At least it’s looking like drivers waiting to get through the congested George Massey Tunnel or over the Alex Fraser Bridge won’t have to pay for the privilege.
Recently, the provincial election campaign saw the issue of a mobility pricing raised, with NDP leader David Eby saying he ruled out mobility pricing and Conservative leader John Rustad criticizing a tax that would charge drivers based on the distance they travel.
TransLink this summer had also ruled out using mobility pricing as a tool to make up for an ongoing budget shortfall.
The NDP also pointed out they took the tolls off the Golden Ears and Port Mann bridges.
This May, a new report outlined a series of proposed policy recommendations for several Canadian cities and transit agencies for new revenue tools that could work towards stable funding and possible service expansion.
The report, This is the End of the Line, Reconstructing Transit Operating Funding in Canada, by Leading Mobility Consulting, analyzed the potential revenue tools in the context of each city.
For Metro Vancouver, the report recommends TransLink begin consultation with regional and provincial partners and work toward establishing a vehicle levy, resume efforts to establish and implement a regional vehicle kilometre travelled (VKT) tax, as well as conduct a feasibility study for an electric vehicle charging tax.
The recommendation for the province includes coming to the table to implement a regional VKT tax.
Drivers would be levied a fee that is dependent on the distance that they travel. That tax can operate in a variety of ways and are also known as mobility pricing, congestion pricing, decongestion pricing, distance-based charging, mileage-based user fees and road use charging.
TransLink has also extensively researched the possibility of implementing a VKT tax, which has shown promise for congestion management and was examined by the Mobility Pricing Independent Commission as an alternative to the regional motor fuel tax, the report explains.
Two schemes, congestion point charges and multi-zone distance-based charges, were explored in a report by the commission and recommended for further study.
“By accurately pricing road usage, a VKT Tax sends a price signal to drivers and encourages more efficient travel choices. Single-occupancy car trips impose some of the highest collective external costs including vehicle emissions, deterioration of roads and highways, public safety and time spent in congestion,” the report states.
When it comes to concerns such a tax would unfairly penalize suburban drivers with a longer commute, the report counters that people with higher incomes typically drive more at congested times of day, and a tax that focuses on congestion and road demand could be more equitable than one that charges the same rate irrespective of when people drive.
In May 2018, the Mobility Pricing Independent Commission appeared before a joint meeting of TransLink’s Mayors’ Council and board of directors to go over the commission’s final report on potential mobility pricing schemes for the region.
Looking at various options to reduce congestion by up to 25 per cent, the commission boiled down the options to a pair of ideas, both requiring further examination by the region.
One was a congestion point charge that would see drivers charged as they pass certain high congestion points, and perhaps at certain times of day, which includes bridges as well as the George Massey Tunnel.
“The charge is set so that it motivates just the right number of people to change their travel habits, by using another route, carpooling, taking alternate modes of transportation (transit, walking, cycling or motorcycle), or simply avoiding travelling during peak periods,” that report explained.
Preliminary analysis estimated a regional congestion point charge would cost the average driving household $5-to-$8 per day, or $1,800-to-$2,700 per year.
The other option was distance-based charges that would vary by time and location, seeing drivers charged for each kilometre they drive but the charge would vary depending where and at what time.
That analysis showed that a multi-zone distance-based charge could cost the average driving household $3-to-$5 per day, or about $1,000-to-$1,700 per year.
Also in 2018, members of the commission made a presentation to Delta council, saying it could be several more years before some form of mobility pricing would be in place in the Lower Mainland.
