TransLink Proposes Tolls on All Metro bridges & New Vehicle Levy - Page 2

mr.x · #21 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Henry_Man

Then Translink should give the responsibility of road maintenance to municipal and provincial governments and focus ONLY on transit!! And trim all bureaucratic costs and salaries of top execs first before even considering more gas taxes, fare increases etc. What about the power to buy properties around transit nodes? Have Translink done this yet since they implemented this practice?

The market kinda did crash for the latter.....and Translink would be required to hire a team to scour the region's properties to buy. Not to mention, where are they going to get all that capital to buy these properties?

It's unfortunate we couldn't have used real estate to help pay for Canada Line construction costs.

mr.x · #22 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:03 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

I don't support tolling on existing bridges either. Gas taxes, done and done.

$450-million in gas taxes?

The_Henry_Man · #23 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:10 PM**

What about tolling for cars coming into the downtown core?

mr.x · #24 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:12 PM**

^ not exactly attractive to downtown businesses and offices when more and more are choosing the suburbs, and certainly not enough revenue. The Lions Gate should definitely be tolled though, but not the False Creek bridges...people will simply drive around to Main Street if they have to.

go_leafs_go02 · #25 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:22 PM**

why make the most expensive place in Canada to live even more expensive?

sheesh. These ideas make me want to leave the area.

DKaz · #26 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

why make the most expensive place in Canada to live even more expensive?

sheesh. These ideas make me want to leave the area.

Edmonton might be more suited to your lifestyle, they're really car friendly over there.

WarrenC12 · #27 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.x

$450-million in gas taxes?

Translink takes in $260m in gas taxes. Another $450m would effectively triple the current gas tax. Put me on record right here as saying: DO IT. For the record I also have a car.

This is all provided that a cost review shows there isn't too much fat in Translink right now. Expense cutting would be the first priority.

The bottom line is the BC government sent Translink out and gave them a politically terrible system of funding. All of their revenue sources are very visible to the public, and therefore very unpopular. Furthermore multiple sources rather than one is even worse.

WarrenC12 · #28 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:29 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.x

^ not exactly attractive to downtown businesses and offices when more and more are choosing the suburbs, and certainly not enough revenue. The Lions Gate should definitely be tolled though, but not the False Creek bridges...people will simply drive around to Main Street if they have to.

LOL I guess you don't live in West Van.

go_leafs_go02 · #29 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:30 PM**

Abbotsford & Mission are going to come even more a-hopping if these goes through.

Yume-sama · #30 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:31 PM**

Tolling will cause people to riot. You don't even wanna know.

johnjimbc · #31 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:45 PM**

Actually, Mr X, you are correct. I didn't know about automatic tolling's capability to capture every auto.

So how exactly does that work for cars from Washington State? What about rental cars - not that we have any of them in Vancouver? Do the bills get passed back to other provinces?

It's a massive infrastructure and bureaucratic explosion so someone will be really happy about the empire they've created - as I said before. But it is a non-starter issue for a city to allow that all their existing bridges become toll bridges. No politician who supports it will be elected again.

I am all for reducing car usage - and I say that as a car owner - though I do have to say I fall more in the crowd who values reducing carbon output over elimination of private vehicles. But placing tolls everywhere conceivable is NOT the vehicle (pun intended) to do so. Instead, it is the recipe for a revolt.

Now, if the desired outcome is to drive businesses out of the downtown core, there is some potential here. Let's just add a surcharge for every single employee who needs to drive (public transit is not as ubiquitous as you might think) every single day, twice each day! Heck, maybe two or three bridges for employees who live far enough out. Introduce that type of system, and you'll begin to see companies making "strategic" decisions on where to locate their places of employment. Surrey may end up loving the idea, but that place on the peninsula we affectionately call downtown, the one with existing bridges without tolls, they won't be so pleased with the outcome.

I agree that cost savings and revenue generation is necessary, but to toll every single bridge is a non-starter and a distraction. BC will relinquish its role as a leader and risk becoming a parody. Afterward, maybe we can start tolling for the use of each street light as well. Would the tolls be higher for green light passage or red lights followed by a green?

quobobo · #32 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:47 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.x

^ I'm guessing you've never heard of ELECTRONIC TOLLING, with sensors (detecting transponders) and cameras (recording license plate numbers) to charge tolls while you drive under the tolling stations at up to 90 km/h. The bill will be sent to you or will be deducted from your account.

It's still an awful lot of infrastructure and bureaucracy compared to a gas tax.

van-island · #33 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 5:51 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by s211

Translink needs to start living within its means. Contrary with what it seems to believe, there is no endless pot of people to be milked so that Trankslink can live its life of champagne dreams and caviar wishes.

I agree to an extent. I went to TransLink's public forum where they basically said they were broke and needed signifcant new funding.

It was held at the Fairmont Waterfront, which is not exactly a bargain basement venue.

They also hire summer students at $29/hr I believe.

mr.x · #34 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 6:30 PM**

Talk about one angry [and ignorant] mob at the Vancouver Sun comments section, 200+ comments in the last 6 hours:
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun.../31/460312.aspx

A lot are complaining why there's even a $450-million shortfall in the first place, ignorantly not knowing that it's for major transit improvements and maintaining existing service. Fact is, we're finally catching up with the lack of transit improvements we made in the 20th century.

mr.x · #35 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 6:30 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by van-island

I agree to an extent. I went to TransLink's public forum where they basically said they were broke and needed signifcant new funding.

It was held at the Fairmont Waterfront, which is not exactly a bargain basement venue.

They also hire summer students at $29/hr I believe.

$29/hr? Damn...

djmk · #36 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 6:42 PM**

tolling existing bridges will be political suicide.

watts will never let it happen.

i wonder if there are possibilities of different types of revenue not thought of yet.... ie more advertising (billboards), naming rights...

mr.x · #37 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 6:47 PM**

^ perhaps more advertising, but naming rights would be absolutely disgusting and cheapens everything. I know that the Las Vegas monoraril does that, for each station and train....and it also allows the naming rights holder to brand the stations and trains they hold rights to.

flight_from_kamakura · #38 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 6:48 PM**

derek, baby, i love you, but damn, don't make it so hard!

i think i wrote something yesterday about the wisdom of this sort of plan in the context of the ubc extension, such an obvious thing to do that even gordo might see the wisdom. the tolling thing is probably gonne be the toughest to get through, though the uproar could be mitigated by some good improvements. my god, just thinking about the traffic reduction and transit boosting that tolls would have makes me salivate. tolls aren't nearly as bad as they used to be, the bay area bridges flow pretty smoothly, and i've been all up and down tolled roads on the east coast of the u.s. without any problem whatever. so i say yeah! toll the roads! treat us like the dogs we are and give us trains in return! hehe, but then i never leave vancouver anyway, to me, fraser street is practically the burbs, so it's on you, suckers!

and the irony is pretty sweet, the ndp was ridden out of office (final nail sort of thing) on that much smaller vehicle levy, it was good policy then and it's doubly so now - the only thing that could make the irony sweeter would be if carole opposed the levy and somehow rode it to an election win! also, the government might add ten cents to the gas tax, but give something back by tossing in some good regulation to affect price fluctuation (heck, why not go whole hog, prince edward island-style, and set up full on price regulation? would be enormously popular and a brilliantly cunning way to disguise a huge new increase in the provincial gas tax).

also, jabba jabba, mark my words, those p3 projects are bad medicine.

MRWNS · #39 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 6:50 PM**

I would imagine people living in Richmond wouldn't be too happy if TransLink tolled all of the bridges. It would be huge blow to them as leaving Richmond requires bridges and a tunnel.

Count me in on the gas tax.

djmk · #40 Posted **Jul 31, 2009, 6:57 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.x

^ perhaps more advertising, but naming rights would be absolutely disgusting and cheapens everything. I know that the Las Vegas monoraril does that, for each station and train....and it also allows the naming rights holder to brand the stations and trains they hold rights to.

the canada line is already branded. its called the "canada line" for a reason. and we have no problems with GM Place.

i do not think Vancouverites would mind if certain stations were further branded.

Rona station, Sears Station, Future Shop Station, Telus Station. Labatt Station.....

if the money is right....