[teddyah]

Surrey Leader - TransLink seeks 12.5-per-cent fare hike (http://www.surreyleader.com/news/137034413.html)

TransLink has applied to raise transit fares an average of 12.5 per cent in January 2013 and this time the planned increases are to hit all riders.

If approved, cash fares would rise 25 to 50 cents to between $2.75 for one zone and $5.50 for three zones.

A book of 10 pre-paid one-zone FareSaver tickets would rise $2.50 to $23.50, while a three-zone book would climb $5 to $47.

Monthly passes would cost $91 for one zone (up $10); $124 for or two-zones (up $14); or $170 for three zones (up $19.)

Concession fares would also go up.

The last across-the-board fare increase was in 2008, while a 2010 hike for monthly pass and FareSavers kept cash fares frozen.

The increases would generate an extra $48 million in 2013 to help fund transit expansion plans passed last year with the approval of Metro Vancouver mayors.

But TransLink Commissioner Martin Crilly, TransLink's independent regulator, has the power to veto the fare hike and is taking a hard look at the justification and whether the transportation authority has done enough to increase efficiency.

"What we're probing for is any evidence we can find that TransLink can actually manage with less revenue than is in its plans currently – including the fare increase – and still deliver all the projects and services that are in its approved plans," Crilly said.

He could reduce the fare hike if he judges TransLink can make do with less or find more money elsewhere.

The commissioner is calling for the public to comment on the proposed increase by by emailing comments@translinkcommission.org by Feb. 15.

TransLink says it hasn't decided what measures or service cuts it would impose if the fare increase isn't approved.

But in a series of answers to Crilly's questions, the authority indicates it could still raise monthly pass prices, since the regulator only has authority to block short-term fare hikes.

Bus service could also be cut, TransLink said, but noted it would have to eliminate 300,000 service hours or six per cent of total bus service to achieve a $25 million cut in spending.

And although faregates are coming to SkyTrain, TransLink doesn't expect to recoup much money by eliminating fare evasion.

It estimates its rollout of faregates and Compass smart cards in 2013 will save close to $7 million a year, but says those savings are already assumed in TransLink's financial plans.

Crilly must rule on the fare hike by March 27.

Any decision must ensure TransLink can still deliver the expanded services it promises and remain on sound financial footing.

He expects a further request from TransLink to change its fare structure sometime in mid-2013, when Compass payment cards are to be rolled out.

Crilly has hired Shirocca Consulting to analyze TransLink's finances and provide advice on potential areas for savings.

He intends to look at administrative costs and has also asked TransLink to explain how it has responded to recommendations the provincial government's Comptroller General issued in 2009 after a review of the transportation authority.

That report found TransLink had an "excessive" number of senior executives, prompting the CEO to eliminate three vice-presidents.

A 2013 fare increase would come on the heels of an already approved two-cent gas tax increase next April to fund part of TransLink's contribution to the Evergreen Line as well as a package of other transit upgrades.

Mayors and the province are also committed to negotiate new funding sources for TransLink, otherwise a property tax increase kicks in to pay for the balance of the newly approved projects.

[1exotic]

GOOD

Better to charge the riders than adding another BS tax to gas or something.

[murd0c]

Translink has to get their bonuses some how :troll:

[Santofu]

Jesus, 91 bucks a month? Now I don't think i can able to afford my pleasure insurance :okay:

[xilley]

Jesus, 91 bucks a month? Now I don't think i can able to afford my pleasure insurance :okay:

you should see the price for month pass in Toronto

[taylor192]

you should see the price for month pass in Toronto
Its $94/mn in Ottawa for less service, at least Toronto has fantastic service within the metro-Toronto area.

[7seven]

GOOD

Better to charge the riders than adding another BS tax to gas or something.

Strongly agree with this

[gars]

at least we can all write off the monthly passes with out taxes...

[StylinRed]

should raise it even more

[winson604]

This at least makes me just slightly less angry that I'm getting charged additional taxes for gas when I don't even ride the bus. However, Translink still fucking sucks.

[hirevtuner]

they should hike up transit everytime there is a renovation or a new line instead of the bs carbon tax hiked up on cars to pay for transit projects

hit the transit riders for transit improvements, hit the drivers for new bridges or fixing roads, how hard is that to understand?

[nns]

should raise it even more

Raise it....to over 9000.

[eurochevy]

i hope they tax the shit out of transit, they're the reasons why the bridge is gonna be tolled and the whole green line or whatever going to be put in besides i don't use transit except 1/2 times a year for canuck games :fuckthatshit:

[tiger_handheld]

I will only support the raise, if gas tax is eliminated. Not in favor of double dipping.

On an ironic note, insurance for my car and 3zone pass is now the same. tell me why i should take transit? assume I live in surrey :)

[gars]

I will only support the raise, if gas tax is eliminated. Not in favor of double dipping.

On an ironic note, insurance for my car and 3zone pass is now the same. tell me why i should take transit? assume I live in surrey :)

But transit is already funded by all sorts of different taxes.

If you work downtown - a parking pass downtown will easily cost you $150 - $200 a spot. That's where you would save a lot of money.

[iEatClams]

at least we can all write off the monthly passes with out taxes...

We actually can't write it off. We get a tax credit for 15% of what the passes are.

So if you spend $100 on transit pass, your taxes decrease by $15. So you're effectively paying $85 for the pass instead of $100.

[tonyzoomzoom]

translink management is completely out of fucking control. Fire those bastards

[Amuse]

Jesus, 91 bucks a month? Now I don't think i can able to afford my pleasure insurance :okay:
It used to be $68 a couple years ago.

[dinosaur]

YEAH!

For once I agree with someone raising the price of something in this province!

Now, ffs, can they install the turnstiles faster!? Maybe once EVERY RIDER pays, they will stop bitching about how much it costs to operate.

[rexsomnii]

buy all the fare savers at 2.50 before they go up to 2.75

[mercyboy]

well that's good a sign but still sad to see expensive transit....goodbye 2.25 hello!!! 2.75:woot2:

[Mr.HappySilp]

YEAH!

For once I agree with someone raising the price of something in this province!

Now, ffs, can they install the turnstiles faster!? Maybe once EVERY RIDER pays, they will stop bitching about how much it costs to operate.

Agree! I take the skytrain to work and one of my ex co-worker never paid a dime for 4+years :suspicious: Is so easy to get away not paying the skytrain during rush hours coz they NEVER CHECK for fares during rush hours......... even if u do get caught just make some BS and they let u off the hook.......

All I can say is with the fare increase more ppl will try not to pay for it..........

[phunky.FOB]

Good thing I have a social worker she gives me free faresaver 3 zone tickets. But I don't even use it! but sigh
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[FerrariEnzo]

charge more for people WHO ACTUALLY use the damn service... geez... they finally got that idea through their heads...

[melloman]

I will only support the raise, if gas tax is eliminated. Not in favor of double dipping.

I agree, it's a step in the right direction of making people pay for THEIR services, but still bullshit. We are never going to see the Carbon tax be decreased even though auto manufacturers are going in the right direction..

[Death2Theft]

Thats how they stick you with new taxes, say it's for the enviroment have no accountability of where the money goes and then wind up keeping it around because people "FEEL GOOD" about it.

[anti_rice]

Agree! I take the skytrain to work and one of my ex co-worker never paid a dime for 4+years :suspicious: Is so easy to get away not paying the skytrain during rush hours coz they NEVER CHECK for fares during rush hours......... even if u do get caught just make some BS and they let u off the hook.......

All I can say is with the fare increase more ppl will try not to pay for it..........

it's people like your ex co-worker that drive up taxes and transit prices.

[taylor192]

We actually can't write it off. We get a tax credit for 15% of what the passes are.

So if you spend $100 on transit pass, your taxes decrease by $15. So you're effectively paying $85 for the pass instead of $100.

Worse. Its a tax "credit" meaning it raises the minimum threshold not to pay taxes by $15. Since the lowest tax bracket is ~20%, you're only saving 20% of 15% or ~$3/mn.

[taylor192]

I agree, it's a step in the right direction of making people pay for THEIR services, but still bullshit.
You're welcome to move to another country if that's your mentality. Canada is a socialist country, which means the majority pay for services that are in the best interest of society, even if only a minority of people use them - subsidized public transit being one of those services.

I agree that it sucks, yet its part of being Canadian.

[Mr.HappySilp]

it's people like your ex co-worker that drive up taxes and transit prices.

You cna't really blame anyone when thier systems allows you to do it.

Like if I leave $50 on the sidewalk with a note saying "Please do not take" I bet you ppl will take it. Is human nature to take/get away with things they can.........

[gars]

You cna't really blame anyone when thier systems allows you to do it.

Like if I leave $50 on the sidewalk with a note saying "Please do not take" I bet you ppl will take it. Is human nature to take/get away with things they can.........

Does your ex-coworker shoplift candy bars from convenience stores as well? Or steal gasoline from gas stations before you had to prepay?

[see.lai]

Everything is so damn expensive.. :heckno:

[dark0821]

I mean, I understand that ya... Taking money from riders is better than taking money from us drivers

But I also think that translink is punishing the poor. It's not that people don't drive, it's because some family can't afford to drive... And lemme tell you, it's does not cost that much to run a 96 corolla around. But if you or your family can't even afford that, then I guess you are already trying to make every dollar count... And the price increase in this case just sounds absurd.

I been in situation where I try to make ends meet, and trust me when I say, every dollar counts.

[dinosaur]

A little off topic, but still Translink...

They just released some info about the Burnaby Mtn Gondola: Will take 12 million dollars MORE to operate over the next 25 years than the current bus system.

It seems like it is run by a bunch of idiots, so I wonder if they are going to go for it....I doubt it though. At least....I hope they don't.

[gars]

I mean, I understand that ya... Taking money from riders is better than taking money from us drivers

But I also think that translink is punishing the poor. It's not that people don't drive, it's because some family can't afford to drive... And lemme tell you, it's does not cost that much to run a 96 corolla around. But if you or your family can't even afford that, then I guess you are already trying to make every dollar count... And the price increase in this case just sounds absurd.

I been in situation where I try to make ends meet, and trust me when I say, every dollar counts.

Cars aren't cheap to run. $50 in gas every two weeks (depending on how much you drive), $1000 basic insurance (if you have a good record), plus $500 in maintenance/incidentals a year = $2500 a year.

That's pretty minimum - and with Basic Insurance... if you run basic insurance and you crash your car and it's your fault - you're paying out of your pocket to fix it.

A Monthly pass at $110 (2 zones, current price) is $1320 a year.

[kuruuze]

Translink is bullshit it doesn't even run where I need it to get to work in the morning. The government should do something like letting people be able to "Opt out" of taxes (like carbon tax) if we agree not to use these services of translink.

[gars]

Translink is bullshit it doesn't even run where I need it to get to work in the morning. The government should do something like letting people be able to "Opt out" of taxes (like carbon tax) if we agree not to use these services of translink.

You're welcome to move to another country if that's your mentality. Canada is a socialist country, which means the majority pay for services that are in the best interest of society, even if only a minority of people use them - subsidized public transit being one of those services.

I agree that it sucks, yet its part of being Canadian.

:)

[twitchyzero]

seems like just rise @ inflation rates as they last raised it what, almost 5 years ago? fine by me

[tonyzoomzoom]

seems like just rise @ inflation rates as they last raised it what, almost 5 years ago? fine by me

They also got a ton of extra increase $$ from raising parking taxes, property taxes, gas taxes, etc

No where close to just inflation, if you look at the total what they spend.

[achiam]

YEAH!

For once I agree with someone raising the price of something in this province!

Now, ffs, can they install the turnstiles faster!? Maybe once EVERY RIDER pays, they will stop bitching about how much it costs to operate.

Actually that's not the solution. I used to think that way too, as all world city transit systems have turnstiles, but the implementation cost of these electronic turnstiles (which are coming btw) is so huge that it'd take (I was told) nearly 20 years for the cost to be recuperated. They also did a study showing that the number of fare evaders was actually very low.

Anyhow, if I were in Vancouver long term I wouldn't mind even paying over $100/mth, but only if the system ran far more frequently and the Skytrain operated way later.

As a reference, NYC's metro pass is about $104/mth, but the subway is 24/7 and goes really far and all over the place.

London's zone 1/2 pass is about $130/mth, tube goes everywhere, with trains coming every 5 minutes roughly, and buses that usually come every 5-10 minutes.

The problem though, is that those cities are far denser and everyone takes transit -- here everyone likes to drive and the distances are spread out.

[Tapioca]

A little off topic, but still Translink...

They just released some info about the Burnaby Mtn Gondola: Will take 12 million dollars MORE to operate over the next 25 years than the current bus system.

It seems like it is run by a bunch of idiots, so I wonder if they are going to go for it....I doubt it though. At least....I hope they don't.

It's not just about the money. The gondola would allow the university to continue operating during snow storms. Once it snows on the mountain, you can't go up, or get down from campus.

[gars]

London's zone 1/2 pass is about $130/mth, tube goes everywhere, with trains coming every 5 minutes roughly, and buses that usually come every 5-10 minutes.

Funny you should mention London - because their Tubes close even earlier than our skytrain. Some of the lines have a last train of 11:00 some night - most last trains leave central by 12:30. They have random closures of entire lines on sundays, and just random days sprinkled here and there.

Their infrastructure is so old that their trains break down often. It's very uncommon to look at the TFL website and seeing all the lines actually appearing green - because there is always one line that is delayed, or closed due to repairs.

Some of their buses come every 5-10 minutes - but try taking a night bus home. I was taking a night bus home from clapham south to holland park where I was living at the time - and it actually took me over 2 hours.


But you're totally right - due to their density - as well with NYC - the service is so much better than what we can do in Vancouver with limited people taking the trains and our population spread out so thin.

[Graeme S]

A little off topic, but still Translink...

They just released some info about the Burnaby Mtn Gondola: Will take 12 million dollars MORE to operate over the next 25 years than the current bus system.

It seems like it is run by a bunch of idiots, so I wonder if they are going to go for it....I doubt it though. At least....I hope they don't.

Honestly, I hope they do run it. I live down the hill from SFU and countless times I've had friends who were at SFU stuck at the top or told not to go to class because snow has closed the roads and the busses can't get there.

People have lost weeks worth of classes because of snow delays over the years. If they put in the Gondola, they might finally have a method of getting people up and down the mountain that isn't completely dependent on the Weather Gods.

And yes, it really is a goddamned mountain. There is snow at SFU every year, regardless of whether or not it falls on the rest of the lower mainland.
You cna't really blame anyone when thier systems allows you to do it.

Like if I leave $50 on the sidewalk with a note saying "Please do not take" I bet you ppl will take it. Is human nature to take/get away with things they can.........
There are two reasons I'm happy turnstiles are coming in.

One: Everyone on the trains must pay, just like on the busses
Two: turnstiles will keep off the riffraff--those who are less likely to pay are also more likely to be troublemakers in general.

Actually that's not the solution. I used to think that way too, as all world city transit systems have turnstiles, but the implementation cost of these electronic turnstiles (which are coming btw) is so huge that it'd take (I was told) nearly 20 years for the cost to be recuperated. They also did a study showing that the number of fare evaders was actually very low.
Not untrue, but there are fringe benefits. Know how they call it the CrimeTrain? And how people who commit crimes just hop on and off and know they won't get caught 'cause there's a RIDICULOUSLY low chance that anyone's gonna be around to catch them not paying? Yeah, guess what's not gonna happen as much.
As a reference, NYC's metro pass is about $104/mth, but the subway is 24/7 and goes really far and all over the place.
The trains might run 24/7, but not all the stations do. I was staying in New York, about 3 blocks from Times Square, and a decent chunk (can't speak for all of them 'cause I didn't try all of them) of the stations closed at or around midnight or shortly thereafter. Trains aren't much use if you can't get to the stations.
The problem though, is that those cities are far denser and everyone takes transit -- here everyone likes to drive and the distances are spread out.
That's the nail and you've hit it on the head. Yet all the people who complain about condos and townhouses and apartments are the ones who also would benefit from the higher density and transit-centric-ness of it all.




I'll be honest. I'm a transit user, and I'm more than happy to pay, even with the extra 12.5%. I live in Burnaby. I work downtown. With the last car I owned on my own (an old Integra with 30% discount) I paid the following:
$200/mo insurance
$200/mo gas

Add in another $150 a month for parking downtown (if I were lucky and wanted to walk) and I'd be paying $550 vs $125.


I'm good.

[dinosaur]

Dudes, really?!

I went to SFU for almost 5 years and I can count on one hand how many times the campus was closed due to snow.

Do we really need to spend millions (for construction and operation) to avoid MAYBE 1-2 campus closures a year for?

I really don't think so.
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[optiblue]

I'm in favor of raising transit costs. It's still cheap compared to Ontario. What wasn't right was the 2 cents carbon tax. I'm very close to just driving out to point Roberts to fill up just because.
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[JesseBlue]

i wish that my wage goes up as easily...:troll:

[dark0821]

Cars aren't cheap to run. $50 in gas every two weeks (depending on how much you drive), $1000 basic insurance (if you have a good record), plus $500 in maintenance/incidentals a year = $2500 a year.

That's pretty minimum - and with Basic Insurance... if you run basic insurance and you crash your car and it's your fault - you're paying out of your pocket to fix it.

A Monthly pass at $110 (2 zones, current price) is $1320 a year.

I agree with you that keeping a car on the street is no small investment... (thank you for your math, but yes you are right on the money of how much i spend) all to my point that Translink is punishing the poor. At least from where I stand, I see that Translink are making the families that cant afford to spend an extra $1180 on transportation to cough out more money.... (bare minimum VS 2 zone transit cost).

To me, cept maybe for the people that work in DWTWN Vancouver, they are making a sacrifice in time/energy just to save that extra $1180/yr. Lets face it, our public transit system isnt the greatest. When will it be enough? I drive, but at the same time, I already do feel that public transit is over priced as it is...

just my 0.02