In the News

Yesterday, the Langley Times ran a great article about our transportation workshop last month.

Pachal said some of the key themes brought up in the first discussion were restoring interurban light rail, providing access to local roads for transit users, cyclists and drivers, ensuring housing developments are sustainable and engaging the community in discussions about zoning, transit and development.

“The community has to be involved in the planning aspect,” he said. “Neighbourhoods need to be consulted on all plans.”

Also, the Surrey Leader wrote on how the new Translink mayor’s council won’t be raising taxes to cover Translink’s shortfall.

Both the levy – which is already permitted in TransLink’s legislation – and congestion pricing are mentioned as possible sources in TransLink’s new long-range planning vision.

But Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender said imposing any new taxes on driving, including the extra three cents a litre, looks politically impossible.

Translink is in a real pickle, they need to improve transit service, but there is no money to pay for it. I would support congestion pricing if that went directly into improving transit.

The situation leaves TransLink where it’s been for years – underfunded and at an impasse with the province over how to solve it.

TransLink gets diminishing returns on gas tax

Since TransLink gets a hefty slice of existing fuel taxes, it must be raking in windfall revenues as gas prices soar. Right?

Wrong.

That’s very scary considering we are in the age of climate change and costly oil.