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Appendix C - The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink)
Figure 3 : Transportation Infrastructure in the GVRD (regional roads, Skytrain lines, and bus routes) Click here for image
The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority, better known as TransLink, is the transportation affiliate of the GVRD. It was created through the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Act (Bill 36) in 1998. Though one of its functions is to support the Livable Region Strategic Plan of the GVRD, it is a formally autonomous organization independent of both the province and the GVRD. 99
In practice, its governing board shares significant common relationship with the GVRD board, since 12 of its 15 members are appointed by the GVRD and must be either local mayors and/ or members of the GVRD board. 100 Moreover, the GVRD must give its stamp of approval to its long-range transportation and funding plans. The remaining three board members are appointed by the province from members of the provincial legislature. However, these positions have remained unfilled for the past three years because of a conflict between the incoming provincial government and TransLink. 101
Until TransLink's creation, the Greater Vancouver region was dependent on transportation investment decisions that were largely made in the provincial capital by BC Transit, the Province's transit organization and the provincial ministry of highways. Though represented on BC Transit's Board and a regional transit commission, regions and municipalities often felt left out of decisions affecting the integration of land use and transportation planning. In a bid to influence provincial decision making, the region produced Transport 2021, a document which continues to shape and reflect regional thinking on transportation issues. 102
Bill 36, created TransLink with the authority to provide and manage through its subsidiary companies:
- public transit services: buses, SkyTrain (light rapid transit), the SeaBus (ferry) to North Vancouver, the West Coast Express commuter train from the north shore of the Fraser River, and HandyDART services for people with mobility problems;
- the Albion ferry linking Langley and Maple Ridge;
- the Air Care program that checks vehicles for excessive emissions;
- transportation demand management programs to encourage trip reduction and transportation alternatives; and
- to work in partnership with area municipalities to maintain, rehabilitate, and upgrade the major regional road network, but excluding local roads and provincial highways. 103
TransLink was also provided with a variety of funding sources in addition to fares collected from its public transit services. These include property taxes, vehicle levies, parking taxes, and the fees collected from Air Care. The Province, in turn, has to give its nominal approval to taxes and levies or, in some cases, is the agent for collecting them. In 2000, shortly before a provincial election – after a bitter fight between urban and suburban councillors and mayors – a proposed vehicle levy was adopted by a narrow margin by TransLink board members. However, a skittish provincial government refused to collect the levy, thus setting back the cause of urban transportation for several years and precipitating a major funding crisis and a subsequent transit strike. 104
Applying the UN HABITAT Governance Criteria to TransLink
Sustainability – TransLink is committed to achieving "a sustainable transportation network that meets the current and future needs of the region." 105 It aims to achieve cleaner air by insisting on standards for private motor vehicles. It is also committed to increasing ridership, expanding transit services and by organizing and encouraging demand management programs. At the same time, it has a responsibility to service the needs of cars and trucks through maintaining and expanding the existing road and bridge network. As different areas of the region have different modal splits, its transportation priorities reflect political pressures.
Subsidiarity – TransLink represents the devolution of power and revenue generating authority to the regional level. Local roads remain exclusively the responsibility of local municipalities. However, as was evident in the vehicle levy debacle, and in several subsequent decisions (to force a SkyTrain realignment and support a very expensive rapid transit line to the airport and Richmond prior to the 2010 Olympics), there is still the opportunity for senior governments to override regional priorities or influence decisions by offering very specific financial incentives when it becomes politically expedient to do so.
Equity – As with the GVRD board, municipal representatives on the board of TransLink have voting power based on the size of their respective populations. Equity is a thorny matter when it comes to budgeting issues. What is a fair disposition of resources between suburban residents who primarily drive and are heavily dependent on adequate road infrastructure, or – if they take transit – are difficult to service efficiently because of low densities, and the greater number of transit users who reside in Vancouver and the inner ring of suburbs? What mechanisms should be used to fund TransLink's financial priorities? How should these costs be divided? TransLink board members must reconcile regional interests with the wishes of local constituencies. The poor or other disadvantaged groups are not represented at the board table except in general terms by municipal councillors.
Efficiency – TransLink is a more efficient structure than the previous arrangement because it enables regional decision makers to make the necessary decisions in a timely fashion, and to make decisions that are congruent with other regional goals and policies. However, continuing senior government interference – in overriding decisions or prescribing how monies will be spent – continues to result in plans that do not use resources as efficiently as might otherwise be the case.
Transparency and accountability – The Board is appointed, not elected, but 12 of its 15 members are mayors or councillors from the region. As part of the legislation governing its creation, TransLink is required to consult with the public before imposing any new user fee or toll. 106 Its Board meetings are open to the general public, but portions may be held in camera if sensitive subjects are being discussed. Matters pertaining to bids are kept confidential for proprietary and competitive reasons. While most of the information on its web site relates to transit services, there is also information on the road network, transportation demand management and intelligent transportation systems. Its commitment to actively seeking "the ideas of employees, partners, stakeholders and the public" and providing "clear and concise information in a timely manner" is supported by its attempts at engagement identified below. 107
Civic engagement and citizenship – A variety of methods have been used to involve the public and stakeholders in transportation planning, particularly in relation to the recently developed and approved Strategic Transportation Plan. These have been very innovative.
The key elements have included:
- An Urban Transportation Forum, involving 80-100 people representing all major stakeholders in the region, to identify broad issues and guide the development of a draft plan.
- A Transportation Round Table, involving a smaller subset of people, who in facilitated sessions walked through the trade-offs and balances that needed to be achieved in a final plan. Their deliberations resulted in changes to the draft plan.
- An on-line web exercise called "Building Your Transportation Future," where citizens could use information on the planning options to craft their own proposed plans. Their only constraint was that they had to balance the books and not run a deficit. 12,000 people visited the site, and 4000 people took out user IDs to develop a plan. Of these, 500 plans were completed.
- Eight public meetings were held throughout the region. Although not particularly well attended, despite extensive advertising, priorities from the meetings were incorporated into the final plan. A flyer was also distributed in community newspapers, and public opinion polling was conducted throughout the year leading up to the plan's adoption to test acceptance of its key provisions. 108
Security of individuals and their living environments – Safety is one of the values that TransLink espouses. TransLink will "plan and deliver a transportation system that promotes the health, safety and security of employees and the public." 109 TransLink has a responsibility for the security of passengers on its vehicles in terms of crime and mechanical safety. It maintains a force of transit police for monitoring SkyTrains and their stations. It also has responsibility for the safety of regional roads, and for regional air quality, to some degree, through administration of the Air Care program. Air Care, since its implementation a number of years ago resulted in significant improvements in air quality. However, the number of cars in the region is growing faster than the number of people, and TransLink has no control over the generally lax emissions standards allowed for SUVs and light trucks. This is resulting in the arrest and reversal of this progress. 110
As noted above for the GVRD, attention to resilience and emergency preparedness of the region, with further efforts to coordinate on a regional scale, is needed.