Editor: Langley already pays its share of transit tax, via bridge tolls. So I urge all Langley residents to vote “no” to the proposed transit tax.
Unlike all the other Lower Mainland communities, some who have new bridges built such as the Pitt River Bridge, we already pay our share of transit tax via the bridge tolls on the two bridges in our area.
If you commute daily using one of our two bridges, the cost of the toll fees are about $120 to $144 per month. This is in addition to fuel costs, your vehicle maintenance and any pay parking fees at your job site.
Who can afford that, except perhaps politicians? Big companies can write off their travel expenses for tolls, but the average commuter cannot.
There are eight bridges and one tunnel spread out over the Lower Mainland that are not tolled, even though we all use them. The Sea to Sky Highway, which goes to those million dollar ski chalets, is not tolled, yet it cost us lots of big bucks.
In Langley, we only get about 10 per cent benefit from transit and the bus service, and I do not see any new future plans asking for an “Evergreen Line” on this side of the river. So I say vote “no” to the proposed transit tax.
Ras Gosse,
Langley