I write in response to an article published in the latest edition of the Abbotsford News regarding Abbotsford city council axing the transit credit for West Coast Express commuters.
What Abbotsford council doesn’t seem to take into consideration is that those who take the West Coast Express from Mission to Vancouver (and who actually do pay) shell out the most and get the least. We pay a monthly fare of almost $340 a month. The sting of paying such high fares (and getting very little for it) was alleviated by not having to pay additional costs just getting to and from the train.
There are only five trains a day into Vancouver and five back to Mission at night. There are no weekend trains so Valley residents cannot enjoy any “benefits of using the SkyTrain or Seabus on weekends” (as spouted by TransLink about Compass). We cannot get into Vancouver without getting into our cars.
Yes, people choose to live in the Valley, but why should they be punished for it? Wages offered out here are ridiculous, so rather than becoming low-income households, we have to commute. Being expected to now pay a further $52 a month will quite possibly take food off people’s tables – though I’m sure not those of council members.
Why can’t the CFVT system get scanners for their buses to read Compass cards? Shouldn’t this have been worked into the city’s budget? Having scanners would definitely alleviate the fare evasion that will be (or is now) taking place.
Lori Reisig
