The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland – Revisited

A repost from 2013.

In 1992, the region woke up to a GVRD study that exposed the deceit of many politicians of the day who claimed that SkyTrain operated without subsidy. The truth was just the Expo line to New Westminster was heavily subsidized, more than the combined diesel and trolley buses!

I add this because the old TransLink propaganda machine is up and running claiming “because SkyTrain is driverless, it’s cheap to operate.”

Posted by on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

In 1993 the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), now known as metro Vancouver and the province of British Columbia released a report entitled “Transport 2021“, part of the 2021 study was the study, “The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland“.

On page 15 of the “The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland” study is a chart showing the breakdown of financial studies for public transit in 1991. The chart showed that the total subsidy for SkyTrain was $157.6 million. The huge subsidy for SkyTrain sent howls of “shock and disbelief” from BC Transit and the SkyTrain lobby, which until then maintained the myth that SkyTrain operated without subsidy and in fact suggested that SkyTrain paid its operating costs, a myth that remains today.

In early 2004, the late light rail campaigner, the late Des Turner, confirmed with TransLink that the annual SkyTrain subsidy, with the opening of the Millennium Line, surpassed $200 million a year! Alas, Mr Turner has since passed away and his meticulous records have been lost to the ages.

With the $100 million concessionaire’s fee for the Canada Line and adding provincial debt servicing charges for the metro, the annual subsidy for the mini-metro system has now surpassed $300 million!

When politicians or media types claim that “SkyTrain operates without subsidy“, or “pays its operating costs“, just remind those cheer-leading for mini-metro of “The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland” and that the annual subsidy for mini-metro has surpassed $300 million annually! One can also add, that the $300 million pus annual subsidy has hamstrung financially TransLink and its public transit operations.

The following is reproduced from”The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland“.

Exhibit III-1

Breakdown of financial subsidies for public transit in 1991 ($millions)

Comments

One Response to “The Cost of Transporting People in the British Columbia Lower Mainland – Revisited”
  1. Nathan Davidowicz says:

    You should add the cost of the West Coast Express. Buses in Metro Vancouver are caring up to 70% of all riders. Need a major improvements to bus services by buying new extra 300 e.buses and 60 extra HandyDART. Returning rail service on the Northshore , south of the Fraser, NW South Burnaby South Vancouver.

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