14 — Sunday, November 2, * 997 — North Shore News Transit power to shift Province to hand contro! to new regional body By Martin Mifferchip Contributing Writer miller@nsnews.com THE provincial cabinet and the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) will vote on the creation of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority by Feb. 28, 1998. The North Shore got its first peek at the proposed agreement Wednesday ‘ courtesy of senior GVRD planners at a hastily arranged meeting at North Vancouver District Hall. What is the GVTA? - A ‘15-member board comprising 12 municipal representatives appointed by the GVRD board (itself a non-elected body of “municipal politicians) and three area MLAs. Just one member will represent the " entire North Shore, including Lions Bay. " What will the GVTA do? ‘It will replace the provinée’s role in: financ- aan) ing regional transportation in the GVRD (except for provincial highways such as routes | and 99 and Lions Gate Bridge); co-ordinating the delivery of bus and rail transit services; implementing car pool pro- grams and = developing a “consistent approach to project tolling with the province”; and administering the AirCare program Within the GVRD. What transit improvements? The bus fleet is scheduled to expand from its present 991 (40-ft.-cquivalent) units to 1,600 units by 2008. Skytrain cass will increase from 150 to 218 in the same peri- ‘Completion of the Light Rail system between Broadway-Lougheed-Coquitam- New Westminster is targeted for 2008 with 75 cars (double the size of regular Skytrain cars). What will it cost? To start with the, the province walks away from almost one third of the net debt asso- ciated with BC Transit. Figures based on a date of March 31, 1997 show BC Transit’s total net debt at $1.47 million, of which the GVTA will assume $485 million. Service costs on that debt load must be added to the operating costs of all transit systems and the costs of road maintenance. From 1999 to 2010, annual bus costs " will grow from $289 million to $475 mil- APPLY NOW—SEATS STILL AVAILABLE! Jion a year, while the annual debr servicing costs are estimated to rise from $69 million to $194 million. The GVTA’s total annual operating cost in 2010 is estimated at $866 million.” Auto Collision — Where’s the money? Fare revenues are projected to rise from $184 million to $306 million by 2010, including a projected 3% per annum fare hike. Revenues collected by the Vancouver Regional Transit Commission will be trans- ferred to the GVTA as well as the conmmis- sion’s present $50 million cash on hand. Those revenues, projected to total $156 million by 2010, are: the four cents per litre motor fuel tax; the $1.90 per residen- tial household BC Hydro levy; and the non-residential property tax. New revenues for the GVTA approved by the province include an additional share of the province’s motor fuel tax. What’s the shortfall? A mere $178 million by the year 2010. This amount could be raised “from new potential sources of revenue such as vehicle charges and tolls. The GVRD would like to increase its capture of the rush hour commute to 17% from the present 13% by the year 2021. By the same year, the number of cars per busiest rush hour will have risen from the present 240,000-250,000 to 360,000. 183 Pemberton Ave. TALKING 985-71 95) Vege 2000 § @ Improves Mental Performance @ Promotes Ideal Health @ Enhances Quality of Life @ Eliminates Tension and Fatigue Mobharbhl Mahesh Yogi “Over the last cighteen years, the TM technique has becn the stabilizing influence on my very busy schedule. 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