TransLink cuts half the senior executive positions from 2009. Why not just get rid of TransLink?
What most people don’t realize is that much of TransLink does, could be done easily by outside sources;Ai??the TransLinkAi??bureaucracyAi??tends toAi??duplicate what has already been done.
West Coast Mountain Bus and its bureaucracy runs the buses and SeaBus and The BC Rapid Transit Company Ltd. runs the two SkyTrain lines and a private operator runs the Canada Line, which again I must remind people that the Canada line is not SkyTrain. Metro Vancouver is supposed to be doing regional planning and the only job it seems that TransLink has been doing of late is misinforming people about modern LRT in favour of the SkyTrain light-metro system.
If one really wants to save money, do away with TransLink altogether, there is absolutely no need for this ponderous and self absorbed bureaucracy.
TransLink cuts half the senior executive positions from 2009
Efforts aimed at cost savings
By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver SunJuly 17, 2012
TransLink has halved its senior executive positions since 2009 as part of an organizational restructuring aimed at finding cost savings to pay for transit upgrades across the region.
Ten positions were cut last year, according to a 2011 year-end financial report released Tuesday.
CEO Ian Jarvis would not provide details on the managers who lost their jobs last year, saying only that they had worked at TransLink for between three and 19 months.
However, earlier this year, Michael Shiffer, who moved from Chicago three years ago to become TransLinkai??i??s vice-president of policy and planning, lost his job after his position was also eliminated.
The cuts, along with other changes, are credited with helping TransLink find $30 million in cost savings over the past three years, Jarvis said.
But he also noted the number of staff earning more than $75,000 annually rose in 2011, likely as a result of TransLink absorbing 102 people from Coast Mountain Bus Company ai??i?? a move aimed at streamlining human resources and information technology.
Total staff salaries for 2011 were $48.9 million, according to Tuesdayai??i??s financial report, while employee expenses were $1.07 million.
Jarvis vowed to continue searching for more cost efficiencies through 2012. ai???Funding is our No. 1 priority within the organization now and weai??i??re looking at all areas of the business,ai??? he said. ai???Weai??i??ll continue with our own efforts, by trying to drive more transit fare revenue by allocating transit hours to more productive use.ai???
TransLink, which is the subject of a provincial audit, is under pressure to find another $30 million per year in savings so it can go ahead with transit upgrades across the region. The upgrades have been delayed after regional mayors refused to allow property tax increases to pay for them.
As far as I can see, TransLink is nothing more than than a catch all for incompetent planners and inept bureaucrats. The less ones knows about transit, the better suited you are for employment at TransLink!
Surrey get’s its share of translink sivrece and infrastructure, it’s just in roads and bridges, not transit. What do you expect from a sprawling city? Until Surrey builds responsibly and transit-oriented developments, don’t expect much transit improvements. It’s not all Translink’s fault, Surrey needs to stop whining and be proactive. If Surrey wants better transit, do something about it. Build dense communities oriented around transit and stop building sprawling business parks, then you’ll see better transit. Surrey central is doing a good job improving, but the rest of Surrey is shit.