PST hike of 0.5% proposed for Metro Vancouver transit referendum

[GoldenBoy]

Would you vote for a PST hike of 0.5% for transit?

PST hike of 0.5% proposed for Metro Vancouver transit referendum - British Columbia - CBC News

[murd0c]

Fuck that, I live in Surrey and the transit is shit and I have to pay a toll to leave this place. How about these fat cat translink fuckers stop getting these bonuses and they will have more money to put towards the transit system. It's a fucken joke and I don't trust translink at all and I'm tired of paying nothing but taxes on taxes on gas and I'm tired of these tree hugging hipsters riding there hipster bikes on the bike lanes they don't have to pay for and we have to pay for it!!

Fuck translink and fuck a tax hike!!

[inv4zn]

No TransLink Tax

Anti-tax set up for this proposed tax increase. It's obviously biased, but informative.

I rarely take transit...but I wouldn't mind paying more tax to make our transit system better, remove congestion, etc.

But fuck me if I vote to pay a single more cent to fucking Translink.
Fuck Translink and everything they do and stand for. Fuck.

[nabs]

They always say that just a little bit here, a little bit there will make things better. All things considered, they need to better manage the money that they are already receiving in my opinion. They need to be more accountable for the money and how it is used. Some transparency would be nice so that the people can see for themselves and make a better decision on whether a tax hike for this would be a good decision.

[Tone Loc]

Originally Posted by murd0c

How about these fat cat translink fuckers stop getting these bonuses and they will have more money to put towards the transit system.

Originally Posted by nabs

All things considered, they need to better manage the money that they are already receiving in my opinion. They need to be more accountable for the money and how it is used.

These thoughts exactly. Before I support any tax increase to fund transit, I want full transparency regarding where the money goes... especially where it relates to bonuses and salary for Translink executives. Though I don't often take transit, I do not mind spending a little money towards the betterment of our public transit system since more people on public transit = less cars on roads and less congestion for people who need a car to commute. But what I DO mind is the idea of my family's and my hard-earned money going into padding some wealthy exec's bank account for providing a very mediocre transit service.

[EmperorIS]

so when and where do we actually vote? I see countless articles about the yes and no arguments but no where does it ever tell me where and where I can vote for the god damn thing.

[saucywoman]

Originally Posted by murd0c

Fuck that, I live in Surrey and the transit is shit and I have to pay a toll to leave this place. How about these fat cat translink fuckers stop getting these bonuses and they will have more money to put towards the transit system. It's a fucken joke and I don't trust translink at all and I'm tired of paying nothing but taxes on taxes on gas and I'm tired of these tree hugging hipsters riding there hipster bikes on the bike lanes they don't have to pay for and we have to pay for it!!

Fuck translink and fuck a tax hike!!

I fully agree with you about everything, but the hipsters. Bike lanes are a great alternative for those who wish to do so. I for one probably won't, but it's nice to have that option should I ever buy a bike and wish to go explore the city on a nice day.

Originally Posted by nabs

They always say that just a little bit here, a little bit there will make things better. All things considered, they need to better manage the money that they are already receiving in my opinion. They need to be more accountable for the money and how it is used. Some transparency would be nice so that the people can see for themselves and make a better decision on whether a tax hike for this would be a good decision.

Originally Posted by FunkyColdMedina

These thoughts exactly. Before I support any tax increase to fund transit, I want full transparency regarding where the money goes... especially where it relates to bonuses and salary for Translink executives. Though I don't often take transit, I do not mind spending a little money towards the betterment of our public transit system since more people on public transit = less cars on roads and less congestion for people who need a car to commute. But what I DO mind is the idea of my family's and my hard-earned money going into padding some wealthy exec's bank account for providing a very mediocre transit service.

^^
Qft! This is why I am voting no. Use the money you have more wisely, and show us where the money is going.. Then try again in a few years. Clean up the system before I'll agree to give more of my money.

[StylinRed]

No.

There are better, sustainable, ways to raise funds but our local governments never pursue those means, instead they simply raise taxes on us while allowing corporations to profit from it, through the collection of tolls, or the running of the compass system, building of bridges and tearing down perfectly usable ones, etc.

Not to mention when they misuse funds...(fast ferries, family vacations, etc)

[MR_BIGGS]

Municipalities should use community amenity contributions to fund transit.

[Hehe]

I'm against any tax hike on transit system unless they can present a convincing enough long term solution.

Translink is already grabbing fund from everywhere. Tax on gas, tax on RE, and heck even tax on our hydro bill.

The never-ending desire to exploit more tax revenues shows how irresponsible Translink in term of future growth. All they do now is "oh, we need more cash, ok, let's see where else we can tax on".

If it's a fucking company, then act like it. Be responsible and try to at least balance your sheets. I'm not saying it should be done overnight, but given that they don't even have a plan, the answer is never.

So until then, Translink can count on me to veto any of their revenue plan from taxes.

[Y2K_o__o]

Originally Posted by murd0c

Fuck that, I live in Surrey and the transit is shit and I have to pay a toll to leave this place. How about these fat cat translink fuckers stop getting these bonuses and they will have more money to put towards the transit system. It's a fucken joke and I don't trust translink at all and I'm tired of paying nothing but taxes on taxes on gas and I'm tired of these tree hugging hipsters riding there hipster bikes on the bike lanes they don't have to pay for and we have to pay for it!!

Fuck translink and fuck a tax hike!!

The translink system in Burnaby is as shit as yours in Surrey to be honest with you.

Anyway, back to the discussion, we all know even the hike in 0.5% in PST would NOT help as we've discussed the fundamental problem is GVRD population is not dense enough to support the transit expansion.

Translink is the greatest obstacle for the growth & development of GVRD. We need highways that connect the major city instead of taking the shitty translink. Parking tax, carbon tax... what a joke.... I am sure if they find success in hiking 0.5% PST, soon this would be their common practice to grab $$$ from the public as an excuse for "EXPANSION" because WE ALL SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING GVRD A MORE EFFICIENT & CLEANER REGION.

[Gnomes]

In theory, this 0.5% is all would work wonders. In theory, communism does work too. But we all know what the outcome will be.

[pastarocket]

We will see the referendum question without any reference to Translink because of the stigma associated with the people that work there.

The mayors need to keep pushing the federal government for more money to pay for transit upgrades. Show us the money!!

[Carl Johnson]

Pete McMartin: On transit, vote Yes for your kids’ future



Without the projects the tax will fund, Metro Vancouver will have many more cars and much more greenhouses gases



By Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun columnist February 6, 2015



The projects that would be funded by the proposed transit tax could save Metro from another 550,000 tonnes of this stuff.

Taking the bus to work in the early morning I see them, in the long necklace of headlights backed up before the tunnel. It is the rare car among them that carries more than one person.

To watch them is to be struck by how over-built and inefficient cars are for the job. These are mostly office workers going from Point A to Point B, and every one of them requires several tons of steel and glass to do so.
Yet I get it, having been there myself: Its very inefficiency is the car’s allure.

Cars create the hell that is commuting, but — and this is their self-perpetuating irony — what better way to escape that hell than to wrap oneself in a quiet cocoon of steel and glass while listening to the radio and sipping your morning coffee. What self-indulgence. What unthinking ease. Outside it’s hell, but brother, inside it’s heaven.

Call a commuter on that self-indulgence and you’ll hear all the excuses: I need my car during the day, public transit is too slow or nonexistent, I need to get home to pick up the kids from school.

For some, that may be true. For the majority, it’s just blather. It’s the blithe self-justification for the fact that, at heart, they just don’t care to get out of their car.

None of this has entered the conversation in the debate over the coming transit plebiscite. According to the No side, the fault lies, not with human nature, but with the operation of our public transit system. To hear them, Metro Vancouver’s transit is on par with Baghdad’s, and so badly run that instituting a small tax to fund future projects would be throwing money down the drain.

This is, again, blather. Those rare times, for example, when the Expo line has malfunctioned have been blown way out of proportion, as if it were proof the whole system has to be abandoned and remade. It doesn’t. A transit line malfunction is not a disaster. It’s a glitch.
But human nature? That’s way harder to fix. Motion studies show that, on average, people won’t walk to a bus stop if it’s more than 400 metres away. That’s a five-minute walk. Any longer than that and the numbers drop precipitously.

That, in our modern world, is the limit of our tolerance. That’s assuming people are willing to take the bus in the first place.

Catering to such expectations is very hard to do.

Yet so far, the debate over the transit plebiscite has been all about money and the cost to taxpayers.

What you do not hear about is the cost of the havoc that cars wreak. Aside from the enormous government subsidies motorists enjoy, aside from the space they take, their societal cost is primarily environmental. It is that enormous and imminently catastrophic cost the No side ignores. But a 0.5-per-cent rise in the sales tax? Horror.

Projections have a million more people coming to Metro in the next 25 years. In the absence of the proposed transit plan, projections also call for 600,000 additional cars.

With the transit plan fully realized, Metro’s engineers estimate that in that time frame, the increased transit system will be able to effect an annual reduction of about 550,000 tonnes in greenhouse gases, or enough to keep it to present levels. Even with the transit plan, we’ll just be treading water.

All those car commuters strung along the highway? They might cocoon themselves from their daily hell but not the unnerving thought that, incrementally, with every mile, they’re hurtling themselves and their loved ones toward some greater disaster. I bet they wonder, as I do, if their car addiction isn’t jeopardizing the future of their children and grandchildren.

They should put their money where their doubt is.
pmcmartin@vancouversun.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Link: Pete McMartin: On transit, vote Yes for your kids? future

I'd love to see what outrageous assumptions were made in the 1,000,000 people migrating to Vancouver over the next quarter of a century projection. Somehow given the unappetizing income and gargantuan housing costs, this outlandish projection is simply ludicrous. This is the tactic Translink has restored to use to coax people to vote YES on this preposterous tax increase.

People who will come to Vancouver to settle down are already wealthy and retiring, which is basically less than 1% of the population; meanwhile, most first-time home buyers like university graduates or your middle class earning $10-15/hr can hardly afford any places in this expensive city without taking on 200k+ mortgages and become a prisoner of the banks for the rest of their lives.

Like someone already mentioned, this is just the start. Translink is simply one crown corporation that is in financial turmoil due to egregious mismanagement. So if the proponents of YES vote get their way, it will set a dangerous precedent for other government/crown corporations like BC Hydro, hospitals and schools that are also running into financial problems to follow Translink's path and demand their pound of flesh. Vancouver School Board is running a $15 million dollar deficit this year as far as I Know.

[Mr.HappySilp]

I will vote no. Simply transit is saying give me more money or we can't expand our service.

For starters how about not giving out any bonus to management then we will talk. Bonus are given when the CEO or the company is doing IE making money. In translink case it is losing money so why bonus is given out?

[tonyzoomzoom]

Pete McMartin: On transit, vote Yes for Translink's execs' kids’ future

fixed.

[tonyzoomzoom]

Put Translink under regulation like BCHydro, ICBC, and the Ferries. The review / ruling system under the BC Utilities Commission is far from perfect (interference from the government, etc.) but at least it allows some form of public scrutiny and accountability of spend.

The annual audits that the "yes" party is proposing does nothing from the perspective of spend prudency. It merely is intended to show where the money is being spent / wasted.

[cunninglinguist]

Maybe it was and I wasn't listening but why wasn't this brought up before the election?

[FerrariEnzo]

How about lay offs of some useless management who cant seem to make the transit work properly without raising taxes every damn year...

[SoNaRWaVe]

i don't really see the point in any of these new translink threads lol. its always boils down to "axe the execs, cut their salary"

if any of you were making 300k/year (or more), would any of you all be willing to take a pay cut just for the sake of your company? or would you start looking somewhere else for a job that pays you more if you knew a pay cut was coming? or heck, how bout think of the job you have now, but cut your wage by 10% just so that your company can keep operating. would you stay or leave?

you all need to remember that translink also has a mandate to fix, repair, and operate roads, which includes highways and bridges. they don't just simply operate transit and thats it. if that was the case, they probably wouldn't need as much funding as they do now.

projections from 20 or 25 years ago have become a reality. all the busy lines are at max capacity and congestion is a real problem. inflation is a bitch and is hard to keep up.

sure, this bites for most people that drive and never take the bus. but hey, you want less cars on the road to make your drive better but no one is willing to pay for it.

i can't wait to see what kind of reaction people will have when its time for the broadway corrider. its not a matter of if it will happen, but when.

[RickyTan3]

Where do I vote no

[tgill]

Originally Posted by SoNaRWaVe

i don't really see the point in any of these new translink threads lol. its always boils down to "axe the execs, cut their salary"

if any of you were making 300k/year (or more), would any of you all be willing to take a pay cut just for the sake of your company? or would you start looking somewhere else for a job that pays you more if you knew a pay cut was coming? or heck, how bout think of the job you have now, but cut your wage by 10% just so that your company can keep operating. would you stay or leave?

you all need to remember that translink also has a mandate to fix, repair, and operate roads, which includes highways and bridges. they don't just simply operate transit and thats it. if that was the case, they probably wouldn't need as much funding as they do now.

projections from 20 or 25 years ago have become a reality. all the busy lines are at max capacity and congestion is a real problem. inflation is a bitch and is hard to keep up.

sure, this bites for most people that drive and never take the bus. but hey, you want less cars on the road to make your drive better but no one is willing to pay for it.

i can't wait to see what kind of reaction people will have when its time for the broadway corrider. its not a matter of if it will happen, but when.

Well said, every transit thread boils down to the same rhetoric. As for execs, just look at Tom Prendergast, takes the CEO position at TransLink in 2008, in 2009 moves on to be President of NYC's transit system; you can bet money was part of that equation.

[inv4zn]

The voting ballots will be mailed out mid-march.

Semi-related, I drove by this fucking this last night - makes me so angry everytime i see it.



For those that don't know, it's a statue of a poodle on a pole. On Main and 18th, away from anything remotely important. And it cost $97,000 - of which Translink paid $33,000, and the CoV paid the rest.

Fuck that shit, seriously.

[aristo-crat]

A PST raise throughout the entire province in order to support the metro in just vancouver? Is that what this is talking about? If so, Fuck that. I live in Victoria, why the hell should I pay more PST so that the transit system in vancouver can have more funding.

[noclue]

If they brought back the HST I would vote yes.

But since the average person in BC is too dumb to recognize the benefits of HST (as evidenced by the referendum) It would be political suicide.

And FYI, for Translink's size, the executive compensations are quite modest. BC ferries on the other hand...