Help Save Transit Service in Metro Vancouver

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on people's lives and our economy. As noted by Statistics Canada, “the number of people who were unemployed increased by 413,000 (+36.4%) from February to March, the largest monthly change since comparable data became available in 1976.

Magnitude of this unprecedented employment change compared with past shocks. Select image to enlarge. Source: Stats Canada.

This has translated into less people travelling by car and by transit. A quick look at Google Maps shows that even during the traditionally busiest times of the day, highways are all green.

A good proxy of the reduction in motor vehicle traffic volumes is that TransLink has seen a 60% reduction in gas tax since the start of the pandemic.

A TransLink RapidBus.

TransLink ridership has also dropped as follows:
SeaBus 🔻90%
West Coast Express 🔻95%
Bus 🔻82%

TransLink has stopped charging fares on buses, and has reduced bus service by 15~20% since mid-March.

The provincial government has deemed transit an essential service. In order to allow people to follow physical distancing recommendations, TransLink has reduced seating capacity.

In 2019, TransLink’s major sources of operating income were:
Transit Fares: $685.4 million
Fuel Tax: $403.1 million
Property Tax: $382.7 million
Parking Tax: $81.9 million
Hydro Levy: $21.4 million
Provincial Grant: $17.8 million

For TransLink, like most organizations, cashflow is more important than revenue; you cannot pay employee salaries and the bills without it.

While TransLink receives steady cashflow from fuel tax and transit fares, property tax revenue is received in one lump sum in the third quarter of the year. With significantly reduced cashflow due to the drop in both fuel tax and transit fares, plus talk about shifting property tax due dates until the fourth quarter of the year, TransLink is in a jam.

According to TransLink’s CEO Kevin Desmond, TransLink is “losing $75 million per month and on our current trajectory, we will face cashflow issues within weeks.”

So why does this matter? Currently 75,000 people still rely on transit. Many of these people are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic in health care, in grocery stores, and in logistics. They still need to get around safely to ensure that the basic needs of people in our region can be met.

As the economy starts up again, transit service must be able to be quickly ramped up.

What can be done?

The provincial and federal governments are supporting workers and private sector businesses to keep people employed and businesses from failing. The same is needed to keep public transit going.

Like municipalities, TransLink cannot run an operating debt, it will need a cash infusion from the federal and/or provincial governments.

You can help by sending an email to your MP and MLA, asking them to save transit.

In Langley City our MP is Tamara Jansen: tamara.jansen@parl.gc.ca
Our MLA is Mary Polak: mary.polak.MLA@leg.bc.ca

COVID-19 Fireside Chat

There have been many discussions about COVID-19 and what it means for our country and our province, but what about our mid-size cities in Metro Vancouver?

City councillors Kiersten Duncan of Maple Ridge, Patrick Johnstone of New Westminster and I discuss the implications of this pandemic on local governments.

How are local governments responding? What should and shouldn’t local governments be doing during this crisis? What will the COVID-19 pandemic mean for local governments that are cash-strapped, but still need to deliver critical services?

We talk about this, and what has kept our communities and ourselves going over the last month in a Metro Conversations virtual fireside chat.

You can also subscribe to the Metro Conversations podcast series to listen to this COVID-19 Fireside Chat.

Apple Podcast

Google Podcast

March Langley City Property Crime Map

Even with the COVID-19 state of emergency in BC, people are still committing crimes.

The Langley RCMP has released its March property crime map for Langley City.

March 2020 property crime map for Langley City. Select map to view.

With more people staying at home, residential break and enters have decreased in Langley City.

Theft from auto is still a concern in our community. To reduce your chance of being a target, remove everything from your vehicle. This includes garage door openers. If it’s not bolted down, someone will try to steal it.

If you see suspicious activity, call the RCMP non-emergency line at (604) 532-3200. From personal experience, I know that reporting suspicious activity helps create a safer neighbourhood.

Because the population density is higher north of the Nicomekl River, there will be more activity both positive and negative, compared to south of the Nicomekl River.

BC Human Rights Tribunal: Rainbow Flag allowed to be flown at City Hall/Timms

Langley City council passed a motion in the summer of 2016 to allow the Rainbow Flag to be flown on the flagpole at City Hall/Timms Community Centre annually to coincide with Vancouver’s annual Pride Week.

As stated in the original motion,“the City of Langley is an inclusive and diverse community that acknowledges and respects all people regardless of their colour, race, region, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or mental or physical disability.”

The Rainbow Flag is an international symbol of inclusiveness and diversity.

Seniors of Langley representatives, Langley City council, and others holding the rainbow flag in July 2019. Select image to enlarge.

The Rainbow Flag has been flown at City Hall/Timms for one week, three summers in a row at the request of LGBTQ+ members of our community. Last year, the request to raise the flag came from the LGBTQ Seniors of Langley who have faced a lifetime of discrimination because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression.

The City also allows flags to be flown at City Hall/Timms to “recognize visiting dignitaries, City challenges, and civic events and to allow not-for-profit community groups to promote local events.”

Since I’ve been on council, there have only been a handful of these requests each year.

Langley City as a government body must be neutral when it comes to the expressions of any religious preference. As such, religious flags are not permitted to be flown at City Hall/Timms.

In the winter of 2018, a complaint was filed with the BC Human Rights Tribunal regarding Langley City’s flag policy.

Yesterday, the BC Human Rights Tribunal upheld Langley City’s flag policy.

An excerpts from that decision:

Similarly, the City’s prohibition against flying religious flags while flying the Rainbow Flag cannot be seen to amount to a distinction that is discriminatory. Rather, these acts are all in the service of equity. They increase the participation and representation of the LGBTQ+ communities in an attempt to offset the historical disadvantages experienced by these communities. They help bring LGBTQ+ community members to equal standing with heterosexual and cisgendered individuals, who have not experienced such societal disadvantages. They ensure that the City maintains a neutral public space free from coercion, and judgment on the part of public authorities in matters of spirituality. Altogether, they advance the purposes of the Code to foster a society in which there are no impediments to full and free participation in the economic, social, political and cultural life of British Columbia and to promote a climate of understanding and mutual respect where all are equal in dignity and rights.

For more information, please read the full decision.