He is the ultimate underminer.

First, essentially *forcing* TransLink to revote (3 times!) till the Canada Line was accepted. Then, unhappy that the board even dared to disagree with construction of the then-named RAV Line, he went forward with a governance structure review, ensuring that he and his buddies would get control over regional transportation.

Then, going forward with the Port Mann twin, despite the numerous reasons against doing so, including that it is not supported under long range regional plans, will increase greenhouse gases, and is certainly not encouraging people to take transit. But hey, it’ll let Falcon drive his SUV over the bridge a bit faster for a couple of years, until it gets congested again…

He continues to push Bill 43, which will see the board move from a semi-democratic form, into nothing short of a private transportation corporation. As this Georgia Straight article sums up perfectly: “With the creation of this new TransLink board, they are giving a group of business appointees powers equal to a municipality: the power to increase property taxes, the power to reclassify business tax for the purpose of taxation, and they are giving them the power to land-bank.”

Last week, on the whim of visiting Europe and seeing turnstiles, he suddenly decided that they would do good in Vancouver. Don’t bother reading the multiple TransLink reports on safety or fare evasion that stated the cost/benefit ratio is not sufficient enough to support the investment (as The Province explains in this article). Or the fact that there is no clear cost estimate for installing turnstiles (anywhere from $10 to $100 million, depending on which media outlet you follow). Or the fact that the current board continues to fight Falcon on moving forward with his imposed plan. Or the fact that, if the “province” (aka: Falcon) really wants TransLink to install turnstiles, they could easily provide the capital from the huge $4.1 billion annual surplus. But no, anything to let his business buds make a little side cash (after all, a private corporation will happily pay to install and run these turnstiles for years, with “no cost” to the taxpayer!).

Now comes news that Falcon thinks the SkyTrain should be open later, and wants the board to “take a look” at doing so. First off, I highly doubt he even takes SkyTrain, so who is he to suddenly decry that SkyTrain should be open later, and have it simply happen with a snap of his fingers? This issue has been around for a long time (the fact that SkyTrain closes before the bars downtown, which actually would boost taxi companies’ revenues). I’m sure plenty of people have suggested this idea to TransLink. Just off the top of my head, I’m pretty darn sure even Mr. Mayor Sam Sullivan (!) said he thought SkyTrain should run later. So why is it that TransLink doesn’t listen to anyone until Falcon shows up? Now, they are even calling their own studies on fare evasion false, with Malcom Brodie agreeing with Falcon that there simply must be more than “6-7% of riders without tickets” and that the number “must be around 25%“. Since when did Falcon get a chain and whip, and turn the municipal mayors and councillors into his bitches?

What the hell is up with this clusterfuck of a Minister? You thought Campbell was bad (I’m talking to the Campbell haters here, of which I am actually not one) – Falcon is the one you should be watching out for. He is a draconian despot.

Even The Vancouver Sun senses something fishy with the way Falcon is running his Ministry: “Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said the new structure would restore public confidence through accountability and governance. But one has to wonder what the point of the exercise is, since Falcon now seems determined to continue to make decisions that should really be taken by the board.”

“But if instead Falcon insists on continuing to make all the important decisions, then the change to the structure of the TransLink board will be merely cosmetic.“