Open Letter to TransLink, mayors and provincial government,
I read earlier this year that the Canada Line had reached its predicted ridership, well over a year in advance. In fact, there was much hoopla about the whole thing. The question I have is this, if we have reached the ridership numbers earlier than expected, why is the system still showing losses?
At one point, Premier Gordon Campbell stated that in order to have the best management we must be willing to pay for their services. My question is this, is it prudent to be investing in the Evergreen Line when they are short of money and have never shown a profit since its inception?
If these so-called high calibre management staff were in the public sector, they would be fired for their mismanagement, as well for even thinking of expanding the system.
We are being extorted for two cents a litre for gas, a possible vehicle levy, carbon fuel tax and perhaps even a tax grab on property taxes. Why don't you charge the ridership the cost of operating the system, turn a profit and use these profits to expand the system? That is what a minimally experienced manager would be expected to do, one that makes far less than the trustees of the TransLink board.
Why should non-users of the system who, by the way, pay their own way in fuel, fuel tax, carbon tax, insurance and parking, expect to subsidize those who do not wish to drive?
We taxpayers have already paid for the infrastructure. Now they want us to subsidize the ridership and turn a blind eye to the fact TransLink is not turning over a profit. At the same time, they want to expand the system. The only people making money are the land developers. Enough said on this thought.
I say the best thing to do is fire those involved with TransLink and hire a management team that understands the basic principle of business practices and vote out these mayors who have such little disregard for our hard-earned money.
In case they do not know it, there are many families struggling to get by, students going to school without proper meals, schools which have to cut programs due to lack of funding, health care is under-funded, services have been cut back, yet they insist on taking more money out of our pockets. When does this insanity stop!
These people take a 300 per cent wage increase, voted amongst themselves, then they continue to rob us of our hard-earned money.
I am asking this board, committee and provincial government to please have a moral backbone and say no, we cannot afford this project and the only time we can is when the system becomes self-sufficient.
That is what a good corporate management team would do. One cannot expect non-users to subsidize the users of the system forever.
At what point do the taxpayers receive a return on our investment?
David Chan
Richmond
