The following is a response to TransLink's recent letter to the CTF regarding the 2014 Teddy Waste Awards.

March 5, 2014 

Mr. Ian Jarvis
Chief Administrative Officer, TransLink
400-287 Nelson’s Court
New Westminster, BC V3L 0E7 

RE: TransLink’s 2014 Teddy Waste Award

Mr. Jarvis,

Thank you for your letter addressed to Michael Binnion, Chairman of the Board for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. As a volunteer board chairman, Mr. Binnion is not involved in the day-to-day operations of our communications division, and as such has asked me to respond.

I appreciate that you feel that the 2014 Teddy Waste Award for the habitually empty park and ride lot at the Highway 99/King George Highway location would more appropriately be given to Mary Polak, the Minister of Transportation at the time the $4.5 million lot was approved by the province.

In one sense, I can understand your point.

Considering the repeated inability of TransLink to manage its assets (be it the expensive transit police, the over-budget Compass Card program, the transit police’s explosive on a jetliner fiasco, employees taking 60% more sick days than the average non-government employee, or the half-million dollar expenditure on 13 television screens – most of which weren’t working in 2012, etc.) the B.C. Government ultimately should have known better than to ask TransLink to manage something as complicated as a parking lot.

TransLink has been the one responsible for the mismanagement of the lot, leading to it sitting empty on most days, we are confident the Teddy Waste Award was, in fact, directed to the correct public body.

Specifically on the mismanagement, the lot sits empty today (and every day) due to TransLink’s complete and utter disconnect with the customers it purports to serve. While the CTF supports user pay mechanisms, we are not naïve to believe they work in every circumstance – and certainly make little sense when hundreds of parking stalls sit empty, as commuters spill into surrounding neighbourhoods.

We at the CTF take math seriously and upon double-checking we still are confident that zero cars paying $2 each, results in $0 in revenue for TransLink.

TransLink created the mess by NOT embracing a user pay philosophy at the previous park and ride. Instead of undertaking modest demand management efforts, your agency towed commuters who were jamming the previous free park and ride. Your own organization studied a $3 million expansion to the west, yet now you blame the provincial government for spending $4.5 million to try and fix your mess.

Nonetheless, we recognize you are unhappy with the 2014 Teddy Waste Award for the empty parking lot.

No government agency in the 16-year history of the Teddy Waste Awards has ever willingly or happily accepted the dishonor. We would encourage you to follow the example of several past winners and move to clean up TransLink’s callous disregard for tax dollars. That’s the best way to prevent a repeat victory.

TransLink’s careless disregard for tax dollars resulted in significant critical news coverage at a national level that certainly illustrates the disservice your organization has done in “managing” taxpayer assets. The public trust in your administration is indeed eroded. 

Sincerely,
Scott Hennig
Vice President, Communications
Canadian Taxpayers Federation

CC: Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure
CC: Mary Polak, Minister of Environment