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  1. Bill Tieleman has vested interests?….Someone is paying him to spin.

    I heard Bill on CKNW today, he was less than truthful….In fact I believe he lied his face off.

    Bill T stated that this 0.5 sales tax increase was to fund increased skytrains, increased buses, road improvements and the Putella bridge replacement…But that can`t be true…Sales tax increase will raise only $2.5 billion over 10 years..

    The Puttella bridge replacement is a $1.5 billion dollars cost by itself….Surrey rapid transit(LRT) is an extimated $1.7 billion dollars..

    We are already up to $3.7 billion….Buses, more skytrain…road improvements $$$?…..UBC subway, an estimate $2.7 billion dollars all by itself..

    Translink needs to get monies for specifically costed projects…as in…Here`s an example…Transklink needs $71 million dollars for a new PA system and neon light signs to inform the public…

    Translink needs X $dollars for the Puttella bridge…Yes or no…

    Translink, and the mayors are lying to the public, this sales tax is only a foot in the door funding tool…Translink and mayors have stated that road pricing is coming, car insurance levy is coming and probably more property tax increases..

    I`m voting no….The recent Seattle referendum for transit funding was a success…However..Seattle transit asked for a 1/10 th of a %percent sales tax increase, the goal was to raise $65 million for more specified buses…It was not a blank cheque..

    Also…Translink was given the puttella bridge by the BC Government….Translink is responsible for paying for a replacement, but….It has already been stated by the mayors that a new puttella bridge will be a tolled bridge…

    So what you are looking at is a double dip…Sales tax money will be used to pay for the puttella replacement and the BC Government WILL be making it a toll bridge, leaving the Alex Fraser bridge as the free untolled alternate crossing..

    I believe Bill T is getting a big cash bonus if a yes vote wins the day….

    Maybe some media personality or journalist should ask Bill T that exact question…

    How large will your cash bonus be Bill T if a yes vote wins the day on plebiscite 2015?

    I`m voting no..and no argument will change my mind.

    Cheers

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  2. We have to remember that Mr. Tieleman works for the bus drivers union and a yes vote in the referendum will increase their ranks.

    The problem with the referendum is that is merely doing the same thing over again and expecting different results.

    Buses and subway do not reduce congestion for many and varied reasons. Buses have proven very poor in attracting motorist from the car and subways because of their widely spaced stations and general user unfriendliness again are poor in attracting new ridership. Unlike buses, subways are hugely expensive to build and operate and are avoided unless ridership demands longer trains (6 or more cars) and large stations with long platforms (150 metres or more).

    The referendum has been so modified by the Liberals that there is no guarantee that the monies raised will be dedicated to transit; no audits.

    Allied with the union boys is the road pricing gang and despite the hype and hoopla about road pricing it is not done in as many cities as many would have us think. The first rule for road pricing is that one must have an attractive transit alternative to the car, region wide. We don't and there is no plan to have a user friendly transit system anytime in the future. Road pricing will fail.

    Our current transit planning is a big fail, simply because our politicians have designed the system to win elections and not move people. Over 80% of SkyTrain's ridership first take a bus, which about double the industry norm, yet there is no evidence that SkyTrain has attracted the motorist as mode share by auto has remained at 57% for over 20 years. Counting recycled bus riders to justify SkyTrain expansion is fiscal suicide and the main reason why TransLink is in the mess it finds itself today.

    A no vote will compel TransLink's management to plan for cost effective transit solutions and demonstrate Metro Vancouver Mayors that the taxpayer may know more about the transit situation than they do.

    Forget the doom and gloom scenario being offered by many if the referendum fails; the transit system will still be funded. If TransLink wants new tax monies, it has to prove to the electorate that it has the ability to operate an economic and user friendly transit system that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to work.

    What TransLink; the tax and spend types; and the “Yes” crowd lacks is called innovation: to operate the transit system within its current income.

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  3. Bill Tieleman is a professional communicator and he is effective in getting out the view of his clients. But, I accept that he is sincere in his comments about the pending referendum. I just happen to think that it is a mistake to give more money to agencies that have repeatedly demonstrated a lack of competence. The best example is the mistaken and badly managed fare gate system. TransLink will just be encouraged to waste more money if this vote is yes.

    This $250 million a year tax is only a part of the many revenue sources and we get little say over the others.

    More than anything though, readers of this blog will know there are billions of dollars available elsewhere in the economy.

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  5. Yes, if you are bothered by waste and lack of accountability, there is an easy solution: ignore it.

    The more this quote is repeated, the more utterly gob-smacked I am that Teileman said this. Is this the same Teileman who was bothered by BC Rail, that he undertook a large portion of his time investigating and reporting on it?

    Is this the same Teileman who as so bothered by the HST that he undertook to defeat it in a provincial referendum?

    So now the shoe is on another foot, so to speak and an organization, offering a public service, funded by the public's tax dollars, is so afraid of public scrutiny that it has all but banned public input, except at well orchestrated 'dog and pony' shows.

    Mr. Teileman, give your head a shake, better transit cannot be had by throwing more money at it, rather better transit comes about with proper consultation with transit customers and operating within their budget; something the well heeled executives at TransLink have forgot.

    In charge of our of our Metro band,
    Moonbeam is here at hand,
    With a higher PST, mistook by me,
    While pleading for a congestion fee.
    Shall we their fond referendum see?
    Lord, what fools these mortals be!

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  8. “But, I accept that he is sincere in his comments about the pending referendum”
    @ Norm,
    Sorry but I have to disagree. I have observed and read this person for a number of years. Teileman only sides with things that benefit Teileman.

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  9. Tielman has an agenda. For anyone to argue in favor of allowing Translink to manage millions more tax payer dollars , they have a daunting task. Translink is a money pit without a bottom. Even if they were forced to account for every penny of this new tax (and that isnt going to happen) what about the enormous amount of funding that they allread receive and waste.
    Transit police/ faregates/ compass cards/ fines/ collection of fines/ buy outs/ severance packages/ continue to build systems that arent compatible with each other . The list of waste is beyond comprehension. To give translink ,ore money is akin to handing a pyromaniac gasoline and matches
    13

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  10. Grant G;
    Other than your misspelling “Puttella” Bridge, which I will get to later, you have made many points I agree with. I have scoured the internet, without success, to locate a video interview with Derek Corrigan, right after the mayors approved the funding referendum. He very methodically cited a long list of reasons to vote “NO” on the ballot, if we ever see one. Probably the biggest reason is the lack of confidence and trust in the Translink management and giving them a blank cheque.

    Even if you are not a Corrigan fan you have to like his no nonsense approach to this issue. If anyone has access to that video I would like to see it posted.

    Now, the bridge…it’s Nuttella Grant, Nuttella.
    Hawgwash.

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  12. @Norm

    Imagine a truckload of cabbage being driven through the community and all along the route, cabbage falls off. Eventually, the truck gets to its destination but, having lost much along the way, it's short of product and another leaky truck must be dispatched. The smart guys know the routes and stand along the roads picking whatever fallen cabbage they can stuff in their bags. When the hungry folks at the end of the line complain they have too little cabbage, the smart guys holler in unison,

    “Load more trucks, send more cabbage.”

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  15. Derek Corrigan is the only mayor with a modicum of knowledge about public transit as he was once CEO of BC Transit. To ignore Mr. Corrigan is like ignoring the lookout on the Titanic just before it hit an iceberg. The Metro mayors are acting like a flock of sheep being lead by Wylie Coyote and is Acme thingamajig to their doom.

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  16. Just to let you know, there is great pressure by Bombardier's management in Europe to discontinue SkyTrain production. Only 7 such systems sold since the late 1970's and little prospect of future sales, except for Vancouver, the savings made from discontinuing or ART SkyTrain production are significant.

    Bombardier Inc. is already using the SkyTrain monicker for its rubber tired airport people-mover transit system.

    It could that after several years of angst on misery, by the time TransLink OK's a Skytrain subway under Broadway, there will be no Skytrain to run on it! Just look at the Alweg monorail in Seattle, high tech in 1963, museum piece 2014 and SkyTrain is only 14 years older!

    It seems SNC Lavalin which shares the proprietary SkyTrain patents with Bombardier is the orchestra leader behind TransLink's fascination with SkyTrain as they automatically get all the engineering works because of the proprietary secrets allows them to do the engineering works without competitive bidding. Build with SkyTrain and SNC is your best friend, so to speak.

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  18. (Content edited – NF)

    …If the [Broadway subway] line were to go through [land owners and speculators] would definitely benefit financially from the rezoning that would take place. Remember that many houses on Cambie tripled in price once they were rezoned for multi-dweling.

    Follow the money…

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  20. While I agree that anything SNC Lavalin touches reeks of fiscal mismanagement( and thats putting it mildly due to their recent conviction for bribery of public officials in various nations for the “winning ” of public contract bids has earned SNC banishment by the International Monetary Fund for 5 years for corruption and bribery)
    I digress
    “Bombardier's management in Europe” ?
    Correct me if I'm wrong but isnt Bombardier AND SNC Lavalin headquarters based in Quebec?
    Quebec the Land of the Carboneau Commission?
    The televised inquiry into bribery and corruption of Quebecs public officials that had ordinary Quebecrs rivetted to their tv screens with each revelation into the endless flow of money from industry to politicians, municipal, provincial and federal?

    But BC politicians are sooooo much more honest.
    Every person running for political office should be auditted by CRA every year they are in office and for another 5 years after leaving office.
    Only honest people with nothing to hide need apply.

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  21. Grant G – facts wrong repeatedly! Seattle referendum was $60 car levy PLUS 0.1% regional sales tax increase to raise $45 million annually for bus service. The Mayors Council plan requires capital funding from BC and Canada – just like past major transit & transportation projects. And I do NOT get a “cash bonus” for anything I do, period. As to others' comments, this is the one chance to get major transit improvements in years. If this fails it will not punish Translink, it will punish bus riders, Skytrain commuters, drivers fighting traffic congestion and everyone else breathes air in Metro Vancouver. Lastly this referendum has the full support of the BC Federation of Labour from a resolution passed unanimously at convention in November, not just the transit unions.

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  22. That song at the end of the audio clip: perfect.

    Don't worry, be happy. Vote yes and don't expect those people living in Mission, Abbotsford and Chilliwack to contribute anything, even if they rely on the road network. It's just the way things are.

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