Dear Editor:
I am absolutely stunned that TransLink is considering tolling major roads and all bridges across Metro Vancouver to raise needed funds.
Has anybody considered the astronomical costs associated in setting up a monitoring system to collect these fees? Are we going to have intersection/bridge cameras to record licence plates? Radio-frequency ID tags on vehicle licence plates and RFID readers everywhere? We will also need to have an additional layer of staff to implement and monitor these systems, let alone collect the fees, delinquent accounts, etc. Have the public considered the potential invasion of personal privacy that this blanket of monitoring systems will bring?
I certainly understand that TransLink wants heavier users of our roads and bridges to bear a higher burden of upgrade and maintenance cost. Would it not be much more cost-effective to simply increase the TransLink tax at the gas/diesel pump?
I believe this would also further encourage people to get into more fuel-efficient vehicles.
C. Lee, Burnaby
