The Editor,
Re: "The congestion question," the Now, March 12.
Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation is saying we should vote "No" to save $125 a year. He's missing the point. We spend a little more than $2,000 a year per person - that's every man, woman, and child - on traffic accident related health care costs (and more on fixing property damage), which would be much lower if more people could take transit.
We spend $10,000 a year per car, according to the CAA - which we could avoid if we needed only one car instead of two, or could even do without one. It's ironic, but voting "No" is actually a vote for more wasteful spending.
So why is Bateman pushing the "No" vote? He's interested in denigrating government, not saving us money. This is after all, the guy who criticized TransLink in 2012 for resisting the call for fare gates and who is now criticizing them for putting them in. He'll say anything to cut government - no matter the cost. I don't trust him to have my best interests at heart. I'll be voting "Yes" next week - "Yes" to a smart, cost-efficient plan.
Peter Whitelaw, Surrey