The only issue is that we have seen this before. When a similar financial crisis was unfolding in 2015, I wrote about how TransLink was losing millions to fare evasion and encouraged voters to consider whether a proposed new Metro Vancouver transit tax was actually needed when TransLink neglected its own enforcement. By July 2015, the infamous transit plebiscite was over and the tax soundly defeated, with 62 per cent of voters opposed to the new funding source. The response from the opposition was prophetic in more ways than one. “Now we’re about to enter into another round of finger-pointing and second-guessing while people all over the region wait for buses and Skytrains that don’t come, break down or are so crowded they pass by.” Those were the words of the NDP’s John Horgan, who went on to say, “Transit riders and car drivers didn’t vote against better transit in the Lower Mainland. They voted against political gamesmanship and unaccountable management at the expense of average people who rely on this service to live their lives.” By 2019 and under the NDP, TransLink was still losing millions to fare evaders while not tracking the numbers. So when TransLink announced last week that they’re launching a fare enforcement program focused on “education and deterrence,” were there any new measures that haven’t already been announced? Not when looking at historical releases by the authority. In fact, TransLink is recycling the same key messages published in 1990; they’re stepping up fare enforcement and issuing infraction tickets with a maximum fine of $150. What’s more shocking than thinking repeat messaging is going to produce different outcomes is that the maximum penalty hasn’t changed for 35 years. Although the minimums have increased, the only addition to the maximum base penalty of $150 for a first-time or repeat offender is a $23 victim surcharge levy.
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