gary_bizzo
My feedback
9 results found
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229 votes
Transit (and transit fares!) are controlled by TransLink, not the city. Having said that, reducing or eliminating transit fares is an interesting idea.
Unfortunately it’s not very feasible, at least as TransLink is currently funded. Unlike most North American cities, Vancouver’s transit problems aren’t due to a lack of demand but rather a lack of capacity. Anyone who’s ever tried to squeeze onto one of our busy buses or trains knows this all too well — there isn’t enough space even when people have to pay, let alone accommodate the additional demand that would be created if transit were free. Compare this to cities with fare-free zones, which are typically struggling for increase demand, and which typically have (a) less frequent service and/or (b) plenty of extra capacity to accommodate more riders.
In Vancouver, we need to provide more transit capacity to meet existing demand — and a LOT more…
An error occurred while saving the comment gary_bizzo
commented
Please don't think I'm being obscene, the word that was asterisked out in my post was *********
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commented
This is a hilariously bad joke. Add more taxes onto property owners and businesses to pay for free public transit. Oh, and we need to add capacity while we're at it.
Translink already draws 53% of its revenue from property, fuel and Aircare taxes. In F2009, they took in $356M in fares, and $576M in taxes. So before you want to talk about making anything free, realize that the transit service whose fares you're whining about are already massively subsidized by the rest of us.
As for your "small contribution" from property tax, let's look at a few more numbers. Of that $356M in fare revenue, $210M was in monthly passes, including U-Pass. Let's be overly generous to your half-baked idea and assume that every one of the remaining $146 million in single-use fares was from someone who doesn't live here and thus wouldn't qualify for your plan.
So... your "small contribution" just added $210 million in additional property taxes that the rest of us need to cough up every year, just so you can take the #6 from Davie and Denman down to Granville Street.
The last census put the population of the GVRD at roughly 2.1 million people. Hey, $100 per person per year sounds pretty reasonable, doesn't it? Of course, that's assuming that every man, woman and child ponies up the hundred smackers, so a traditional South Asian, three-generation household now owes maybe a thousand bucks, while the 20-year-old PBR-chugging hipster in a basement suite off Main and 13th will of course pay nothing as a non-property owner.
...by the way, that South Asian family living in a moderately-priced, average-for-Vancouver house worth around a million dollars is already paying around eight thousand dollars a year in property taxes, a relative bargain compared to Vancouver's insane business property taxes.
So, under your scheme, the 64-year-old grandfather working as a $10/hr security guard to help make ends meet now has to work an extra three hours a week so you can take the bus for free.
TL;DR - your idea is total bunko, lady, and your *********, welfare-state BS is ruining this city for all of us. Do a little math and learn to love riding your bike.
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Start a chain of coffee shops that sells exclusively day old baked goods and expired dairy products.
7 votesgary_bizzo
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770 votes
The City supports Metro Vancouver’s plans to ban food scraps from the incinerator and landfills by 2015. The City will collaborate with Metro Vancouver to develop and implement a plan to ensure apartments, condos, businesses and institutions have access to food scraps collection programs before the ban comes into effect.
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195 votesgary_bizzo
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33 votes
Included in the Draft Greenest City Action Plan.
gary_bizzo
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10 votes
This action would be under Federal jurisdiction, but the City of Vancouver along with Metro Vancouver can advocate for changes
gary_bizzo
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9 votes
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46 votes
Requires support from the provincial and federal governments. The draft Greenest City plan will advocate for new sources of funding for improved transit (e.g. congestion pricing, vehicle levies).
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15 votes
Sprinkling regulation enforcement is
part of Draft Greenest City Action Plan.gary_bizzo
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