Keeping the public in public transportation

One of the best things about our transportation system in Metro Vancouver is that it is managed by one regional agency: TransLink. No matter what form of public transportation you take and no matter where you are in the region, there is one fare system and one coordinated network. People from all over the world come to see how well this model works. Another good thing about our system is that it is publicly owned. This allows for more emphasis to be given to safety, accessibility, and overall transportation policy. I’ll get back to that point in a moment, but first I wanted to use Scotland as an example of confusing public private transportation.

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and has a population that is similar to Metro Vancouver. Up until 1986 all public transportation was operated and owned by SPT, the regional transportation authority. Margaret Thatcher decided to privatize bus service at that time, so today “essentially anyone with a bus and a public service vehicle license can set up as a bus operator. All they need to do is register the route they want to operate with the Traffic Commissioner. There are about 100 different bus operators running services within the Strathclyde area.” The kicker is that the public agency still needs to run subsidized bus service to cover service gaps in the private network. They also maintain all bus stops and bus stations. The public is stuck with the cost centers while the private operates get to make the cash. Taking a bus can be very difficult as each bus operator set its own fare and regional transit passes from SPT work on most, but not all buses. The system certainly works, but it is less than ideal. Privatized and deregulated rail was an even bigger boondoggle.

In 1994 the Conservative government decided to completely privatize the British Rail network. All the private operators formed a company called Railtrack that looked after rail infrastructure, capital projects, and timetable coordination. Under the private company, rail infrastructure was not renewed as it should have been and on-time performance declined. There were three fatal rail accidents in 1997, 1999, and 2000 that caused the Labour government to buy back Railtrack from the private sector and essentially nationalize the rail system again. Network Rail which is a “private” company (much like BC Ferries is a “private” company) now operates the rail system. Back under public control, safety has improved, on-time performance has improved, and infrastructure is being renewed as all of Network Rail’s debt is guaranteed by the federal government. Private operators still own the rolling stock and provide end-user service, but the services are coordinated under the National Rail brand.

When it comes to natural monopolies, it makes sense to have public control or strong regulation. Image if every road in BC was owned by a different company with its own rules. We are lucky in Metro Vancouver to have a public body that can look after our transportation system in a coordinated manner. Certainly having private operators is not an issue (Canada Line, Golden Ears Bridge, Community Shuttles in Langley), but completely privatizing, deregulating, and split up our transportation system would be a fatal mistake if the UK is any indication.

A two day summit or transit for 100 years?

If you've been following this blog, you know that Toronto's Transit City Program which would have built $9 billion in light rail was slashed to $4 billion by the Ontario provincial government. You may also be aware that the federal government is spending $1.1 billion on the upcoming G8/G20 Summit's security which is more then our entire Vancouver Olympic Security budget! This has one city mayor a bit upset according to the Toronto Star:

“Would we use $1 billion to build a Finch LRT (light rail transit) to serve the neediest people in Toronto, to create 10,000 jobs, to build public transit for 100 years, or would we use it for security for a two-day event in Toronto?

“If they can spend a billion dollars on a 36-hour event, there is money in the federal and provincial treasury to build Transit City, to build it now; there’s money to meet our other priorities like affordable housing,” Miller said.

Light Rail good for Economy

It has been no surprise that light rail is not only good at getting people around, but is good at providing an economic boost to an area. Just go to downtown Portland and see how a town with 11.4% unemployment has a growing, thriving downtown core. In 2008, Joe blogged about a 1.6 mile streetcar line that would generate some $388M in new development and create more than 700 new jobs.

In Ottawa, two studies say that light rail line will "generate $3 billion in economic stimulus and create 20,000 person-years of employment during construction alone." It will also reduce OC Transpo's (the transit operators)operation costs by $100 million per year.

Rationalizing Transit

In a bit of positive news, it appears that the Olympics has really opened people up to the idea of taking public transit. According to TransLink, March saw a 19% increase in ridership over March 2009. SkyTrain saw a 70.6% increase, SeaBus saw a 18.9% increase, and buses ridership grew at the rate of 2.5%. It is not surprising as choice riders don't take buses.

Speaking of buses, according to News 1130 the majority of the new March riders are from South Surrey and White Rock. This is a bit ironic considering that cash-strapped TransLink is "rationalizing" transit service, giving more bus service to overcrowd routes and less service to under-preforming route. According to the Delta Optimist:

Civic politicians are concerned TransLink may be planning to reduce bus service between South Delta and the Canada Line station in Richmond.

The transportation authority's plan to control costs has made that scenario a possibility, according to municipal staff, which told Delta council TransLink hasn't made clear how it intends to meet its cost savings goal.

hmm...