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Business, News

Bob Mackin

In a case that spanned three years and went to B.C.’s highest court, government lawyers successfully defended Premier John Horgan’s September 2020 decision to break B.C.’s fixed election date law during the pandemic emergency.

John Horgan announces the 2020 election in a Langford cul-de-sac (CPAC)

But the NDP government is refusing to release the lump sum cost after a freedom of information request in the wake of the B.C. Court of Appeal’s Nov. 7 verdict.

Democracy Watch and Integrity BC founder Wayne Crookes filed a petition in B.C. Supreme Court two days before election day. B.C. had held four consecutive May elections every four years between 2005 and 2017 under a law enacted by the 2001-elected BC Liberal government.

They said Horgan should have at least called a confidence before going to Lt. Gov. Janet Austin to dissolve the Legislature and end the NDP minority government’s agreement with the BC Green caucus. 

Horgan led his party to a B.C. NDP record 57-seat victory and majority power in the Legislature in the Oct. 24, 2020 election that cost taxpayers a record $51.6 million for Elections BC to administer. 

The appeal tribunal unanimously upheld B.C. Supreme Court Justice Geoffrey Gomery’s June 2022 ruling that the lieutenant governor has the power to act on a premier’s advice to call an election, whenever he or she sees fit. 

The Ministry of Attorney General denied access to the aggregate cost of the government’s response to the two court actions on Dec. 5. It cited a section of the freedom of information law that gives the head of a public body the discretion to refuse to disclose legal advice and communications that are subject to solicitor-client privilege. 

“The solicitor client privilege loophole in freedom of information, access to information laws does not cover the cost for legal services, for any particular case that the government has,” said Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch. “So they’re just violating the law.”

Post-2020 election swearing-in of Premier John Horgan (BC Legislature)

In 2015, an adjudicator with the B.C. Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) ordered the Private Career Training Institutions Agency (PCTIA) to disclose how much it spent over the course of a year with the Lawson Lundell law firm. The adjudicator quoted an Ontario decision upheld after a judicial review. The Ontario adjudicator determined the payment total was “neutral information” that could not reveal anything about the nature of a privileged communication. 

“In summary, I find the presumption that disclosure of the withheld information is subject to solicitor client privilege has been rebutted,” wrote B.C. OIPC adjudicator Ross Alexander. “I reach this conclusion because there is no reasonable possibility that disclosure of the law firm identity information and the lump sum amounts paid by the Agency will directly or indirectly reveal any communication protected by the privilege, or that an assiduous inquirer, aware of background information, could use the information requested to deduce or otherwise acquire privileged communications.”

The B.C. government sent two lawyers to the two-day B.C. Supreme Court hearing in May 2022. A third lawyer was added for the one-day appeal hearing in October of this year.  

Three lawyers represented Democracy Watch and Crookes at the first hearing and two lawyers plus an articled law student at the appeal court. Conacher said they provided their services free, for the public good. 

Just as in the PCTIA case, it may require an OIPC adjudicator to hold an inquiry. That would mean additional costs for taxpayers. 

“As with every situation of excessive government secrecy, the government wastes the public’s money trying to keep information secret that the public has a right to know, information that should be proactively disclosed in a searchable database for easy access,” Conacher said. 

Since he succeeded Horgan in November of 2022, Premier David Eby has consistently stated that he would stick to the Oct. 19, 2024 fixed election date. Even after a Dec. 4 news conference in which he errantly said election day is in six months.

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Bob Mackin In a case that spanned three

Business, News

Bob Mackin 

The death of a 41-year-old male struck by a SkyTrain in Surrey last month was an accident, according to Metro Vancouver Transit Police. 

At 10:31 p.m. on Nov. 13, a track sensor activated as train 420 entered Surrey Central station.

Surrey Central SkyTrain station (TransLink/Buzzer)

Staff and emergency crews responded and attempted to rescue the man, but he succumbed to injuries. 

“During the course of the investigation, it was determined the death was not suspicious or intentional in nature. It appears the individual accidentally fell into the guideway as a train entered the station,” said Transit Police Const. Amanda Steed. 

B.C. Coroners Service is investigating, but spokesperson Ryan Panton refused to comment.

Part of a censored incident report, released by TransLink under the freedom of information law,  said that closure of the station began within five minutes of the incident. 

Transit Police arrived at 10:39 p.m. and passengers on train 420 were released three minutes later. A “bus bridge” was requested at 10:48 p.m. to shuttle passengers between Gateway, Surrey Central and King George stations, but it was not expected to be in service for 30 to 40 minutes. 

Staff erected a privacy screen on the platform to allow trains to run through Surrey Central at 11:43 p.m. Train 420 was moved at 12:37 a.m. and the body removed at 12:52 a.m. Transit Police and a coroner remained on-scene until 1:05 a.m. 

Statistics provided by Panton said that, as of Nov. 23, there had been four SkyTrain and SkyTrain track-related deaths in 2023.

The record was nine in 1994. There were seven each in 2020 and 2021. Fatalities fell to two in 2022. 

Since 1987, 109 people have died on the rapid transit system, 84 percent by suicide and 15 percent due to accident. The remaining 1 percent is classified as “undetermined.” 

One of the accidental deaths, in April 2003, happened when a man collapsed due to an undiagnosed heart ailment, fell off the platform and was fatally trapped under a train at Stadium-Chinatown station. 

Unlike newer systems, no SkyTrain station has a safety barrier or sliding doors between the platform and track area. 

After a 2014 consultant’s report, TransLink improved platform surveillance cameras on the Expo and Millennium lines in 2021 as part of a $79 million program. It is now studying the feasibility of adding platform safety barriers, but that report is not due until 2025. 

A coroner’s report on the 2001 death of a male at Royal Oak station quoted a 1994 study that estimated the cost of installing platform barriers at $1.7 million to $2.2 million per station, now worth $3.15 million to $4.07 million after inflation. Coroner Liana Wright suggested a low-cost solution: limiting access to platforms until trains come to a full stop.

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Bob Mackin  The death of a 41-year-old male

Business, News

Bob Mackin

For the time being, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation is refusing to release the expert report behind the operation to cut down almost a quarter of the trees in Stanley Park.

Stanley Park trees logged in October 2023 (Mackin)

At the end of November, the Park Board announced scheduled closures of the Lions Gate Bridge, Stanley Park Causeway, and other roads and trails over the next two months while it removes 160,000 trees due to pest infestation and wildfire fears. The board previously announced periodic closures on Oct. 19 for a two-week period, but did not peg the number of trees marked for removal at that time.  

“The primary focus is to prioritize the removal of trees affected by the hemlock looper moth infestation in heavily visited areas of Stanley Park, in alignment with preparations for winter storms, wildfires, and bird nesting season,” said Park Board spokesperson Eva Cook.

Cook said B.A. Blackwell is the forestry consultant working with the board, but refused to say how much the contract is worth. The website for North Vancouver-based B.C. Blackwell includes a long list of clients, such as the Canadian Forest Service, Parks Canada, B.C. Parks, Ministry of Environment, Metro Vancouver, Resort Municipality of Whistler and Union of B.C. Municipalities.

“Additional information regarding the long term management of Stanley Park, and associated financial details, will be disclosed in due course,” Cook said. 

B.C.’s freedom of information law contains a clause under the heading “public interest paramount” that requires disclosure, without delay, of any information that is about the imminent risk of significant harm to the environment or to the health or safety of the public or a group of people. 

It also requires the same disclosure without delay if it is, for any other reason, clearly in the public interest.

While the Park Board did announce basic details of the tree removal program and how it affects routes for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians, it has not provided details about the science behind the program. 

On Dec. 4, it rejected a reporter’s plea to make the expert report available without delay. 

“After reviewing the subject matter and seeking advice, I have determined the requested subject matter does not require disclosure in the public interest, under section 25 of [the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act],” said Cobi Falconer, the city’s director of access to information and privacy. 

Stanley Park entrance on West Georgia (Mackin)

The executive director of a transparency watchdog organization said the Park Board is falling short of its obligations to the public. 

“It’s a trust, but verify dynamic, it is a dynamic where there is trust in transparency for public bodies, and they need to be appropriately transparent for people to trust the decision that they are making,” said Jason Woywada of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association. “Particularly when you’re dealing with a park as prominent as Stanley Park, it’s important for the public to be able to understand why 160,000 trees are being cut down in that area.”

In 2016, Information and Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Denham concluded that the public interest override section of the law may not require disclosure of a record, but sometimes disclosure of a record must happen. 

In her analysis of a 2014 drinking water advisory in Spallumcheen, Denham said it was necessary to require the Ministry of Environment release a soil test data analysis report in order to “assist with public understanding of the science, and to assist with evaluation of the Ministry‘s interpretation of that information and its actions based on that interpretation.”

“This objective could not be accomplished by the disclosure of the mere summary of information contained in those records,” Denham wrote. 

Woywada said the province has provided public bodies thorough instructions on how to make decisions under Gender-Based Analysis Plus or the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. But it has not done the same when it comes to deciding when to release information in the public interest.

“That is why, I think fundamentally, we’ve got so many failings in the access to information system in Canada right now, is it’s just defaulting to secrecy and risk management,” Woywada said. 

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Bob Mackin For the time being, the Vancouver

Business, News

Bob Mackin

District of North Vancouver (DNV) sold 198 permits for fireworks displays last Halloween. 

A list obtained under the freedom of information law shows that the total declared value under all permits issued was $50,786.76. 

But that translates into less than $1,000 in permit revenue for the coffers at district hall, which held a public hearing Dec. 5 on whether to ban the sale and display of fireworks.

Halloween fireworks in North Vancouver in 2023 (Mackin)

Nearly a quarter of the total declared value was for 10 locations. One site on Handsworth Road declared that its display was worth $5,000. Five others were $1,500 each and four were $1,000. 

However, 37 of the permit holders declared the value of their displays at just $1 each. 

The average declared display value was $256.50. 

Under the DNV bylaw, anyone 19-years and older who paid $5 online for a permit was allowed to buy fireworks between Oct. 25 and 31 and to discharge them on specified private property, with permission of the landowner, between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Oct. 31. 

The DNV website includes a public database of building and trades permits that show precise addresses, but the District’s freedom of information office refused to disclose specific house numbers of fireworks discharge locations. 

B.C.’s public records law, however, contains a clause that expressly states it is not an invasion of a third party’s privacy to reveal details of a permit, not including personal information supplied in support of the application for the benefit.

Fireworks permits are not exclusive to DNV residents. The list shows permits were sold to residents of Vancouver (seven), Burnaby (five), West Vancouver (three) and Surrey (two), Coquitlam and Squamish (one each). 

The list also showed the weakness of the bylaw. One discharge location for a permit bought by a Vancouverite was omitted and another Vancouverite gave an address on West Cordova in downtown. A Surrey entry read “122 St.” and a West Vancouver permit holder said the detonation site was “Highview Place.” 

District of North Vancouver Hall (Mackin)

Kim Wasson, the FOI and records management analyst, said DNV Fire Services manages the automated permit-issuing process and the information is entered by applicants.

“If a permit applicant happens to make a typo, confuses their home address with the discharge address, or makes any other incomplete entry, that entry is not being corrected and the permit is still issued,” Wasson said.  

Coun. Jim Hanson is spearheading the proposal to ban fireworks sales and displays in DNV “due to the negative effects of fireworks on domestic and wild animals, to the environment and to people.”

A staff report cited air pollution, residential fires, risk of wildfires, and noise and injury to humans. Of 28 municipalities surveyed, DNV was among the minority of eight that still allowed consumer sales and discharge of fireworks. 

West Vancouver banned fireworks sales and displays effective Oct. 16, joining City of Vancouver which enacted a ban in 2005. The staff report said the Squamish Nation banned sales on its territory and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation was considering regulation of sale and use of fireworks on its land. 

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Bob Mackin District of North Vancouver (DNV) sold

Business, News

Bob Mackin

Vancouver’s city manager is in damage control after his memo about the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel offended some employees. 

In a Nov. 28 memo to all staff, Paul Mochrie apologized for his original Oct. 10 staff email “in response to Hamas’ horrific attack on Israel” that generated an unspecified number of complaints.

Paul Mochrie (Vancouver Economic Commission)

“I have seen how this ongoing conflict has caused deep pain and fear for many members of our staff, particularly those who are Jewish, Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, Muslim or have loved ones that are members of those communities,” Mochrie wrote.

He said that he had received direct and indirect replies to his Oct. 10 message from team members who were concerned or hurt by his message. 

“In particular that I neglected to specifically identify as Palestinians the civilians in Gaza who have been and are still suffering terribly as a result of this conflict,” Mochrie wrote. 

“In no way did I intend to overlook or downplay the impact of this conflict on the Palestinian community in Gaza or here in Vancouver. I am sorry to anyone who felt that I downplayed this or that it may have opened a door to Islamophobia in our workplace.”

Mochrie started the Nov. 28 memo by mentioning his appearance on the Oct. 26 Justice, Equity, Decolonization and Inclusion virtual staff meeting and noted the local, national and international rise in antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate incidents.

He said the city remains in close contact with the Vancouver Police Department and has no tolerance for antisemitism or Islamophobia in the workplace. He encouraged anyone seeing, hearing or experiencing discrimination or hate to report it to their manager, union representative or the city’s equity office. 

“It’s definitely not my place to be offering opinions on the conflict right now, or the history of the conflict in the Middle East Israeli-Palestinian situation,” Mochrie said on the Oct. 26 meeting, which is viewable on a staff website and on a hidden link at the city’s YouTube page.

He said city hall “supports the notion that everybody who wants to live their life and peace deserves that opportunity, that everybody deserves respect, that everybody deserves to feel safe in their home, in their community and at work.”

Former city councillor and 2022 mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick wondered if Mochrie’s original Oct. 10 memo was necessary. Rather than stick to its local responsibilities, she said city hall has often waded into geopolitics since the 1983 declaration of Vancouver as a nuclear weapons free zone. 

“That was what got the ball rolling and the city delving into things that are outside its scope,” Hardwick said. 

On Monday, Mochrie announced the hiring of a new chief equity officer, lawyer Susanna Tam. 

Tam replaces Aftab Erfan, who was paid $179,971 in 2022. Erfan left in September after three years to become executive director of the Simon Fraser University Morris Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

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Bob Mackin Vancouver’s city manager is in damage

Business, News

Bob Mackin 

A receiver is being appointed after two companies involved in the delayed development of a ski and snowboard resort near Squamish defaulted on loans. 

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Paul Walker heard the petition from Aquilini Development LP (ADLP), Garibaldi Resort Management Co. Ltd. (GRMC), and 1413994 B.C. Ltd. on Dec. 4 in Vancouver. They applied for appointment of Ernst and Young to manage Garibaldi at Squamish LP (GAS LP) and Garibaldi at Squamish Inc. (GAS Inc.).

Artist’s conception of the delayed ski resort on Brohm Ridge near Squamish (Garibaldi at Squamish)

Walker said he was “satisfied the order should go,” and set Jan. 15 as the next court date. 

The petition was filed Sept. 22, almost two months after the lawyers for the petitioners demanded immediate payment of the $65 million owing as of May 31, including interest and legal costs. 

“GAS has failed or neglected to pay the amount demanded (or any part thereof) to the petitioners,” said the petition.

GAS Inc. incorporated in late 2001 to develop the Garibaldi at Squamish resort on unceded Squamish Nation land on Brohm Ridge, 13 kilometres north of Squamish. In 2007, GAS signed a memorandum of understanding with the Squamish Nation. 

The project is a partnership between Vancouver’s Aquilini and Gaglardi families, whose private companies own the Vancouver Canucks (Aquilini Investment Group) and Dallas Stars (Northland Properties). When the province granted an Environmental Assessment Certificate (EAC) in 2016, Garibaldi at Squamish was estimated to cost $3.5 billion.

The certificate was extended in 2021 with a Jan. 26, 2026 deadline to begin substantial construction. The 20-year project foresees building 5,000 residential, commercial and hotel units.  

“However no construction has been commenced and many of the conditions to the EAC remain outstanding,” the court petition said. “GAS and the project generate no income and are entirely dependent on third party funding.”

Under an October 2018 agreement, GAS Inc. assigned and transferred all of its interest in the project to GAS LP. In a credit agreement from January of that year, GAS Inc. issued debentures to lenders ADLP and GRMC for $2.28 million and $14.49 million, the amounts advanced by the respective entities, with a Dec. 31, 2021 maturity date. 

But, in June 2022, funds advanced by Luigi Aquilini under the first debenture had been exhausted and GAS LP issued a second debenture to Aquilini with a Dec. 31, 2024 maturity.

“GAS LP failed to repay the principal sums under the 2021 debentures together with all accrued and unpaid interest then outstanding and the other obligations then outstanding, on the 2021 maturity date. This failure constitutes an event of default under the debentures and the [general security agreement],” the petition said. 

Last May 2, Aquilini assigned all of his interest in the 2024 debentures to an affiliate of his, 1413994 BC Ltd. Then, on Aug. 3, lawyers for the petitioners demanded the immediate payment of $64.89 million.

“As of Sept. 21, 2023, there were no other security interests registered against the personal property of GAS. GAS owns no land,” the petition said.

Vicki Tickle, lawyer for the petitioners, told the court that GAS LP is now indebted to the petitioners for approximately $70 million, including interest. 

“The nature of the project and the lack of consensus regarding its ongoing development, and the funding thereof, requires the appointment of a receiver,” Tickle said. 

The 10-member GAS Inc. board includes one of Luigi Aquilini’s three sons, Roberto Aquilini, and senior Aquilini vice-presidents Jim Chu and Bill Aujla. Chu is a former chief of the Vancouver Police and Aujla former general manager of real estate at Vancouver city hall. 

From Northland Properties, chair Bob Gaglardi and corporate lawyers Stephen Jackson and Rob Toor. 

The most-recent entry on Garibaldi at Squamish’s website is a fall 2023 newsletter that said the project team has been working on plans for the highway interchange and main access road up to the main village. Engineering firm WSP came up with an alternative route to “steer clear of the Brohm River completely,” the newsletter said.

The website also said the project aims for a fall 2028 opening.

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Bob Mackin  A receiver is being appointed after

News

Bob Mackin

An employee of Capilano Suspension Bridge is in critical condition after being struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk on Dec. 1. 

A staff memo said that the driver ran a red light on Capilano Road. The employee was taken to hospital and remains there with family.

“While we don’t know any further details at this time, we have heard that the driver is cooperating with the North Vancouver RCMP’s investigation,” wrote Stacey Chala, the Capilano Suspension Bridge’s director of communications and events. “The safety of our team members is our number one priority. We are offering our thoughts and prayers to our team member and their family during this very difficult time.”

The age of the victim was not included in the memo. A person not authorized to speak to the media said that the incident happened after 8:30 p.m. as the victim was walking east across Capilano Road toward the administration office. The victim is a teenager who landed at least 25 feet from the location of the collision. Staff trained in first aid rushed to the scene before paramedics arrived. 

Management arranged for trauma counsellors to be on-site and by phone through the employee assistance program.   

The tourist attraction is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily through Jan. 21 for its Canyon Lights Christmas display.

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Bob Mackin An employee of Capilano Suspension Bridge

Business, Miscellany, News, Opinion

For the week of Dec. 3, 2023:

Want to go to space? Even to spend a few minutes, it’ll cost you upwards of $250,000. 

What if I said you could experience the next best thing for fifty bucks at a train station in Vancouver? 

I’m not pulling your leg. 

The “Space Explorers: The Infinite” virtual reality exhibit is playing at the Rocky Mountaineer Station until mid-January. 

Director Felix Lajeunesse is Bob Mackin’s guest on this edition of thePodcast. 

Plus, headlines from the Pacific Rim and the Pacific Northwest.

CLICK BELOW to listen or go to TuneIn, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.

Have you missed an edition of theBreaker.news Podcast? Go to the archive.

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For the week of Dec. 3, 2023: Want

Business, News

Bob Mackin

One of the three people hurt in a Granville Station escalator pileup Sept. 29 was a 71-year-old woman who suffered head, shoulder and knee injuries. 

That is according to a SkyTrain attendant’s incident report, obtained under the freedom of information law. 

The second and third persons “did not wish to wait for medical attendant and exited the station after giving their account of the occurrence and contact information,” said the report by attendant Greg Thomas.

Granville SkyTrain Station escalators (TransLink/Buzzer)

A SkyTrain engineering assets technical investigation report said that Granville escalator number three had a “runaway condition where the handrail was stopped but the steps kept speeding down with passengers on the escalator. Many passengers fell on and at the bottom of the escalator.”

A timeline said the problem began at 2:54 p.m. when the escalator briefly sped up, causing passengers to run or jump off when they reached the bottom. 

Two minutes later, it appeared to speed up with medium passenger loading and slow down when passengers exited the escalator. The cycle repeated at 2:57 p.m. and 2:58 p.m.

At 3 p.m., the steps started to briefly speed up and the handrail appeared to be going slower or at normal speed. Again, passengers were running and jumping off when they reached the bottom.

At 3:01 p.m., however, it sped up again. “The handrail stops but the steps appear to be speeding out of control.”

A customer pressed the emergency stop at the top, but passengers continued to go down the now-stopped escalator at 3:02 p.m. 

“With 16 passengers on the escalator, it starts to move very fast down and dumps all the passengers in a pile at the bottom,” the report said. 

“Customer that pressed the [emergency] stop is now keeping passengers from getting on the escalator and used a nearby sandwich board to block the top of the escalator.”

At 3:05 p.m., a SkyTrain attendant arrived and barricaded the top and bottom of the escalator and began taking witness statements. A service request was made to escalator contractor Kone at 3:15 p.m. A Kone technician arrived at 6 p.m.

Kone later sent a service operations technical support team from the U.S. to “bolster the efforts” of Kone’s local team. 

The initial visual inspections of the drive revealed no irregularities, but a detailed disassembly was undertaken for a closer look from Oct. 6-10 and a new drive assembly installed Oct. 13. The old one was handed over Oct. 18 to testing and engineering consultant Acuren to determine the root cause. 

Meanwhile, the other two escalators continued to operate “smoothly based on ongoing visual assessments.” 

TransLink said Dec. 7 that repair costs are covered by Kone. 

“Following repairs, the Granville Station escalator was put back in service on Oct. 27. The cause of the incident is still being determined by the manufacturer and Technical Safety BC.”

In July 2020, TransLink finished a $14.52 million project to replace the Granville Station escalators. The “big three” escalators, the longest in Metro Vancouver, are 35 metres long each, with 500 steps.

Granville Station was the start of a 13-station program to replace 37 Expo Line and West Coast Express escalators that are more than 30 years old. Last year, TransLink began to replace five escalators at Burrard Station in a project that is scheduled to be completed in spring 2024.

In its 2022 statement of financial information, TransLink reported paying escalator and elevator company Kone Inc. $6.65 million. The B.C. Rapid Transit Co. (BCRTC) rail division paid $1.3 million.

According to the TransLink website, the new escalators are supposed to provide smoother operation and braking for passenger safety, a variable speed option to save energy, LED step lighting and improved accessibility for maintenance so as to reduce downtime.

TransLink’s safety report does not separate onboard and off-board injuries. The customer injury rate on the Expo and Millennium lines have fluctuated above and below the rate of one customer injury claim per million boardings since 2018.

Granville Station had 4.8 million boardings in 2022 and was the fifth busiest station of the year. TransLink reported 83 million riders in 2022 on the two lines. In 2019, before the pandemic, it was 115 million.

On Sept. 27, just two days before the Granville Station escalator incident, BCRTC president Sany Zein reported to the TransLink board meeting that during the second quarter of 2023, there were 27 incidents reported by customers. Over half were slips, trips and falls on “elevating devices.”

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Bob Mackin One of the three people hurt

Business

Bob Mackin

Vancouver city hall is in the market for another cloud-based mobile parking app. 

“The city is currently under contract with one service provider,” said the request for proposals (RFP), in reference to Volkswagen Group-owned PayByPhone. “The intent of this RFP is to secure additional service providers who can provide users of city on-street pay parking with multiple mobile payment options including credit debit and e-wallet.”

Vancouver parking meter (Mackin)

Bidding closes for the Nov. 8 call on Dec. 13. City hall wants to do a contract for the same term length as the one with PayByPhone: five years plus up to five one-year options. 

In March 2017, the city’s bid committee chose to renew PayByPhone’s contract at an estimated cost of $5.4 million plus taxes for the initial five-year term. 

PassportParking Inc., Parkmobile LLC and Precise ParkLink Inc. were the other bidders.

The city estimates annual volumes of 17 million mobile parking transactions via app and 330,000 via telephone-based interactive voice response software. 

Bidding documents say the city is looking for a provider with versatility, that can offer “stop functionality to end a parking session or any other functionality in the solution that could modify an active parking session.” PayByPhone users can only enter their desired parking duration and add extensions. 

The city has 20,000 metered parking spaces and zones under varying regulations and rates based on geography and time slots. It is projecting $78.4 million in parking revenue in 2024’s draft budget, of which $61.7 million is for on-street parking. 

Data published under the RFP said there were 16.25 million mobile transactions in 2022, below the 2019, pre-pandemic figure of 17.1 million. Last year’s $39.53 million gross from the mobile app was slightly ahead of the 2019 total of $39.28 million. From all sources, however, 2022’s $49.79 million was 15% less than 2019’s $59.06 million. 

Working from home took a major bite out of the city’s total parking revenue in 2020, when it plummeted to $38.64 million, including $28.18 million via app.

The recovery continues. For the first five months of 2023, the city brought in $21.34 million, including $17.36 million by mobile app.

Volkswagen Group subsidiary Volkswagen Financial Services AG acquired Yaletown-based PayByPhone Technologies Inc. in 2016. City of Vancouver paid PayByPhone $2.31 million in 2022, according to the latest statement of financial information.

The company told customers last May that it would charge them 15 cents every time they receive a text message about their parking purchase at City of Vancouver-metered spots. 

Vancouver parking meters are in effect seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Spots downtown can cost as much as $9 an hour during daytime, according to VanMap. A parking violation ticket costs $77, discounted by 40% if paid within two weeks.

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Bob Mackin Vancouver city hall is in the

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