Despite TransLink and the provincial government having indicated it’s not under consideration, is it only a matter of time for road pricing to become a reality in the Lower Mainland?
A recent report to the TransLink Mayor’s Council outlined a series of potential massive cuts to make up for a big ongoing shortfall, unless senior government funding materializes.
It prompted Delta council to hold an emergency meeting last week, agreeing to spread the word to all residents about what the community is facing as part of a larger lobby effort to the provincial government, as well as those seeking office in October's provincial election.
Delta is also asking that all other municipal councils follow suit.
Another report in May 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 begins consultation with regional and provincial partners and works towards 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. The 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.
However, the personal costs to drivers are not always reflected in the shared burden of this mode of travel, and the series of travel choices could look different if road use was priced through fair and efficient means,” the report explains.
“A VKT Tax could also influence land use changes and development that supports shorter trips and an overall shift to sustainable modes. By implementing a cost to travel further, demand for homes and services in different parts of the region could reasonably increase and spur mixed-use development in more neighbourhoods.”
When it comes to concerns such a tax would unfairly penalize 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 2018, members of the Mobility Pricing Independent 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.
