Numbers: Does Langley get screwed on transit funding?
Continuing our South of the Fraser theme, why does this map drive people in Langley, Surrey and Delta nuts?
Notice the key in the bottom right. It almost completely covers South of the Fraser. And why not? – given that there’s almost no rapid-transit, either rail or fastbus, into that part of the region.
Which only confirms to them that they’re getting the very short end of the stick – paying through gas and property taxes for the rest of the region’s transit services.
As Nathan Pachal observes in his blog:
One of the pastimes in Langley is to complain about TransLink and the level of service it provides to the community. There is a common belief that Langley taxpayers are not getting value from the agency and are actually subsidizing Vancouver’s transportation needs. What I found interesting is no one has actually looked at the amount of money that TransLink spends in Langley.
So Nathan did. He sent a freedom of information request to TransLink asking for the 2010 annual operating cost of transit service in Langley. And got a reply, with real numbers!
How did it turn out? You’ll find out here.
I assumed it would go that direction, though to really crunch this out it would be nice to know occupancy on those routes relative to others and how the presumably longer trips (to downtown, at least) stack up against three-zone fares. I wonder if the fares can even be backed out.
Maybe now Vancouverites can complain about subsidizing Langley’s car dependence.
That said, very soon there will be a B-line in Surrey, which is wonderful news. Won’t leave much room for the legend in that map, though.