A report submitted on TransLink revealed that the transit authority, its governance and structure, is an anomaly worldwide.
There is almost zero accountability.
TransLink’s board is made up of unelected representatives that are in charge of making major decisions that have regional implications.
Advocates, especially elected officials, are calling for change.
At the recent GVRD board, following the vote to rescind the property tax from TransLink’s source of funding, Surrey councillor Marvin Hunt put it in clear terms.
“The model of TransLink has business men running it . . . You’ve got business men with no accountability to the taxpayer, taxing the taxpayer. That’s called taxation without representation.”
While the British aren’t coming, provincial officials just might.
Transportation Minister Mary Polak pledged continued talks with Metro Vancouver mayors to reform TransLink’s governance structure.
What this reformation will look like begs further debate.
We’ve had elected officials as board chair, then Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum. But was that truly accountability?
Is it time to directly elect a transit board of directors? George Puil declared transportation the most urgent political priority. Perhaps direct elections are warranted.
But the issue isn’t necessarily accountability either, but good governance as well. To effectively govern a regional entity, with multiple, often competing interests, impartiality is at a premium. Political ties to a specific area or municipality will surely run-up against conflict of interest issues.
Listen to Surrey Councilor Marvin Hunt talk briefly about the city’s transportation needs (note: audio quality is poor due to file compression):
So where does this leave us?
To guarantee accountability and unbiased governance, a separate electable body is a faintly glimmering solution. But consider voter turnout for such an esoteric area of politics.
The answer to TransLink accountability and governance (that won’t amount to political stalemate) will not be arrived at in a 300-word blog-post, that’s for sure.
This is something to monitor in the months ahead.
Surrey BC'er 