Dear Editor:
The next provincial government must be careful not to do an easy pendulum swing on transit governance.
TransLink has had two different kinds of board. Both decision-making bodies are necessary.
We need a mayors' board to make up a "wish list" of what their constituents would like to see and to come to an agreement on priorities. This is the legitimate job of politicians.
We also need an empowered board of professionals, made up of people like accountants, engineers and transit planners, to cost these things out and to emphasize the statistical side of things and to make sure we keep pace with growth without stumbling into the kind of cost overruns that give so many government projects a bad name.
A fixed funding formula is needed for the regular running costs of transit, and another formula is needed for expansions.
If the mayors want to expand beyond those limits or to speed up the projects, they should be required to take the matter to referendum, which will give a temporary increase in taxes, but only to the end of that particular project.
The voters will have the right to say no, but the politicians will be able to use their political skills to work out a new vision of transit with the voters, or they must stick to a formula.
Aren't we already more than halfway there?
Albert Melenius, HandyDART driver, Burnaby
