Good ol’ TransLink. Always in a hurry to spend your dough.

The latest waste story comes after they bought 62 diesel community shuttles in 2012 and 2013. The shuttles arrived, and the fumes made drivers sick. Headaches and nausea were reported within weeks by drivers, and testing reveals (according to the Vancouver Sun) the shuttles “continue to emit too many fumes, threatening the health of drivers and passengers.”

Lovely.

Having screwed up that purchase, TransLink have now convinced Metro Vancouver mayors and councillors to let them spend $9.35 million on new, gasoline-powered shuttles. From the story:

In the past, TransLink did not have to tell Metro Vancouver how it was spending gas tax money, but that changed with a new agreement last year, which requires Metro to sign off on capital projects, even those previously approved.

Mike Madill, vice-president of operations of Coast Mountain Bus Co., said TransLink has been working with the manufacturer to fix the problems, but wants to buy new shuttles in case the issues can’t be resolved. Some of the more problematic buses have been taken out of service, and TransLink has pulled buses from retirement to maintain.

The new buses, he said, would likely be here in six months.

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Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie questioned what other projects would be affected, noting Metro has been given little information on TransLink’s capital plans.

“It’s always a matter of choice and priorities but we have no idea what these priorities are without any information on the background,” Brodie said. “They’re making this specific request. Surely there should be some level of disclosure other than the fact that we’ve got these terrible buses that have to be replaced.”

Metro directors agreed to the funding Friday but warned the transportation authority it is only a “one-off.”

Amazing, isn’t it? There’s never money for the service the public wants (unless we agree to a major tax hike), but there’s always dough to cover the butts of the bureaucrats who made bad decisions.