Should Metro Vancouver look at variable road-pricing for low income drivers?
Posted November 27, 2016 11:34 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Earlier this week we told you about Toronto’s proposal to impose tolls on two highways through its downtown core and what that might mean for the future of road pricing in Metro Vancouver.
Professor Lawrence Frank in UBC’s Sustainable Transportation department believes the time is right for variable road-pricing in the Lower Mainland — and TransLink will be forming a commission next year to look at it as a source of funding — but there are consequences for people who can’t afford to pay tolls.
“The ability to pay varies on ones income, so we have a term called ‘elasticity of demand’ which effectively means more simply, poorer people get priced off the road quicker, they’re more elastic. You raise the price and they are impacted so their is an equity and social justice component that needs to be thought through.”
He believes commuters who can’t afford tolls could be helped out with price or tax breaks and he points out if the tolls go toward improving transit, it gives more affordable options.
“There are ways to deal with it, there can be variable price points set for people who have limited means or who for various reasons need to be on the road during particular times. We deal with that in taxation policy all the time.”
He says if the money is used to improve transit, it will provide more options for people who can’t afford to drive.
