Canadian Autoworkers Local 111 president Nathan Woods sat down March 3 with Marcella Szel, TransLink’s board chair, to discuss cuts and the referendum.
The local bus union president said he wanted to introduce himself to Szel, and address issues his union has been raising for years.
“She’s been on the TransLink board for years now; she’s got experience with what’s at stake with the referendum,” Woods said.
“A lot of times when you get to a certain level of bureaucracy, you lose information. It doesn’t all travel up.”
The union has been raising the alarm over the shortage of buses with its campaign “More Buses Now,” which states Metro Vancouver is short 500 buses. Woods said the number probably now sits around 750.
“I wanted to bring forward to her the volumes and pass-ups, the shortage – where we are now with our current buses,” he said. “I wanted to let her know the low morale of the workforce.”
However, Woods said TransLink intends to follow through with more cuts “they see necessary to operate in the black.”
“Right now, service cuts are happening through what they call optimization,” he said. “But it affects riders too greatly, and it affects the quality of work for the transit operators.”
Woods said TransLink plans to have $6 million worth of more cuts, which will bring it back to 2003 service levels.
“In our economy and regular growth, it’s not sustainable,” he said. “They can’t sustain today’s systems and ridership. We continue to endure pass-ups and overcrowded buses.”
Woods said the optimization cuts have only increased violent incidents between drivers and passengers. He said assaults rose by 15% last year, and it’s due in large part to scheduling conflicts, pass-ups and trip denials.
“I wanted to make sure she understands the current region,” he said. “Our membership doesn’t have a lot of faith in Coast Mountain Bus Company or TransLink in making decisions productive for them.”
Woods said over the next year, they’ll be rallying support across the province through communities and organizations to make sure a referendum will mean more funding for TransLink.
“We’ll hopefully get groups screaming and yelling about the needs to increase funding,” he said.
But, according to Szel, TransLink has played a role in meeting the demand for population growth in the Lower Mainland.
“Since 2002, Metro Vancouver has grown as a region and TransLink has invested in the transportation network to meet growing demand,” Szel said.
Szel said the transit authority has introduced new options, including the Canada Line, 555 express bus over the Port Mann Bridge, and the 96 B-Line in Surrey.
“After the expansion of the previous decade, TransLink’s current focus is on providing the best possible service to our customers with existing resources,” she said. “We also continue to maintain our bus fleet as outlined in the 2014 base plan, our plan for the next three years.”
TransLink is set to replace 475 older buses with new fuel-efficient ones, Szel added.
“I appreciate Mr. Woods taking the intiative to meet with me,” she said. “I look forward to working together with him and other regional stakeholders to find ways to better connect people, ease congestion, and provide convenient travel choices for the region.”
© Burnaby Now
