Transit Police/Fares

The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police Service (Transit Police Service)(More info at http://www.gvtaps.bc.ca/) was established in December 2005, making Vancouver’s public transit system the first and only system in Canada to have its own armed police force.

The establishment of this force was fraught with controversy, however, as many of the general public (especially tourists and new immigrants) saw the officers with firearms as threatening, rather than reassuring.

The force was originally used to mainly patrol Skytrain stations, but is expanding onto buses as well. It was earlier announced (in March 2007) that transit police would start patrolling the 99 B-Line, in search of fare evaders and to help protect bus drivers. The pilot project is scheduled to begin in June 2007.(Full story: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/03/27/bc-bus.html)

In my opinion, I think that Translink is going a little overboard with the amount of money they are spending with the establishment of an armed police force. I mean it's a good idea to maintain law and order, but when it comes to catching fare evaders on the Skytrain, I think that the installation of turnstiles would be more effective and more cost efficient (contrary to what Translink thinks), thereby allowing the police force to deal with more pressing issues, such as drug dealing and violence etc.

What I would like to see Translink implement is a type of "smart card", similar to the Oyster Card in London, the Touch 'n Go Card in Malaysia, and the Octopus Card in Hong Kong. These cards are all contactless smart cards that are rechargeable, with stored dollar values on them. The contactless cards only require a swipe, which is much more convenient and time-saving than inserting a transfer into the fare box, which takes several seconds to process. Some of these cards can even be used at convenience stores, supermarkets, fast-food restaurants and parking meters! Unfortunately, with the current budgets and cost overruns that Translink is facing, this is still far from becoming a reality.