PST hike of 0.5% proposed for Metro Vancouver transit referendum

[meme405]

Originally Posted by GS8

You know, I like many other people in this District work very very hard for my money. The cost of living here is stupid, caters to the rich and us blue collar types have to watch our wallets because our wages don't exactly scream 'value'.

I don't mind paying higher taxes if it meant strengthening the infrastructure to make life a little easier for everyone who goes through the daily grind.

So maybe I should be more outraged that the Yes side decided to spend $5.8M of our tax contributions to what was a wasted effort. We're not talking about $1 mill, we're talking about almost $6 mill (not including the final tally which could exceed $8 mill).

Yeah, they'll find a way around it all seeing as they're all in bed with each other. Fuck these jackass politicians.

Yep. 6 Mil would have paid for about 1/3 of that new Seabus the Yes side kept touting in the face of the north shore residents in order to get them to vote yes.

Fuck translink.

This is like a drug addict coming to you for money, claiming he is going into rehab next week, and needs the money for getting back on his feet right now. You;d have to be a complete moron to give a drug addict cash, before he finishes rehab.

[Tone Loc]

Personally, I voted 'no' and am not surprised that it didn't pass... the majority of people on the 'yes' side are young people, students, etc., and lets face it, the majority of young people are all talk and have strong opinions but fall short when it comes to actually checking the box and sending in the papers.

At the end of the day, this "vote" is a moot point because the gov't is just going to pull money from elsewhere, such as auto insurance, property taxes, fuel taxes, etc., in order to make ends meet.

The only thing good about this plebiscite is that now, the Mayors' Council and Translink et al. know for a fact that the majority of people are fed up with the gross overspending and mismanagement of Translink, and that restructuring/transparency will be needed to regain the public trust.

[GS8]

Originally Posted by meme405

This is like a drug addict coming to you for money, claiming he is going into rehab next week, and needs the money for getting back on his feet right now. You;d have to be a complete moron to give a drug addict cash, before he finishes rehab.

Hah, I was actually gonna say that our politicians remind me of spoiled Tweens who go on impulse shopping sprees to buy random overpriced trinkets and junk using someone else's Gold Card

[hotjoint]

I work for Translink and see the good that the "yes" vote would've done but the majority of the people that I know and people that they know voted "no" purely based on their hatred for Translink and how much confidence they have that Translink would've managed the money correctly. Translink's image is so badly tainted that I don't think they could've done anything else to get people to vote "yes". We all know that Translink will get their money anyways in the end but I'm glad that the people spoke up to let Translink know how they felt. Hopefully this will send some sort of message to them to make some changes for the better.

[melloman]

Originally Posted by FunkyColdMedina

The only thing good about this plebiscite is that now, the Mayors' Council and Translink et al. know for a fact that the majority of people are fed up with the gross overspending and mismanagement of Translink, and that nothing will be done to regain the public trust.

So I fixed the last bit of text there for you.

IMHO nothing will be done to Translink itself. They are still fucking around with the Compass Card, and they have lots of other stupid ideas in the works I'm sure.

The Provincial and Fed. Gov't will find some ways of increasing our already existing taxes to get revenue for Translink, and another day will move on. Translinks issue isn't even the head, its the top half of the body of the snake too. Having SIX BOARDS of Directors will never get anything done, and having 1 CEO overlooking everything doesn't help the situation either. Keep a smart VP, promote him to CEO, and fire everybody else at the top.

Restructure your company and show that the Compass Card isn't a complete failure and waste of money. Maybe then they might get some support.. But for now,

[meme405]

Originally Posted by hotjoint

I work for Translink and see the good that the "yes" vote would've done

I also see the good it would have done... It would have done a good job of further lining the pockets of the execs and employees at Translink.


Seriously though I am glad to see that you understand the issue that people took with this campaign, the fact is that many people weren't voting no because they didn't see the need for the extra funds. The problem they had was that we can't see translink correctly managing the current funds they have, so giving them more money makes no sense.

You can't put out a fire by throwing money at it. I don't give a shit how much you have.

[nsx042003]

A monopoly that can't make money. Translink need to wake the fuck up and play properly. Don't blame it on low ridership, manage it properly

[GLOW]

in case translink cannot understand what the vote means b/c they're too
this should clear it up for them

[murd0c]

‪#‎TransLink‬ CEO Doug Allen has stated that transit upgrades proposed in the Transit Plebiscite will move forward, even with the 'No' vote result.

I fucken can't stand Translink and the above statement is the main reason because they are not willing to listen to the people

[Ronin]

LOL so they spent $6m trying to convince us to say yes and then just go for it when everyone says no.

Great. Why ask us in the first place then? More evidence of absolutely stupid spending.

[Kure GS]

Oil price is down by 40% yet we are still paying $1.30 liter at the pump. Expect more direct taxes on drivers (i.e. you and me).

[westopher]

I think if they are going to run as a publicly funded company we should have elected officials in place making wages that correspond with public official wages.

[Ch28]

Originally Posted by murd0c

I fucken can't stand Translink and the above statement is the main reason because they are not willing to listen to the people

Doug Allen is such a piece of shit

[bcrdukes]

Originally Posted by hotjoint

I work for Translink and see the good that the "yes" vote would've done but the majority of the people that I know and people that they know voted "no" purely based on their hatred for Translink and how much confidence they have that Translink would've managed the money correctly. Translink's image is so badly tainted that I don't think they could've done anything else to get people to vote "yes". We all know that Translink will get their money anyways in the end but I'm glad that the people spoke up to let Translink know how they felt. Hopefully this will send some sort of message to them to make some changes for the better.

There is a serious lack of transparency and accountability in the way Translink operates. The conspicuous spending and decision making process is often in no way discreet, often reckless.

To deepen the damage, Translink's board included Mayor Moonbeam, allowing him to further push his personal and political agenda. This does not help. Edit: Him and his cronies also spent $6 million dollars to convince the public to say yes. If anyone should be pissed off, it would certainly be the public. I think this kind of reckless spending far outweighs the trolling from Christy Clark's Yoga On The Bridge fiasco. $6 million vs. $125,000 (or whatever it was.) I think this one is a no-brainer.

And to further the blow, there was no clairvoyance to who would be performing the audits. A public practice like KPMG, E&Y, PWC, Deloitte? Or would it be "Cheap Accountants Inc.?"

Doug Allen, interim CEO of Translink could just be a whipping boy until they find a replacement for him. We can only hope that the board will find a responsible replacement, but this is wishful thinking since the board is of the old guard with almost half of the members having been reappointed.

All we can do is wait and see.

Edit #2: CBC Interactive map on how people voted Transit referendum: How did your city vote?

[Phil@rise]

they spent 6 mil. How much lost revenue do they have on top of that because their buses were littered with yes propaganda instead of paying adverts?

[inv4zn]

Originally Posted by Ch28

Doug Allen is such a piece of shit

Call me childish, but the physical resemblance is uncanny!


The things they do don't seem too different from each other either...

[Lomac]

I might be wrong, but I don't think Translink actually paid for the referendum.

[drunkhomer]

Originally Posted by Lomac

I might be wrong, but I don't think Translink actually paid for the referendum.

taxpayers did

[v_tec]

Watch this guy pocket all the money.

Improving Translink Services

[carisear]

‪#‎TransLink‬ CEO Doug Allen has stated that transit upgrades proposed in the Transit Plebiscite will move forward, even with the 'No' vote result.

So, exactly what the no side, and me as well said would happen, is happening. All the upgrades will happen anyway. the sky didn't fall. It may not happen at the same pace, but sure enough, upgrades will happen.

All those hipster bullshit sjw's wolf crying can go fuck themselves and cry on fb and twitter about how unprogressive we are, while i keep my $100 and piss it on booze instead!

[bcrdukes]

Whether he pockets the money or not, crowd funding social services (transportation in this case) sets a bad precedent if anything were to come out of this.

The crowd funding for the Greek debt crisis is terrible as it is - people making ill-informed decisions in which it only lessens the burden and responsibility of the government despite whether officials/leaders are elected democratically or not.

[meowjinboo]

I dont think u know how an indiegogo campaign works.

Noone gets money unless funding is met.

[bcrdukes]

Getting how an Indigogo campaign works is not the point.

Whether the funding is met or not, socially, people construct or come to a common belief that "something" can, and will, be done (i.e. "Power to the people!")

If and when the target is actually met, and let us assume something does come of it (whatever it may be,) some random online campaign suddenly abates public policy and governance on a fundamental level. It scrutinizes the checks and balances of what we Canadians believe in as a fundamental process of our daily lives.

All it takes is a UBC-rejected-Dougie Daycare arts major millennial to fall into the trap, who then spreads the word to their dim witted friends over Facebook and Twitter, and sooner or later, society will have blood on its hands.

[Tapioca]

It's a shame that this didn't pass because however flawed the whole process was, a "yes" vote would have been a strong signal to the province that it would have to be engaged in public transportation in Metro Vancouver. The plebiscite was a way for the provincial government to abdicate its responsibilities to the residents of Metro Vancouver in this crucial policy area.

People demanding perfection of any organization with a mandate and a governance model like Translink's are unreasonable, in my opinion. To punish an organization that had no desire to hold this process was foolhardy. Now the province can say, "Well, the people of Metro Vancouver have spoken. They're on their own if they want new projects."

- A German car-enthusiast who both drives and takes public transit

[sekin67835]

I just think allowing them to add tax no matter how "small" of an increase will open new door ways for them to get income. They already have taxes on gas and other tax revenue I don't think we should give them another pot to get hold of money. Who's to say they won't raise the tax another 0.5 percent because of "unexpected " costs and such. Knowing translink , they would do it in a heart beat.