With four years warning given for the rise in cost, fretting now is too little too late
By Rachel Braeuer
Photos by Mark Burnham
The “fuck translink” buttons left over after a non-paying passenger was kicked off of a SkyTrain for a “fuck yoga” pin last April might find a resurgence in popularity come Jan. 1, 2013 when TransLink’s fares are set to increase by an average of 10 per cent, with monthly passes increasing the most at 12.5 per cent. Fortunately for us, the U-Pass is not included in this price increase (or if it is, it has yet to be disclosed). Many seem agitated. I don’t particularly like it either, but after doing some homework, I’ve decided I’ll be wearing my own pin that says “get the fuck over it.”
This isn’t to say that I agree with TransLink’s spending in general, nor do I think they’re a particularly intelligent bunch. In the 1980s, transit officials spent god-knows-how-much money travelling all over the world to see how other cities’ light rail transit (LRT) systems operated. After bearing witness to the effectiveness of fare gate systems, officials returned and decided we’d use the honour system. Now, in 2012, we’re all awaiting the 2013 unveiling of the $100 million dollar promised-to-be-unveiled-in-2010 faregate system, which, if appearances are to be judged, will be more chaotic than beneficial on a day-to-day basis. All other transit systems have directional faregates, meaning you come in one way, and you leave another. The systems in place in SkyTrain stations appears to be equally accessible from both sides. I can’t wait for the games of chicken I’ll be playing with other transit users trying to enter and leave train stations. Yipee.
Regardless, TransLink has had this most recent fare increase in the works since 2009, when they initially released their “10-year plan (funding stabilization)”, which got the OK in 2010. It outlined a fare increase in line with the legally allowable estimate of two per cent per year to offset the cost of inflation. In 2016 and 2019 fares will rise an additional six per cent each time. The 12.5 per cent increase noted for 2013 in indicative of the five-year gap in cash fare hikes and a rise in the consumer price index of roughly 12 per cent since 2008. Believe me, I want to be as mad at them as you do, but their math adds up. None of us can act surprised, since this was clearly outlined in a plan and approved from 2009–10. It’s not like they’re pulling the wool over our eyes, and yet we’re reporting on this like it’s a breaking piece of investigative journalism.
This isn’t to say that increased fares won’t hit some hard. The cost of transit probably weighs most on the working poor and young families, but the increased cost of transit still pales in comparison to the cost of vehicle ownership. I was spending $160/month on insurance alone for my car until I let the insurance run out in June. That doesn’t include the cost of oil changes or regular mechanical maintenance, nor tires, and especially not the cost of gas. My mom recently stopped driving the 18.7 km to work, but maintained the insurance on her car. Even with the increased cost of buying fare-saver booklets of tickets and an unforeseen repair to her car, she has been saving over $300 a month. I assume I’ve been saving about the same, but since I’m too impulsive and immature to budget, all I know is that I’m significantly less poor than I was in June.[pullquote]It’s not like they’re pulling the wool over our eyes, and yet we’re reporting on this like it’s a breaking piece of investigative journalism.[/pullquote]
Increasing costs suck, especially when we only had a few months of enjoying our increased minimum wage before someone else decided to charge us more for something we need. There are certainly issues with raising costs for a service that is questionably useful in specific areas (ever tried to bus out to the valley? Lolz!) but we had the past four years to do something about it, or to at least raise awareness, and we did nothing. Our cries of “foul” now might as well be over spilled milk. Instead, those with vested interests would do best to mobilize as much as they can now to effect as much beneficial change as possible before the next six per cent increase in 2016, considering the faregates should increase TransLink’s revenue by $18 million, or about five per cent per year.
