TransLink, winner today of a Teddy Waste Award for its empty $4.5 million South Surrey park and ride lot, is demanding a correction from the CTF. In statements to the press, TransLink threw funding partner Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure under the proverbial bus, claiming it was the province’s $4.5 million that was spent on the lot (and therefore, one presumes, TransLink feels the MOTI should win the award).

Good old TransLink, always willing to stand up and be accountable to the taxpayers. Let’s review the facts. Yes, the province spent $4.5 million tax dollars on the new park and ride. Why? Because of the public uproar over TransLink threatening and then towing customers from the old park and ride, as they tried to squeeze in like sardines.

Unfortunately for taxpayers, TransLink has completely bungled management of the parking lot. They've screwed up, misread customers, and allowed this lot to sit empty.

First, they started towing existing users, ticking off their customers.

Then, they waited until the new lot opened to add a $2 parking charge. As TransLink’s 2013 base plan says, “There are also major customer service benefits from pricing, such as greater certainty of finding a parking space is provided at oversubscribed facilities and the ability to provide consistent facility amenities.” But instead of putting a small charge on the old lot and seeing what it did to demand, they started threatening and towing. Shouldn't transportation planners, of all people, understand demand management and the effect of charing someone even a nominal amount? 

The Ministry should have known better than to trust TransLink with anything, so I’ll happily mark an assist on this Teddy Waste Award to them. TransLink waited until the new lot opened, slapped the fee on, and then looked surprised that the new lot was left deserted – and the old lot saw numbers slump too. Perhaps they should have tried that first! 

In TransLink’s announcement lauding the park and ride opening (yup, nothing to do with them, he blogged sarcastically), Surrey councillor and MLA Marvin Hunt expressed the hope that, “The extra parking spaces will allow more people to use transit.” No luck, as TransLink has run this operation into the ground.

The $4.5 million parking lot sits empty, day after day after day, thanks to TransLink’s mismanagement and misunderstanding of its customers. So congratulations, TransLink, on your Teddy Waste Award… you turned a $4.5 million gift from provincial taxpayers into a chronic, almost-comedic money loser.