Change Translink

Let Translink know how you feel  

Translink has long been a thorn in my side...  Having lived in two other cities before moving here, I am constantly astonished at the persistent lack of service and accountability of the company.   Most insulting though, is that the service is not on part (in the least) with other metropolitan areas and yet we are expected to pay as much or more.  (Pay more for inadequate service... Interesting...  I would love to get a raise for doing less, but that doesn’t generally happen.  I’ll have to look at Translink’s model for tips.) 

Translink purports to provide public transportation, but for how little it services or responds to the public and how infrequently it actually provides transportation, I am surprised they are able to use the term. 

The imminent shame that the city will face when myriads of people arrive from around the world has forced them to make certain changes, but the burden of the service still appears to fall on those who can least afford it. 

Most of the time I have had the luxury of working a job which paid somewhat more than minimum wage, and so purchasing the bus pass themselves were not a huge hardship.  (In those cases, I was privileged to be merely dissatisfied by the lack of service).  But when unemployed or on a lower income, it was very difficult to afford the passes or tickets.  Yet it was essential in order to actually make it to jobs or interviews and so, somewhat impossible not to purchase.  

Perhaps offering free public transit could be considered, but at the very least the rates should be frozen and more transportation provided.  This concept may appear absurd on the surface, but Translink makes very poor choices as to where the money presently goes.  They need to be more accountable to the public as we are the ones riding public transit as well as paying for it (in more ways than one).     

If the most active approach we can take is sending Translink letters and emails custrel@translink.bc.ca to express our dissatisfaction, it’s a start.  They need to know that we frustrated and deserve better.   

It's time for our "change" to compel them to make their change.