Dear Editor:
I did not vote on the TransLink plebiscite, and now I regret it.
After nine hours of work and a considerable amount of caffeine, I stood waiting for the bus to take me home. A few minutes later it arrived, and the masses pushed their way to the doors. Then a curious thing happened— something I had been grateful for in the past; the bus driver got off the bus.
Not a single person paid for a ticket and not a single person tapped their $194- million compass cards. Sorry, I guess only $40 million came from taxpayers.
TransLink estimates that approximately $18 million in lost revenue occurs each year because of fare evasion. It does not require more transit police to eliminate this, the bus driver just has to stay on the bus; an ingenious plan, I know. This travesty that we are all honourable people who pay our fares without pressure is grossly inaccurate. It brings upon a situation eerily familiar to that of the “free rider” problem found in basic economics, in which people use a public good without paying.
I am astounded that TransLink has the audacity to ask for more money when they cannot even generate their potential revenue. I regret not voting No.
Lastly, I must give credit to the transit police officer who ticketed a gentleman I know; you spelled his name wrong, but you tried.
Liam Grehan
North Vancouver
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