Mobility pricing: used to fund transit = new referendum

By Diane Duflot
October 19, 2015

Still in the wake of the transit referendum, Metro Vancouver mayors are now looking into road pricing as a method of generating much needed revenue for transit infrastructure. Meanwhile, the province cautions that any plans to add tolls to roads, bridges or travel through zones will compel another transit referendum.

The Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation recently voted in favour of swiftly obtaining a staff report on how to move “mobility pricing” forward. So-called mobility pricing can include using tolls on bridges and highways or charging drivers based on the distance they travel or for passing through certain zones. For years, mayors have proposed mobility pricing as a means of simultaneously generating funds and reducing traffic congestion.

TransLink Minister Peter Fassbender says, though, that no mobility pricing will be put in place without the public’s approval…via another referendum, since it’s a funding source that has not yet passed legislation.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner have both indicated, though, that they don’t want another transit referendum. They, along with the other mayors do, however, face the urgent need of finding a manner of generating billions of dollars to fund such projects as the Surrey light rail, a replacement for the deteriorating Patullo Bridge and Vancouver’s Broadway subway line.

Meanwhile, both the federal and provincial governments have each promised to cough up one third of the funding for the $2.1-billion Surrey rapid transit project, which puts additional pressure on the mayors to determine where their third will come from.

Whether or not there will be a referendum, the mayors plan on researching what form road pricing in the region might take, as well as how much revenue it might generate.

Robertson recently released a statement condemning the idea of another referendum.

“We don’t hold referenda for crucial needs such as hospitals or schools,” he said in the statement, “and there haven’t been referenda on new highways or bridges, so mayors across the region have been clear that the province shouldn’t be holding referenda on urgently needed transit investments either.”

Meanwhile, Fassbender has told the mayors they need to cooperate better with the board of directors at TransLink, as well as help the province in restoring public trust in the transit organization. Fassbender believes that a referendum might end differently if the public had faith in TransLink as an organization. He has also pointed out that mayors have the option of introducing a vehicle levy or raising property taxes at their disposal, but they have thus far done neither.

The mayors expect to release a report on mobility pricing by December.

About Diane Duflot

Diane Duflot is a freelance writer and editor.

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