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I am sick and tired of TransLink moaning about lack of money and trying to impose hardship taxes on us. TransLink indulges in spending money on unnecessary projects because its priorities are screwed up.
A typical example of this is the preparation to introduce smart cards in public transit in the Greater Vancouver area. TransLink is considering introducing smart cards in 2013 at a cost of $170 million. It has this money! The maintenance of the new system will cost much more than this present one. This project represents the unnecessary luxurious spending as the present transit fee collection scheme works quite well. We do not need to be one of four or five cities in the world with smart transit cards.
The $170 million should go toward financing the Evergreen Line instead.
The line is a real necessity and not a luxury. Why isn’t this the case? Very likely TransLink is trying in this sneaky way to introduce higher transit fees. This is why this institution, which has a board with a majority of unelected members, forces taxpayers to pay additional taxes.
Where is our democracy? In shambles! Cut the cream, select priorities according to real needs, don’t gouge taxpayers to the bone -that is the decent and effective way to go.
Henryk Kolny
Port Coquitlam
- The Vancouver Sun -
