I've left it long enough. It's time to decide which box to tick - yes or no?
I've had a few people ask me how I intend to vote. I've gone back and forth over the past few weeks. I started off as a staunch "no" - TransLink, at least from the outside, looks like a catastrophe in motion. "The vote isn't about TransLink," we are told, but the ballot is in my hand, so no one can tell me what this vote is about. To be fair, Delta didn't get involved in the push for a yes vote, opting instead to let us decide on our own how we wanted to vote. Politically and practically, it was a good decision.
TransLink's performance during this process has been a classic example of not controlling the message. I got a real kick out of some advertising I saw recently, a
great example of how poorly this is being handled.
I've been in the communications industry for a long time. If there is one thing you learn very quickly, it's that you always think like your customer, and how that customer will see your ad. That's the context I used when I saw this one, which still has me shaking my head.
I was driving home, following one of the community shuttle buses. On the back of the bus was TransLink's ad with the headline, "You are riding one of the most cost-efficient bus systems in the world." Oh, really now.
The ad was on the back of the bus. If I truly was riding on one of the most cost efficient bus systems in the world and needed to read that, I guess I'm standing on the rear bumper hanging on for dear life, because I can't see the ad from the inside of the bus. Strike one.
Now, when I am reading this ad, which is talking directly to me (it does say, "You are riding," so it's talking to me), I am sitting in my car. Oddly enough, from where I live and have to travel to every day, my car is my most efficient transportation system. Strike two.
But aside from that, they used advertising to do the job of a public relations campaign. This wasn't a time to tell me something (an ad), but a time to listen to my concerns and explain to me where I'm wrong, or how you'll make it better (public relations). Strike three.
So I'm voting "yes." Yes? Yes.
Why? One way or another, we are going be taxed more for transportation. If I'm going to be paying for it, I see 0.5 per cent added to the PST is the fairest way. A consumption tax - the more you have, the more you spend, the more you pay. I really don't care why the whole "yes" side wants me to vote that way, I'll vote "yes" because I believe it is the best public policy. Directly or indirectly, we will all benefit from a better transportation system.
It's too bad Jimmy Pattison is chair of the accountability committee overseeing the funds the tax will generate. I'd like to see him on the TransLink board where he'd really ensure accountability.
So my ballot is finally ticked. It's about time.
Brad Sherwin, MBA has over 25 years experience in marketing, public relations and business strategy. He is currently the director of marketing for a national non-profit organization.
