'Broken' Metro Vancouver tolling system ripe for change, Gregor Robertson says

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson says the region's tolling system is "broken" and now is the time for the provincial government to change it.

Robertson made those comments Tuesday at an event held by the regional Mayors' Council to announce the new leaders of a commission that will look at mobility pricing in Metro Vancouver:

Mobility pricing is the fees charged for everyday transport like bridge tolls, road usage charges, transit, as well as charges for "any other services involved in the movement of people and goods."

• Metro Vancouver risks losing billions in transit funding if no decision on tolling

"Millenium Line extension, Broadway subway, Surrey light rail, the Pattullo Bridge replacement we have to figure out how we're going to pay for all that," Robertson said.

"Mobility pricing is an option that certainly mayors and the TransLink board have considered for years. Now, it's time to roll up the sleeves, have an independent commission look at the options for doing that, what's working in other cities.

"Basically, all options are on the table."

Chairs announced

Doctors of B.C. CEO and former head of B.C. Public Service Allan P. Seckel will chair the commission and former NDP MLA Joy McPhail will serve as vice-chair.

Other members of the commission will be announced "shortly," according to a release. There will be about a dozen commissioners in all.

Robertson said the commission will deliver recommendations to the TransLink board and Mayors' Council by spring of 2018. It will have a budget of $2.31 million to complete the task.

Daniel Firth will serve as the leader of a "small, expert staff team" advising the commission. Firth has previously worked on congestion issues in Europe.

• Mayors announce fare hikes, property tax increases to pay for transit upgrades

The Mayors' Council proposed a new development tax and some form of mobility pricing system last fall, but no details were finalized.

It also announced $2 billion in transit spending as part of the first phase of a 10-year regional transportation plan. Transit fares and property taxes are going up to help raise that money.

The council is made up of elected representatives, mostly mayors, from 21 municipalities within Metro Vancouver, including Electoral Area "A" and Tsawwassen.

With files from Meera Bainsand Rhianna Schmunk