Is anyone going to be affected by [A href="vny!://www.virtualvancouver.com/news/translinkratehike.html"]Translink's rate hikes[/A]? I don't think that it's right that we have to keep paying more and more to take public transit. If they want to fund expansian of the line to accomodate 2010 tourists then the gov't should pay for it out of budget surpluses.
*raises hands* ME!
I depend on public transit every day. I don't mind the increase of fare but I hope that they can give us things in return. ie. few skytrain disruptions, and if there are any, to quickly and efficiently correct the problem asap! Remember Nov 06- Jan 07 skytrain nightmare? Gosh, I don't remember a time where we had that many LONG delays, for hours!
maybe they can use the extra money to add an extra train cab on the lines. So instead of two cabs per train there is 3 per train which = shorter lines and quicker and better service.
Of course fares are going up. They have to pay for all the people that get raises every year well above the private sector gets.. which pays for them in the first place.
The ones that are raising the fares aren't the ones that have to take the buses. Most of the bus riders can't afford an alternate form of transportation. It is just robbing the poor to pay the rich.
It just plain sucks. It's like when I tell people who were into this bidding for the Olympics... it's not a good thing. Everything will go up and up and up... just like Sydney when it host the Olympics in 2000. They raised the prices for everything, including the fares for trains in order to build a very expensive translink line from the airport to the city central and now it's failling because not everyone use it.
It's highway robbery but then again, it's what you get when you host the Olympics. This city is getting ridiculously expensive and the poor are getting poorer. I can only hope that something good will come out of this.
SD....I think they're one step ahead of you......it appears that there will be 34 new cars added to the line.
[A href="vny!://www.translink.bc.ca/"]vny!://www.translink.bc.ca/[/A]
OK....so I just looked up the fares and their increases. Maybe I'm missing something because this has no affect on me, but the increases look extrememly minimal to me.
It's costing hubby about $19 bucks to work and back every day....running close to $400.00 a month just to get back and forth to work. There are no alternatives. I'd trade that expense for a $73 monthly pass in a heartbeat.
I read in todays Sun that the increase is 25 cents PC. So instead of 2.25, its 2.50... scroll to the bottom of the article and it shows you the increases and the resemblence to other major cities.
To be honest.. I think its not that bad.. to me I dont ride the bus cause its not that good for me, and I already pay high taxes, property taxes, and fuel surcharge taxes.
I feel sorry for the people that it affects whom need it, but I dont feel sorry for alot of the people protesting cause they seem to be the same leeches whom are ablebodied on welfare and are professional protesters.. like the thugs and troublemakers who occupied those buildings downtown for assisted housing. Did they look like they could not work?
I do agree with you Lise, that its cost us alot of money for the olympics, but at the same time we got alot of stuff that we would not have gotten in the first place if we didnt have the olympics. It might not be essential, but the facilites and infrastructure put in for them will still be used by future canadian athletes.
[DIV class=storyheader] [H2]Linky: [A href="vny!://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=89945d64-1778-439e-a9ad-1e9831ba3457"]vny!://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=89945d64-1778-439e-a9ad-1e9831ba3457[/A][/H2] [H2]Transit fare hike approved despite protest at meeting[/H2] [H4]Basic fare up by 25 cents, monthly pass increases $4[/H4]
[DIV class=feed_details] [H4]Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun[/H4][SPAN]Published: Thursday, June 28, 2007[/SPAN]
TransLink directors approved a transit fare increase Wednesday for bus, SeaBus and SkyTrain passengers that is expected to raise $19 million a year in extra revenue.
The increases will see a single, one-zone cash fare rise to $2.50 from $2.25, and a monthly, one-zone pass increase to $73 from $69. The increases take effect Jan. 1.
With the exception of Port Moody Mayor Joe Trasolini, the board voted to increase the fares while faint chants of "stop the fare increase -- more buses now" could be heard from a group called the Bus Riders Union that was gathered outside the meeting, held at Vancouver's Robson Square.
Trasolini asked the board to consider cutting the proposed increase in half but there was no support for his motion.
Bus Riders Union members vehemently objected to the fare increase, saying it was an attack on poor people who need to use public transit for work, shopping or school but can't afford it.
Interruptions by the group led TransLink chairman Malcolm Brodie to end the public session and convene a private meeting in another room in the complex.
Brodie, who is mayor of Richmond, repeatedly clashed with protesters, some of whom made comments about fat, white men making decisions that affect people of colour who are poor, and low-income women.
Vancouver police officers were present but didn't intervene as the protesters hurled insults at the board members as they quickly left the meeting.
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan was last to get away in his wheelchair and he faced a torrent of abuse, including being called a liar by some in the group for what they said was his abandonment of an election campaign promise not to increase transit fares.
When the meeting reconvened, Vancouver Coun. Peter Ladner succeeded in having the board support a motion asking staff to report on the financial consequences of increasing to 120 minutes the current 90 minutes that a transit ticket can be used.
On the street outside, Bus Riders Union member Yuly Chan said she supports any move that would extend the life of a ticket.
"It will make a difference. But people will still have to buy two or three tickets a day," she said.
She said that before the meeting she expected board members to rubber-stamp the fare increase proposed by staff but she expected them to change their minds once board members heard how much hardship fare levels cause poor people.
"After hearing all the testimonials and all the speeches and presentations, I thought there was no way they could still increase the fares.
"They have to be heartless to still go through with the increase. It's inhumane to listen to those needs and say 'okay we're still going through with it,'" Chan said.
The increase is part of a program that will see additional buses and SkyTrain cars added to the system and an expansion of services.
[email protected] THE COST OF THE COMMUTE
Most fare increases range between four and six per cent, but pay cash and you're looking at up to 15 per cent more.
Current Jan. 1 % Change
Monthly Pass 1 zone $69 $73 5.8%
2 zone $95 $99 4.2%
3 zone $130 $136 4.6%
Prepaid Ticket 1 zone $1.80 $1.90 5.6%
2 zone $2.70 $2.85 5.6%
3 zone $3.60 $3.80 5.6%
Cash 1 zone $2.25 $2.50 11%
2 zone $3.25 $3.75 15%
3 zone $4.50 $5.00 11%
ONE-ZONE CASH FARES ACROSS CANADA
Ottawa: $3.
Montreal and Toronto: $2.75.
Edmonton and Quebec City $2.50 (same as Vancouver after Jan.1, 2008)
Calgary and Victoria: $2.25
Winnipeg: $2.
Source: TransLink; Vancouver Sun
[H6 class=copyright]© The Vancouver Sun 2007[/H6]
The people most affected by this will be the working poor and the pensioners on a low fixed income.
All I know is, it's a heck of a lot less than the rise in gas prices over the last while. For people who ride the system regularly....who would be most likely to purchase monthly passes, the rate increases can equal out to pennies per ride.
Don't get me wrong......I don't like price increases either......especially ones that hit the people who can handle the increase the least. But for many, one less latte a month should cover it.
I agree Russ about these protesters. They act like it's their god given right to disrupt the lives of everyone else when they are unhappy with something.
I agree too. Many of them jump on the bus without paying their fare, and threaten the bus driver if he tries to get them off.
I think a simple solution to the pensioners getting hit with these increases, is to change the student passes (which can be either free or are only a minimal fee) to cover only the hours of school operation. If they had to pay like everyone else to ride when they are NOT going to and from school....this difference would probably take up the slack.
If a pensioner's income is well below the poverty line they can qualify for a bus pass, but it's the ones that are slightly below the poverty line, or the working poor (there are many of those) who don't qualify for a pass.
P.C. wrote:
SD....I think they're one step ahead of you......it appears that there will be 34 new cars added to the line.
[a href="vny!://www.translink.bc.ca/"]vny!://www.translink.bc.ca/[/a]
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Since when? A month ago Campbell said on the BBC that he wouldn't add train cars. Those 34 new cars are probably for replacing the orginal expo cars from the 80's. I remember Campbell laughing at the BBC reporters question about adding cars to the trains, when the reporter mentioned the long lines at the stations. When adding just one car would eliminate most of the lines and would encourage more people to take the metro since the lines would be shorter. But of course Campbell's green plan has been as always will be a sham. For example BC Hydro is saying they're closing the coal plants. good. But guess what BC, he's just going to buy coal powered energy from Alberta and Washington. So your bill is going to go through the roof. He's not even concerned about replacing the coal with geothermal. nope typical conservative.
I'm not really complaining about the fares. If you've been to places like London and Sydney, the fares there are worst. One month could set you back as much as $55.00 or more depening on how far you live from the core. That was what I had to pay as a student to get to the university and that was with student discount.
Now I read that translink is going to have [A href="vny!://www.virtualvancouver.com/news/translinkpolicechecks.html"]translink police checks[/A] on buses and skytrain to target non-payers. I still think the best idea is to do what Sydney, London and all other major centres do - put in paid gates at every train entrance. These gates automatically scan your ticket and the turnstyle lets you enter and leave. When your ticket expires it collects your ticket and won't give it back. This requires no human interaction and all you have to pay is the one time cost of setting up all these gates and maybe having ONE transit officer ( hopefully unarmed ) to man the gates in case there's any trouble. I don't know why vancouver doesn't do it when it's trying to uphold an example of a fine Olympic city.
Are they enforcing more translink police on transit to check fares? They already do this but probably not as often as they'd like to. I notice that they RARELY check fares during peak rush hours in the morning and after work.
I agree. The gates would go well. I've seen them in the UK and thought that it was a great idea. I've seen people try to climb over top though. And, there was a wider gate to accomadate parents with large buggies and handicapped people.
I highly doubt that they would implement this... too too expensive.
Its always harder to check at peak times.
Hobbit wrote:
Now I read that translink is going to have [A href="vny!://www.virtualvancouver.com/news/translinkpolicechecks.html"]translink police checks[/A] on buses and skytrain to target non-payers. I still think the best idea is to do what Sydney, London and all other major centres do - put in paid gates at every train entrance. These gates automatically scan your ticket and the turnstyle lets you enter and leave. When your ticket expires it collects your ticket and won't give it back. This requires no human interaction and all you have to pay is the one time cost of setting up all these gates and maybe having ONE transit officer ( hopefully unarmed ) to man the gates in case there's any trouble. I don't know why vancouver doesn't do it when it's trying to uphold an example of a fine Olympic city.
I remember a blurb on this and they came up with teh fact its too much money and they would have to raise the money from somewhere cause the government wouldnt front them the money to do this..
The Transit Police are a sworn in section of the police force now that is allowed to make arrests, give out tickets, and go around armed.
Russ wrote:
[/div]I remember a blurb on this and they came up with teh fact its too much money and they would have to raise the money from somewhere cause the government wouldnt front them the money to do this.. [div]
The Transit Police are a sworn in section of the police force now that is allowed to make arrests, give out tickets, and go around armed.
I never understood the big outcry over transit police with guns on skytrain. A cop without a gun is pretty useless down here. They're on buses, metro, horses, mcdonalds everywhere. So what's the big deal?
Our cops dont have to shoot people normally.
EDIT: Its not that they carry guns.. its that they are now allowed to physically stop and arrest people without calling 'the cops', issue tickets that people will notice and not use as toilet paper, and they are a commissioned unit.
Russ wrote:
Our cops dont have to shoot people normally.
EDIT: Its not that they carry guns.. its that they are now allowed to physically stop and arrest people without calling 'the cops', issue tickets that people will notice and not use as toilet paper, and they are a commissioned unit.
that's pretty much the norm here, don't know what the big deal is over that. Our malls even have their own jails.
I remember when I was in Florida and I went in to a supermarket. The guards had guns. Kinda seems scary when the local guards at a supermarket need guns. Says a lot about a society. I hope that Canada never ever becomes like that.