B.C. government hitting Metro Vancouver drivers with 1.5 cents per litre gas tax hike
 

The B.C. government will raise the Metro Vancouver gasoline tax by 1.5 cents per litre by next spring in order to pay for regional transportation improvements.Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, who chairs TransLink’s Mayors’ Council, said the council and board received word about the funding source from Minister of Municipal Affairs Selina Robinson on Wednesday, the day before the board and mayors were set to vote on the funding plan for the second phase of its 10-year transportation plan.

Corrigan called it “a last-minute but noteworthy” revision to the plan.

“I know some will see this as a surprising or big change, but I will add that we have been talking about this plan for a long time,” Corrigan said.

The gas tax increase, from 17 cents per litre to 18.5 cents per litre, will provide TransLink with between $30 million and $33 million in revenue per year for the Phase 2 investment plan.


The ambitious $7.3-billion second phase of the 10-year plan includes projects such as the construction of the Millennium Line Broadway SkyTrain Extension and the first stage of the South of Fraser rapid transit in Surrey, more bus and HandyDART service, upgrades to the existing SkyTrain system, improvements to road, pedestrian and cycling networks, and planning for a proposed gondola on Burnaby Mountain.

The two major rail projects, with a combined cost of almost $4.5 billion, are expected to account for almost half of the total Phase 2 investment.

The federal government has committed to paying up to 40 per cent of the capital costs for major projects, and the province has agreed to pay for 40 per cent of all projects.

Regional funding sources identified in March include a two-per-cent transit fare hike, three-per-cent parking tax increase, a property tax increase of $5.50 for the average household and a development cost charge on new development.


Those funding sources were identified in March to help cover $40 million of a $70-million regional funding gap. At the time, Robinson was vague about how the remaining $30 million would be funded, saying only the province was “committed to reducing TransLink’s fiscal pressures by $30 million.”

“Providing us with this certainty now will allow us to begin deliver the plan immediately,” he said.

Corrigan said the gas tax increase will have an average annual household impact of $22. He added that by 2027, the share of TransLink’s annual operating funding paid by drivers through fuel and parking taxes will be lower than today, because the fuel tax is a declining revenue source.

If they're already short on funds why are they wasting money planning (not even building) a gondola?

it doesn't matter, we will all just bend over anyway, because there is nothing we can do

This is just the great news that I've been waiting for. I've been wanting to pay more taxes on gas, always thought that the price in lower mainland was kind of low compared to rest of Canada.

It is only a matter of time before road tax is here. Gas tax revenue will steadily go down as more people adopt pure electric vehicles.

Washington state has already started a pilot program:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...fund-highways/

Well, when the NDP got rid of the bridge tolls they had to make up for the funds somehow.

pfft only 1.5c?
why not 15c or 150c hike
BC gov't don't be so spineless

but seriously this is much easier for families to swallow than tolls? i'm assuming the average vehicle does 20mpg 800km/mo? anyone have the local stats for that? either way is it safe to say 99% of the motorists won't even blink an eye even if they didn't publicly reveal it?

why not tax electric vehicles too? :troll:

mg1 gonna kill me

Tbh I have no idea where the funding for translink goes. It’s ridiculously expensive to the point that I’d rather drive and pay for insurance and gas rather than taking transit to save no more than $50 and it’s more convenient.

Yah but here's the great thing about it. If you drive = use more gas ... you are subsidizing Translink with this additional tax.

Can someone remind me the logic of this? Why are drivers being taxed for Translink? To do what ... build more infrastructure like Evergreen line, Broadway line, which drivers don't use. Exactly how does this new tax on fuel help drivers? Does Translink fix potholes on the road or something?

Average vehicle gets way more than 20 mpg.

Let's say we're looking at 10-year-old cars:
Top 40 Best-Selling Vehicles In Canada ? 2008 Year End | GCBC

And the average driving distance is 15153 km:
Canadian Vehicle Survey 2008 Update Report

Using a 55% City/45% highway split, as per Transport Canada's and NHTSA's ratings with the base engine and automatic transmission and fuel economy information from fueleconomy.gov

Civic: 8.1 L/100 km
F150: 14.7 L/100 km
Corolla: 8.1 L/100 km
Mazda 3: 9.0 L/100 km
Ram 1500: 14.7 L/100 km
Yaris: 7.6 L/100 km
Caravan: 12.4 L/100 km
Silverado: 13.8 L/100 km
Sierra: 13.8 L/100 km
Cobalt: 9.0 L/100 km
Escape: 10.7 L/100 km
Accent: 8.4 L/100 km
G5: 9.0 L/100 km
Camry: 9.4 L/100 km
Ranger: 11.2 L/100 km
Focus: 8.4 L/100 km
Matrix: 8.7 L/100 km
Accord: 9.8 L/100 km
Versa: 8.7 L/100 km
RAV4: 9.8 L/100 km
CR-V: 10.2 L/100 km
Caliber: 9.8 L/100 km
Malibu: 9.4 L/100 km
Vibe: 8.7 L/100 km
Rabbit: 9.8 L/100 km
Altima: 9.0 L/100 km
Uplander: 12.4 L/100 km
Montana: 12.4 L/100 km
Impala: 10.7 L/100 km
Fit: 7.8 L/100 km
Santa Fe: 11.8 L/100 km
Jetta: 9.8 L/100 km
Patriot: 9.8 L/100 km
G6: 9.4 L/100 km
Fusion: 10.2 L/100 km
Rogue: 9.8 L/100 km
Wrangler: 13.8 L/100 km
Equinox: 12.4 L/100 km
Mazda 5: 10.2 L/100 km
Edge: 12.4 L/100 km

The Top 40 2008 model year vehicles had a combined 2008 sales of 1,024,031, a combined total driving distance of 15,517,141,743 km/year, and a combined fuel consumption of 1,615,963,137 L/year, which works out to an average of 10.4 L/100 km (22.6 MPG) and an average of 1578 L/year in fuel consumption.

1.5 cents/L on 1578 L = $23.67/year

Now, that's 2008 (first year of CAFE standards) and without ANY hybrid or EV models on the list and I'd hazard a guess that most vehicles on the road are probably somewhere between 5-10 years old in the Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island.

^ That's some fancy calculation! Good job Jmac, are you an accountant or an actuarial by any chance?

Here is an article of tax breakdown per litre of gas in Metro Vancouver (before today's news). In short, for a 50L fill up, you are paying close to $22 of taxes - carbon tax, BC Transportation Financing Authority, BC Motor Fuel tax, Translink, Federal Fuel Tax, and finally GST on top of every previous tax!
Mike Smyth: Breaking down where your gas money goes | The Province

was waiting for you to do all the work, thanks for the breakdown

I didn't vote for NDP because they promised to remove bridge tolls. I voted for them because I saw them as the best chance to get rid of Christy Clark and the Liberals. But then I know people who openly cheered for and cited the bridge toll removal as one of their reasons to vote NDP. FailFish

I really wonder what these people are saying now... FailFish

When the time comes -- ie. when gas tax revenues drop to a point where the provincial gov / TransLink deems it insufficent to fuel their $$$ burning habits, do you think they won't come up with some sort of ways to tax EVs as well?
:badpokerface:

It's just gonna be a matter of time before these fxxkers try to pull this on us.

Power Engineer

if you cross more than 5-10x a year this new revenue is still way cheaper for the average motorist

i dont live or work east of the fraser so it doesn't directly affect me but I think the current govt is still doing a helluva better job in the short time in office than the Libs since forever yet people are still labeling them as the same hooligans from fucking 15 years ago...so let's see how they do in the long term before this turns into another trump-like thread

Agreed. They're tackling a number of long standing problems that for one reason or another, have long existed under the Liberals era, but the Libs never put any meaningful action towards them.

At least you had a good reason for voting NDP. Voting simply to remove a toll is letting the politicians buy your vote.

Gonna cost me an extra $50 per year or so, filling up 5000L of premium per year.

Eh, I already get gouged at the pump, an extra $50 won't even matter.

every time i hear or meet a power engineer this goes through my head




i'll show myself out now...

Gas prices fluctuate so much over the span of a day that I doubt anyone would have even noticed it anyway.

1.5 cents this year. What about next year?

Well, the gas station I usually go to to fill up every few days jumped from $1.37 two days ago to $1.52 last night. I'll guarantee in a day it will drop back down to around $1.40 or even less again. And then in a few days it will jump back up again.


$1.37 -> $1.52 increase = $0.15/L = $6 extra for a 40L fill up
vs
$0.015/L = $0.60 for a 40L fill up

Assuming I fill up once a week, it will take me two and a half months before it matches that single fill up right before a long weekend.

And also assuming I stay at a steady once a week refill, it's still much cheaper than crossing a toll bridge more than once a month.

And if next year it increases another $0.015/L, then that's what's it is. We all want better roads, better bridges, better traffic control for HOV/bike lane separation/etc, so we all benefit from this.

Don't want to pay it? Go down to the States or over to Abbotsford. Just don't complain about potholes being fixed or Translink buses getting stuck in the snow or anything else road related in the GVRD.

buses won't magically get winter tires if we pay the tax, asphalt ain't gonna stop cracking if we pay the tax

they are planning to toll all the bridges too

question is why aren't we using the carbon tax or better allocate the existing 55cent of tax

also, bchydro has a transit levy