As reality hits, the taxpayer will get hit harder!
Well, lots of news about SkyTrain and how it's getting older and whole lot of money must be spent to refurbish the metro system. Well, hasn't TransLink planned for this or do they just think that the taxpayer will shell out more money to keep the aging behemoth running.
All transit systems age and transit managers should take into account that mid-life refurbishments must take place and have the appropriate plan to deal with the problem. It seems TransLink's mandarins have not.
Long predicted by transit experts, proprietary metro systems like SkyTrain to not age well, especially driverless transit systems, where the delicate and complicated signaling kit gets very balky as each year passes, as evidenced by SkyTrain's many stoppages this month alone. This of course, drives up operating costs, and i just wonder if TransLink deliberately put off necessary maintenance of the signaling system to pretend that SkyTrain's operating costs were much cheaper than they really are to both help securing a SkyTrain Canada line and help Bombardier sell a SkyTrain to Hawaii.
This sort of thing is not new, as back in the 90's BC Transit deferred maintenance schedules on buses and SkyTrain in order to successfully win a CUTA transit award. Only months later the transit system collapsed because buses broke down regularly and for many, taking transit for several months was a nightmare. This episode actually made Zwei with to the car to commute to Vancouver!
I think TransLink has a nasty surprise for those mayors wanting to vote for the two cent a litre gas tax and the surprise is, the extra monies will not go to fund better transit service in the region, rather to keep a badly aging SkyTrain in operation.
TransLink eyes big fare hike in 2013
By Jeff Nagel – BC Local News
Published: September 15, 2011 8:00 PM
Transit riders better brace for a 12 per cent fare hike in the spring of 2013.
That's what TransLink has planned, TransLink Commissioner Martin Crilly told Metro Vancouver mayors Thursday.
Crilly, whose office vets such proposals, said it's too early to say whether he will rule that big a fare hike reasonable or not.
"It's a substantial increase," he said, noting it is far above inflation.
"We will want to satisfy ourselves the increase is justified and can't be deferred and not reduced in amount."
More modest fare increases for inflation are also scheduled for 2016 and 2019.
Some mayors questioned whether the 2013 hike is too much given the region has high fares already relative to some other transit systems.
TransLink estimates the 12 per cent fare hike in 2013 will only result in a loss of two per cent of revenue from riders refusing to pay that much more, leaving a net fare revenue gain of 10 per cent.
Crilly was giving the region's Mayors Council on Transportation his analysis of TransLink's proposed plans to raise revenue for future expansion.
One big cost driver Crilly flagged was TransLink's plan to replace buses with more expensive diesel-electric hybrid models.
But he found overall the plans are "not unreasonable" and would leave TransLink financially sustainable.
He noted the transportation authority has a history of failing to actually spend all the capital money it promises to after new revenue increases are granted.
http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/surreyleader/news/129923468.html#
