Former Vancouver City Councillor Gordon Price blogged this morning that TransLink (yes, TransLink) has delivered the “best performance by a government agency in 2011.”

And he was serious about it.

Heaven help us if TransLink is a model for government operations.

This is an organization that kicked and screamed against fare gates, allowing fare evaders to take at least $11 million worth of free rides—a number that keeps increasing. Thank goodness then-transportation minister Kevin Falcon didn't listen to the TransLink "experts" and went through with fare gates. TransLink talking heads now point to those same fare gates as a solution to fare evasion.

This is an organization that doesn’t put its highly-paid transit police on buses. Meanwhile, its drivers are being intimidated and assaulted.

This is an organization has increased its long term debt from $599 million in 2000 to $2.2 billion in 2010.

This is an organization that is criticized by multiple mayors for being unaccountable.

This is an organization that loses $15 million a year to lost, stolen or resold U-Passes.

This is an organization that pays 66 of its 177 transit police more than $100,000 a year, even though many of them are retired from other forces and already collecting a healthy pension. 

Price ignores such inconvenient truths by lobbing an anti-CTF grenade in his post, claiming that we “criticize any government expenditure, on the premise that taxes = waste. The consequence: diminishing of the value of public goods, and increased economic inequality.”

None of us think that. There are many legitimate expenditures that taxes should be collected for. We do, however, think government agencies—including TransLink—should be held accountable for spending our money. Ourhard-earned dollars should be spent effectively and efficiently. And TransLink’s record is questionable at best.

In 2010, TransLink took in $323.2 million in gas taxes, $271.8 million in property taxes, $18.6 million in Hydro taxes, $58.4 million in parking taxes, $29.6 million in Golden Ears Bridge tolls, and $413 million in transit fares. Total revenue in 2010 was $1.37 billion—up 161 per cent from 2000. But ridership was only up 64 per cent in that same decade.

But that’s not enough money for TransLink, Price’s “best” performer. This year, they will again increase both your property and gas taxes.

If TransLink is the best performing government agency in BC, we have a huge problem on our hands.