THE EDITOR,
It's been almost six years since I championed TransLink focusing on what I hear citizens talk about the most - getting value for money, ensuring fairness and having proper safety checks in place.
For those who commute everyday on the Canada Line, you'll see that all of our public campaigning has made a difference - faregates are being installed.
I remember when I first championed the cause of faregates in 2006 saying they were necessary for both fairness and safety.
TransLink representatives shouted me down, saying turnstiles were neither wanted nor were they efficient.
I persisted at every opportunity to speak out for them, and each time, despite strong public support, I was told I was on the wrong side of the argument.
Recently, TransLink has seen the writing on the wall and started installing a faregate system - and they even seem to be using some of the same talking points I was saying all the way back in 2006.
All of a sudden this is a good idea to ensure everybody pays and to pro-mote safety on the system. I'm just glad they've finally come around - and all I can say is they can't become operational soon enough.
So now with TransLink having a major cash shortfall, and municipal and provincial leaders squabbling over who should pay the bill, I have to provide these words of wisdom.
Ensure everybody pays their fares, don't hammer motorists just because they need to drive a vehicle, and offer services that people want and you'll have a winning ticket to a strong transportation system.
With recent whistle-blowing from TransLink bus drivers saying more than 2.1 million riders did not pay their fares last year - that's a good place to start.
This fare evasion alone has cost more than $5 million a year, and it should be addressed before trying to ding taxpayers again.
It's a simple concept - stop the leaks in your pipes before paying to fix your roof.
Bill McNulty City councillor
