From page V8 cost of $5 per inp. The cost i@ move an average passenger cach vear con transit is $2,500. This ts $100 fess than we currently subsidize private motorized vehiele users to drive alone in their cars and SUVs! = “Al of a sudden, Fare Free Transit ist just a good idea, it can make our trans- portation system: much more fair and equitable. oo However, this dees not: solve the problem of fund- _ing for transit. Transit needs a secure: and reliable source of fund- ing. '; ff fares are increased, “there is a very geod chance that funding levels from the farebox will decrease. . * Again the experience > from ‘our past, in Toronto ‘and many other cities, shows us how quickly.we can get ‘into a downward spiral of » increasing. fares and lower “ridership. And Seo githeash poms reasemablc fo raise pransell Tales TO Me ress FESCUE, this docs now abvays happen enowithogt tire iereases, funda levels from the frebos always fluctuate and therefore arc AOL A Consistent source af jumbo tor the system. Add to this the tact that fares only make up aly about-half ofthe total oper ating costs of transit. roush ly $300 million. The proposed costs of expanding the transit systern ta this plan over five vears is $1 billion, almost 10 times what the farebox brings in vearly. Clearly, transit fares can not provide this Kind at rev- enue. My solution is to ireat public transit like the bona fide public service that it is. Health care, education: sity and municipal services ~- these. are all funded by taxes and premiums accord: ing toan ability to pay, SWEEPS Levett Auto Body is your complete . Collision repair-facility. e-repair.all makes. of- foreign i 2anon, Wedresday. tarch 29, 20006 -- North Shore News - 25 it fares reduces fi of funda base Asp of ceurse Avisberal, Reto: parties cast tases and stand heals care, edu jodoat) planners van Work mdr Thar one wear iy WTO Hamace their Work. soowhys not tund transit ina similar way? Well, one reason is the dau tad frengv that dhe cor porate sicdia outlets contin ually throw our way, Aproremtly we ail want tax breaks tasted of social sersives. when the ceahtv of course is that on the rich benef from any reduction in tases and ony the cet fan survive a reduction in sovial services. {f reality was reconized and! a tax or premium inte duced ta-provide a stuble oand sufficient source af.” funding for transit and its: eApansiqu, one meted world be to charge both fomschedds and businesses a inonthiv ar vearly fee, A cough estimate for the cost to urban houscnelds wold be beoseen STA and $30 per qaouths that micars everyone in tbe household has unlimited. use of rransit tor that price. Suburban households would pay approwumately twice this amount. Compare this with the current cost of C2rvonthiy transit pass (S34 per person jor the cost ot Insuring an automabile, never mind the car itsel? susiness /eovernment “co aperauve and collective svurk sites would also pay a ive according to the number . of employees at the work site Achange of SY per day pet employee. would raise approsunately $300 million per sear. That alone: sould cover the all af the current Ope rauin COSTS [OL trast. Sui don’t believe it van be done? Fer the past 20 vears, in the veritable belly of the beast, die region of Amherst, Massachusetts, has heen operating a Fare Free Transit System that covers roughly tie sate area as ‘Trans Link's svetci. Se not oniy cau this be done, it has heen done. Altogether, this tundiag system of household fees and workplace premiums, would raise over $500 mil- fion per year. That would cover all of transits operat: ing, costs und ‘sul raise Over a billion doflars in the next tive years ~- enough to cover the amount thai TransLink bas budgeted for transit expansion in their current draft plan. ershi When vou add ip the absolutely necessary parking sales tix and the wasoline tax the budget for capital investments in transit, bike, and pedestrian facilities will be more hag covered. $n facto we could increase the projected expansion of these facilities so that transit could meet much more than just the current 3% of trips taken in the region. and pro: “vide evervone with the seri- ous alternative. to the auto- trobile that mow of us con- tinually ask for. Wow, Naw imagine what. vou ° can. du with the $7,000 vou can save every vear because you don’t need that car. o— Dave Olsen is an inde- pendent transportation can- sultant who nas worked on Better Transportation Solutions for the past seven sears 0 the Vancouver area. and domestic cars & trucks. ’ 183 Pemberton Ave. 985-7195 _Government licensed inspection station | . ARA certitied body shop. i" BCAA approved The renowned Being DANCE ACADEMY performs i in honour of 30 years of - diplomatic relationship between China | : and Canada and to promot awareness Just one, of the many valuable | new ‘features i in the Comminity Guide of your: “TELUS” Yellow Pages™ directcry ‘designed to make ‘your life a little easies, © 4, rer aps as “THE ULTIMATE “SOURCE”