The newly-approved TransLink 2027 Investment Plan will, according to 黑马磁力 City Mayor Nathan Pachal, fix about half of the transit agency's fiscal problems.
A combination of property taxes, fare increases, and parking lot taxes will allow the agency to make some major expansions, with the bulk of them in the fast-growing South of the Fraser area.
But that other half of the long-term financial shortfall is still there. In part, it's a result of good things happening 鈥� gas tax collection has been going down year over year because more people are driving electric vehicles, and transit ridership keeps going up.
This is exactly what we wanted to happen, of course! There's less gas being pumped into cars, less CO2 and particulate matter being emitted into our airshed.
Unfortunately, it's eroding TransLink's finances just as it plans to embark on ambitious plans for Bus Rapid Transit and new routes that would vastly improve service for the region's suburbs, which have long been underserved.
So how do we fill the remaining hole in the budget?
The spectre of a vehicle levy has returned.
A vehicle levy was proposed back in 2001; the provincial government killed it. It was proposed in 2012; it died without being implemented.
Maybe the third time is the charm?
A levy would not be popular, make no mistake. Adding an extra couple of hundred bucks a year to the cost of driving isn't fun for anyone who needs a car to get around.
A lot of people still need to drive. For all the transit expansions we've seen, there are still vast areas of the suburbs and rural neighbourhoods where transit just isn't a viable option. For some places, it never will be.
But of all the options 鈥� congestion charges, higher property taxes, a sales tax 鈥� the vehicle levy makes the most sense.
Having more options for getting around 鈥� bus, SkyTrain, bike lanes, sidewalks 鈥� makes it easier for everyone to get where they're going faster, including drivers. Transit policy is a series of trade-offs.
A vehicle levy with some carve-outs for people living in rural communities or with other special considerations would still be annoying for many.
But it's a choice of being annoyed by a levy, or annoyed by being stuck in gridlock.
