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Opinions

 

Pissed off about passes

TransLink’s fare system is a travesty

By Gurneev Panesar

semester, and boy was I pumped

about going back to school and
learning some new stuff! I woke up
at 6 a.m. on the first day to catch my
bus. By now, my December U-Pass
was a thing of the past, and so I had
to buy a ticket for maybe the second
time in my life. As we got to Scott

|: was the first day of winter

hea

Road Station, I looked at the back of
my ticket and saw that it said three
zones, so I assumed it was okay for
me to continue onwards. I hopped
onto the SkyTrain and waited to

get off at New Westminster—that’s
when I saw the police.

My heart wasn’t exactly
pounding—I hadn’t done anything
wrong, since my ticket had that
assuring three under the zones

 

section. However, the police
informed me otherwise. Confused
and baffled as all hell, I watched as
the police officer wrote me a ticket
for $173 because I had failed to pay
an extra $1—yet on the back of my
ticket, the number of zones read
three! I tried my best to explain
the situation to the officer but he
wouldn’t hear it. I found it awfully
harsh, since I was a student and

we were only down the street from
the college. Even the fact that I had
all of my previous U-Passes on me
wasn’t proof enough to him that I
really didn’t have a secret agenda.

What puzzled me the most is
why my ticket read valid for three
zones. All I see at a machine is
a map divided in three different
colours saying zone one, two,
and three. Do the math with me
guys: if you're going from green
to red, that’s two zones right?

Well apparently not! What I fail to
understand is why they don’t just
put up a big bold sign that reads:
“if you're crossing the bridge, this is
the amount you must pay.”

An average student budget
wouldn't be able to afford the ticket
I was handed. The transit system
needs to work on the specificity
of their maps and zone fares.
English is my first language, so I
can only imagine what foreigners
or immigrants who aren’t familiar
with English have to go through
when trying to figure out the silly
system. I’m sure that by now most
students are used to travelling via
U-Pass, but when the occasion
arises that we do need to purchase
tickets, we need to be prepared.

 

Politician plays the part, while avoiding actual action

Jagrup Brar’s time on welfare is nothing more than a publicity stunt

By Jacey Gibb, Opinions Editor

long with the new year
comes a fresh batch of
laughable political ploys

being launched for the public

to eat up like spinach dip at a
dinner party. Late last year, it was
announced that Surrey MLA Jagrup
Brar would be embarking on a
month-long stunt of living off of
$610 for the entire month—which is
the same amount that BC residents
on welfare must live off of.

You're telling me that it’s
difficult to live off of $610 a month
in the Lower Mainland? No shit.
Next thing you know, they'll be
informing the public that eating
poutine everyday will make you
fat. Since I’m a student living off
of student loans, I’m not the most
qualified person to comment on the
state of liveability. But I’ve listened
to enough of my friends’ stories to
know something is seriously wrong
in this city.

Take my roommate for
example. He was lucky enough
to find a full-time restaurant
kitchen job for a respectable $13
per hour. He works evenings, five
nights a week and does a bit of

standardized patient work for UBC
on the side. His cheques average a
bit north of $700 every two weeks,
working out to $1400 a month. A
decent amount to live off of right?
Well, let’s take off the $610 a month
we each pay for rent in our two-
bedroom apartment. Next is his
monthly bus pass, something a
person needs if they plan on being
a productive member of society. So
that’s another $81 automatically
spoken for. Then there’s his
cellphone bill, which thanks to the
smart phone his parents got him
for Christmas, is over the $60 mark.
Already more than half of his full-
time wage is a write off, with about
44 per cent going solely towards
rent. So yeah, living’s expensive.
You could say that Jagrup
accepting the Welfare Challenge—
which was proposed by the
organization Raise the Rates—is
a noble action, drawing attention
to the welfare system’s current
shortcomings. But the people being
affected the most by poor economic
conditions are already aware of
what life is like relying on the
system! Plus, Jagrup’s venture only
lasts until the end of January. Not
sure about you, but I’ve had colds

    

that lasted longer than that. After the

31 days are up, he'll be returning to
his normal routine—whereas people
who are actually living on welfare
don’t have the option to return to a
life as a civil servant. Kind of a dick
move, putting yourself in someone
else’s shoes, publicly admitting

how difficult they have it, and then
going back to your own life, one
where food and shelter aren’t a daily
concern.

    

All I see when I look at the
whole Welfare Challenge is likely
what Jagrup does too: a photo-op
goldmine. A crucial device in a
politician’s utility belt is appearing
like an everyday Joe, one who’s
relatable to you and I. Instead of
spending time garnering public
support, maybe politicians should
focus on doing their job and making
changes to the clearly flawed
system.

  

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