VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) ai??i?? The problem with the transit funding announcement is it wonai??i??t cover the whole 10-year plan for Metro Vancouver.
Thatai??i??s the message from the David Suzuki Foundation after this weekai??i??s transit announcement.
Ian Bruce with the organizations says the problem is that the province, which has the power to make a difference, isnai??i??t doing enough.
ai???Now is the opportunity to set political differences aside and come up with an adequate funding model. Otherwise we risk losing billions of dollars of investment into our transportation system,ai??? says Bruce. ai???Plans have been stalled to improve transit and transportation in our region because of a lack of a funding model.ai???
Bruce says the province needs to support a funding model presented by Metro mayors or develop a new model that fixes the gap.
Sorry David Suzuki, You Are Wrong
Sorry David, you are wrong.
TransLink does not have a income problem, it has a spendingAi?? problem as it spends about three times more to build with the now obsolete light-metro instead of light rail. Our proprietary light-metro system also costs about 60% more to operate than comparable light rail lines.
David, you and your foundation had better stick with genetics or animals because your knowledge on transit issues is dismal. It is all very well throwing billions of taxpayer’s dollars at transit and convince yourself you are doing some good, but it does not make good public transit policy.
The problem is very simple David, our public transit program is designed to enrich political friends by allowing them to up-zone properties to higher densities along light-metro lines. This means we get multi billion dollar light-metro lines that are non-user friendly and thus are unattractive for the motorist.
Simply put, our regional transit system, despite an over $10 billion investment has failed to provide a modal shift from car to transit, as mode share by car in the region has stagnated around 57% for over two decades.
The solution is to completely rethink how we provide public transport in the region. There is a simple solution, it’s called light rail, but to advocate a change in public transit philosophy will make your academic friends rather uneasy, so instead of wanting workable solutions, just throw more money at transit and hope one gets different results.
Not going to happen!
So David, please read a book on the subject, instead of advocating throwing more money at a dysfunctional transit system, because doing the same thing overAi?? and over again, expecting different results is a definition of madness.
Province needs to budge on Metro Vancouver transit funding model: David Suzuki Foundation
by Kayla Butler and Denise Wong
Posted May 27, 2016 6:44 pm PDT
(Photo by Dustin Godfrey for NEWS 1130)
