TransLink CEO talks funding, tapping in and value for money

When Stephen Quinn interviews guests on On The Coast, they usually come to his home turf: the CBC Vancouver studio.

But recently, Quinn interviewed TransLink's new CEO Kevin Desmond on his home turf: the 99 B-Line bus during the morning rush.

After they jammed themselves onto the frequently overcrowded bus, Quinn attempted to jam as many questions as possible into this wide-ranging interview.

• Compass gate closures lead to complaint from advocate for people with disabilities
• Federal budget 2016: Questions still linger on transit funding
• New TransLink boss Kevin Desmond pledges to restore confidence

They began by talking about Desmond's first impressions of TransLink as an organization he assumed the CEO's role in March after 12 years as a general manager with King County Metro Transit in Seattle and working as an operations manager for New York City Transit and the conversation turned to federal funding for the Mayor's Plan for transit in the region.

The mayors are asking for just over $7 billion for the entire system. The federal government is talking about just over $4.5 billion to be spread across the entire country. Help me with that obvious gap.

They've allocated $370 million for transit here in the Lower Mainland. That would in effect be a down payment on elements ofthe Mayor's Plan. The province has indicated a willingness to continue with their at least one-third match for that. We then need to come up with the rest.

The good news is that whereas in the past, it was a one-third [federal money], one-third [provincial money] one-third [regional money], it's down to about 17 per cent of the gap that the region has to make up. That's what the mayors are contemplating now. The conversation now is with the province to kinda figure out how do we make up that gap.

The need is here. Even with the failed plebiscite, the polling I've seen, the sense I've gotten since I've been here, everyone knows the need is here. We need to figure out how we pay for it, how the general taxpayer and our customers have confidence that we'll spend that money right.

Those are the difficult decisions that need to proceed. I have confidence that the mayors are doing really good work on coming up with really innovative ideas for how to get over the finish line.

When you're riding the bus, do you want people to know that you're the chief executive officer of TransLink?

That all depends. Talking to customers, talking to our employees is an important part of the job. I don't like getting letters or phone calls from customers or tweets or blog posts complaining about a lousy trip, because it was really crowded or delayed. I don't like that. I take that personally.

What about all the people not tapping in? I just saw eight people come through that door and two of them tapped in.

Well, we want everybody to be paying their fare. The first time I rode this route I saw the exact same thing. It's a challenge. We experienced the exact same thing with our RapidRide program in Seattle.

You have to assume and hope that the vast majority of people who use the transit system respect it and know they have to pay for it. It's not free. You don't go to McDonald's and get free french fries.

On the other hand, it's service like this that's so busy and crowded you've gotta open all the doors. This route would not work without rear door boarding.

Imagine a fare inspector trying to patrol these crowded buses. We just have to continue to reinforce [to] please pay your fare; get fare inspectors out here periodically; and let people know that if you don't pay your fare, there are consequences.

Are you proud of the system?

I think this is a great system. I really do. From the Puget Sound region I'd come up here over many years because we wanted to study what's going on up here not just the transit system, but municipally, what they're doing for land use, design and so forth. I think it's a terrific system.

The performance metrics on this system are excellent. I think the people of Vancouver and this region and taxpayers should realize they're getting a lot of good for their money.

With files from CBC Radio One's On The Coast

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity. To hear the full interview, click the audio labelled:New TransLink CEO says customers, taxpayers 'getting a lot of good for their money'