salaries were publicized somewhere (forgot which member actually put up the link). Now for the salary they got, i really do not see the amount of work THEY put out for it. Im not aiming at those employees that actually work, do their hours, and go home, i think they deserve their pay. | Fair enough - Translink's executives aren't deserving of their salaries. But you missed my point - their salaries are a drop in the overall operating budget. You eliminate maybe 10 executives and you save, what $3-4 million per year? Not a very large amount, I'm afraid. Quote: |
You mentioned public servants being scrutinized by the public on everything they did, nothing would get done... NOTHING IS BEING DONE! Gov't didnt create translink, they hired them. Stipulation was that some gov't officials would have to be on the board of directors. Its a complete corporate structure like any other business.
| I just gave you some examples of where our money is going. You don't have to agree with the priorities and I'm sorry that you haven't benefitted from the improvements. I have and so have thousands of other people living in Metro Vancouver. Quote: |
My arguement is they are still doing a piss poor job, and every year just scream for more and more money, and find more and more ways to tax ppl. I've seen public transit systems overseas, and they make ours look like crap!
| Translink can't run a deficit - it's in the legislation. If you were in their shoes, what would you do?
- Cut services - people complain
- Maintain or expand services - people complain because taxes/fees increase
BC has some of the lowest income and corporate tax rates in the country. Other systems in the world benefit from government largesse (i.e. where taxes are much, much higher) or they were built a long time ago when labour and material costs were low. Our system is just trying to catch up now to meet demand in an environment of high labour and material costs.
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12-10-2009, 08:42 AM
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#120 | | Banned (ABWS)
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Originally Posted by !SG Im one for infrastructure improvements, so i will agree with you there. but using that excuse as a byproduct of the olympics is just wrong. sure we will now have some post olympic structures that can be used, but how many ppl will actually use it? these structures benefit the few, not the many. i for one do not plan on taking up speed skating any time soon. | This shows how little the public is informed.
The speed skating oval is being converted to 2 indoor fields and a community centre. Its was also paid by private companies, not tax dollars. Quote:
Originally Posted by !SG We dont need to show off our city. Everyone already knows about vancouver already. | I think you're wrong, yet you've lived here longer, you're entitled to your opinion.
Why? Cause I'm one of many Canadians that migrated west in recent years to take advantage of the booming economy. Why is Vancouver booming? The Olympics. There is no other reason, we're not a mining town, not a logging town, somewhat a tourist trap (we've lost cruise ships), not the headquarters for any major company (except Telus), ...
If you can tell me why Vancouver's economy has exploded, and it not be the Olympics, then I'll change my mind. And please don't quote drugs.
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12-10-2009, 08:46 AM
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#121 | | Banned (ABWS)
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Originally Posted by XtC-604 Disperse them? why? so they can spread like fucking rabies? | They won't. Yet feel free to believe what you want without researching any of it.
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12-10-2009, 08:59 AM
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#122 | | I bringith the lowerballerith
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Originally Posted by Marco911 Hear! Hear! We should do what New York does and pay bums to leave the city. Buy them a 1 way airplane ticket anywhere they want to go. | That idea works pretty well,it worked out for Alberta in 1988.
New York should just clean that fucking city and round up all the bums and guidos and ship them off to New Jersey.
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12-10-2009, 01:49 PM
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#123 | | OWNER/C.F.O./MONEYMAN
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The economy is booming because, as per history, western canada has always been overlooked. Eastern canada, well ok, anything surrounding ottawa has always had first dibs, which also meant first exploites.
hmm, so the olympics are the reason reason for the boom? all this time, i thought maybe because we RESIDE ONE PACIFIC OCEAN AWAY FROM A PLACE CALLED ASIA (where everything comes from) and being a major water way port for all imports from there had maybe a smudge to do with the economic boom. Maybe our port of vancouver felt, hey, we arent really growing but maybe we should spend a bit of money expanding our port.... for the hell of it [/sarcasm]
the olympics have nothing to do with the economic boom. exporting our natural resources, being a port city, the main gateway of the asian market, immigration from asia is the reason why the economy is booming.
and yeah drugs! who but some company in either china or india do u think is making all the ecstacy and fake viagra?
like the same reason why when canada was founded, ottawa, montreal, cities along the st lawrence river were booming. because of trade with UK, england. now the focus has shifted to asia, and thus vancouver is the booming city.
case n point, harper doing his rounds overseas making sure to stop off at every important china city. Quote:
Originally Posted by taylor192 I think you're wrong, yet you've lived here longer, you're entitled to your opinion.
Why? Cause I'm one of many Canadians that migrated west in recent years to take advantage of the booming economy. Why is Vancouver booming? The Olympics. There is no other reason, we're not a mining town, not a logging town, somewhat a tourist trap (we've lost cruise ships), not the headquarters for any major company (except Telus), ...
If you can tell me why Vancouver's economy has exploded, and it not be the Olympics, then I'll change my mind. And please don't quote drugs. | | |
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12-10-2009, 03:40 PM
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#124 | | RS controls my life!
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parking rate thread to this shit...taylor yap yap yap bla bla bla, man you always got something to say, nonetheless entertaining .
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12-10-2009, 05:13 PM
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#125 | | OWNER/C.F.O./MONEYMAN
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ive always seen it as better to be opinionated than staying quiet.
the difference is knowing when its appropriate, and knowing how to walk away or still stay within calm reasoning.
opinions are just that, and all are different. plus if everyone just didnt say anything, it be hella boring!
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