With the results now finally in for the Courtney-Comox riding, it’s official — Christy Clark and the provincial Liberals failed in their attempt to obtain a majority. Better yet, BC’s NDP and Greens have entered into an agreement to bring down the Liberals. If all goes according to plan, we are about to witness some…
Category: transportation
Uber — Both good and bad news
On Tuesday the province gave Uber the green light to begin operating in BC. If you see the world through the eyes of a consumer, this is great news. If you see the world through the eyes of a worker, this is definitely bad news. Most of us, in Metro Vancouver at least, have had…
A positive new direction for HandyDART
As co-chair of the HandyDART Riders’ Alliance, since last October I’ve been sitting on a task force set up by TransLink. Our mandate is to advise TransLink on HandyDART issues. The creation of this task force and the appointment of many individuals from the HandyDART community to it is another indicator of the positive working…
As TransLink turns a page
Those of you familiar with the HandyDART file will be aware of the fact that a few years ago TransLink awarded this very important contract to a for-profit, privately owned American company based in Dallas, Texas. Users and workers have been complaining about the quality of service ever since. A group I’m with, the HandyDART…
Lots of cake to go around
The provincial government’s decision to raise income assistance rates for people with disabilities with one hand then reduce those rates with the other has been in the news lately. Before the changes were announced, anybody forced to live on the paltry amount of $906 a month (a rate frozen since 2007) also received a free…
Arbutus Corridor: Making housing out of thin air
At long last there is some very significant progress on the Arbutus Corridor. Just last week the City of Vancouver and CP Rail, the owner of the land, reached an agreement. CP will sell this 9-km rail corridor, stretching from Marpole to south False Creek, to the city for $55 million. Many years ago the…
The hidden cost of Uber
Uber is in the news again. B.C.’s transportation minister says it’s a matter of when, not if, Uber’s ridesharing business will land in our province. No doubt Uber’s introduction will improve customer service, especially in Metro Vancouver. We’ve all experienced far too many occasions where we’ve had to wait for sometimes up to an hour…