Concerned about a two cent increase in the gas tax?

Last night, I voted against the second reading of Bill 11, the Translink gas tax bill — the only MLA to do so. Now that the two cent hike is nearing the pipeline, it's time for Translink to take a closer look at their priorities for our region. Transit service needs to be improved for residents living south of the Fraser.

In the house yesterday I outlined the concern many seniors have with the loss of the express bus downtown.  The new Canada line exchange route is less accessible and is a real challenge to residents with mobility issues — many of whom rely on transit to attend specialist doctor appointments downtown. 

It is difficult to describe how upset many in our senior community continue to feel about how much the loss of the 601 has impacted their quality of life.  The need to put money on megaprojects like the Evergreen Line is acute, but Delta South riders also have pressing needs that need to be addressed — especially when it comes to accessibility and access.

HANSARD TRANSCRIPT — October 18, 2011

I wasn't originally intending on speaking to the Greater Vancouver Transit Enhancement Act. However, as I sat and thought about what the impacts on south Delta are with regard to a two-cent gasoline tax, I found myself agreeing with the critic for the official opposition when he said that the Metro Vancouver mayors have been forced into a corner. I believe they've been forced into that corner because of a legislated structure they were forced to accept in the first place.

In the case of Delta South, we were forced to accept the consequences of a provincial decision to construct the Canada Line, and for that decision, the residents of south Delta were forced to use the line. Why? Because TransLink needed the residents of White Rock and Delta, all south of the Fraser, to help pay for the line, which now has ridership over its anticipated numbers. That line serves Vancouver and Richmond, not south Delta and White Rock. That decision meant that we lost a convenient, heavily used express bus into the heart of Vancouver. We were forced to go to Richmond and reboard the Canada Line.

Now, that alone doesn't sound like the end of the world, and it isn't if you are able-bodied, if you don't want to go to south Granville, if you are fit, and if you can find a parking spot at Bridgeport, which I must say, Madam Speaker, I have twice been unable to do and will not bother trying to do again.

I dearly hope the minister will hear this and help me resolve this problem, because the requirement to use the Canada Line has stranded — literally stranded — Delta seniors and disabled. They no longer use transit, they can't get to medical appointments, they can't visit friends, they can't get to the theatre, and they can't get to special events or family. They are stranded.

I don't know how many times I've heard the same words. The single loss of accessibility and safe transit has literally diminished their quality of life. Our bus, our 601, was a friend to these individuals. It was security, it was safe, and it was easy. It waited, and it helped, but not the Canada Line. It's fast. It's in a hurry. It's crowded with strangers. Doors close automatically. You wait standing up. There are no facilities. If you are slow, you miss the connection, and then you wait in a dimly lit and frightening bus loop.

I need help to resolve this untenable situation. Even one or two buses during midday would solve a very real social situation in my riding, and TransLink isn't listening. I hope this minister does.

These are among the reasons the people of Delta South do not support the two-cent gasoline tax. They see no end to the lack of service they face and to the resulting problems that our seniors and disabled face. Our mayor did not support the tax, and neither can I.

I understand the excitement of the member for Coquitlam–Burke Mountain. I sympathize with the long-standing need for the Evergreen line, but it comes with a big price for the people of Delta South, who see no end to the sacrifices they are forced to make for residents north of the Fraser when it comes to transit and which transit simply must resolve.