Wednesday, August 18, 2010

TransLink under fire for lifetime staff passes

Jeff Nagel - BC Local News Published: August 18, 2010 11:00 AM

Retired bus drivers and other former TransLink staff enjoy free transit passes for life after as little as two years of service. The arrangement, uncovered through a Freedom of Information request by a local radio station, is under fire from critics who say it's too generous. Close to 10,000 such free passes exist for current and retired employees and some of their family members. Employees who retire from TransLink, Coast Mountain Bus Co. and the Transit Police with at least two years service get a lifetime pass and one for their spouse. SkyTrain and West Coast Express workers are eligible after working five years. TransLink officials and representatives of the bus drivers' union say the free passes have been a provision of the collective agreement for years, dating back to when BC Transit ran the local transit system. They also point out the passes are a taxable benefit on which income tax applies.

But Canadian Taxpayers Federation spokesperson Maureen Bader argues cash-strapped TransLink might recoup millions of dollars a year if staff and retirees had to pay their own way. "That's just out of line," she said of the free lifetime passes. "We've got TransLink employees taking a free ride on the backs of tax-paying hard working families." Other employers offer partial transit pass discounts to encourage workers not to drive and clog parking lots, she said, but said there's no reason TransLink should provide them completely free. She said it's evidence of TransLink's "misplaced priorities" and that it is unwilling to look hard for places to cut costs when it can simply raise taxes and fares. TransLink has for the past two years been on a cost-cutting campaign that included a significant number of layoffs, restructuring of the senior executive and elimination of several vice-presidents. But Bader said TransLink would cut back on wild perks for its unionized workers if there was more competition in the form of open bidding to provide more of its services. "TransLink is a huge leviathan," she said. "There is plenty of opportunity to break up some of the power the union has to force these huge concessions ultimately onto taxpayers and transit riders."

Employee passes are standard fare in major transit systems across Canada. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) gives free passes to its current workers and pensioners but not to their spouses. "We want to make it as easy as possible for our employees to take transit," TTC spokesman Kevin Carrington said, adding the staff pass there also acts as employee ID. BC Ferries employees all get free ferry travel, according to spokesperson Deborah Marshall, who noted they must still pay for reservations or assured loading if desired. Retirees who logged at least 10 years with BC Ferries get lifetime passes giving them 24 free one-way trips per year.

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