Voting Value
TransLink Mayors spent at least $7 million in taxpayer dollars to try and buy a YES vote – the NO side spent $40,000 on the anti-tax campaign. In a few weeks, we’ll see who got better value.
Waste Of The Day Awards
Affluent Attendants
Two TransLink HR staffers mysteriously left their jobs amid allegations that nepotism played a role in the hiring of $60,000 per year SkyTrain attendants. Children of senior TransLink executives and union officials were among those hired.
Moneyed Mechanics
Between 2006 and 2010, TransLink’s top driver and mechanic wage rates increased by 12.6% and 23.5% respectively, which were well in excess of inflation (6.4%).
Expert Evaders
The 10 top TransLink fare evaders in B.C. collectively owe more than $73,000 in fines, racked up from 535 tickets issued between 2002 and 2012. The top fare evader in B.C. is an Abbotsford resident who incurred 107 tickets for TransLink fare infractions and now owes an astonishing $14,583 in fines. They are among 37,000 in the province who together owe $5.7 million in fines for free rides.
Canada Line Cop Clog
InTransit BC, the SNC-Lavalin-backed owners of the Canada Line, took TransLink to the cleaners when negotiating its police deal, forcing TransLink to have at least six officers on the Canada Line at all times. This often means the safer Canada Line has as many officers on duty as the sketchier Expo and Millennium Lines – combined!
Bye Bye Billion
From 2000 to today, TransLink has lost at least a quarter of a billion dollars by not properly collecting fares from every rider.
Fare Evader Explosion
In 2012, it was revealed that TransLink bus drivers pressed a “fare not paid” button more than 2.1 million times – meaning more than 2 million free rides for fare evaders. By 2014, that number was 2.9 million.
Control Room Confusion
During the July 21, 2014, shutdown, SkyTrain control had no idea the trains were still running fine while the power was down at control. They “assumed that the SkyTrain system had stopped functioning.”
Haha Headquarters
Many taxpayers have noted how the shiny new TransLink headquarters is constantly lit up – even late at night. This has led to the popular joke: “At TransLink, the lights are on but nobody’s home.”