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One of the most contentious issues facing TransLink is not whether to extend the hours of SkyTrain on weekend.

Rather, it's how to deal with the long-term financial challenges to expanding the system posed by its overreliance on fuel taxes and a clumsy three-zone fare system.

In 2016, TransLink generated about $1.73 billion in operating and investment revenues, mostly through taxation ($825.7 million) and transit income ($541.6 million).

TransLink collected another $422.2 million on the "disposal of tangible captial".

In the category of taxation revenue, nearly half—$395.7 million—came from fuel taxes. This is raised from a $0.17 per litre tax in Metro Vancouver.

That seems like a lot of dough to motorists. But in fact, TransLink's fuel-tax revenues have not kept pace with its rising costs.

That has the transportation authority scrambling to generate income in other ways, whether it's through leasing space at stations, more advertising revenue, or jacking up costs to passengers.

One-zone adult passes will cost $98 in 2019, whereas two-zone adult passes will be $131 and three-zone adult passes will be $177.

This is the backdrop for a meeting that TransLink will hold with journalists at 10 a.m. on Monday (November 20) to discuss the third phase of its fare review.

It's being held like a provincial budget lockup.

"Details presented during technical briefing are embargoed until 11:00 a.m." TransLink said in a message to the media this morning. "No cameras will be permitted during the briefing. Media will be given the opportunity to interview TransLink staff following the hour-long briefing."

But it's not always easy for journalists to stay on top of the financial picture.

TransLink used to report fuel taxes as a line item in its operating statement.

Now, you have to dig through the notes to the consolidated financial statements to figure out fuel-tax revenue.

I dug up an annual report online from 2005. It showed that TransLink generated 31.5 percent of its operating revenues through fuel taxes.

By 2016, that had fallen to around 23 percent of operating revenues (not counting the $422.2 million windfall on the disposal of capital).

It's easy to understand why.

Fewer millennials have driver's licences than generations who preceded them. That's because many millennials value their cellphones more than automobiles, plus they're more environmentally conscious.

Meanwhile, baby boomers drive less as they get older, particularly if they're doing less commuting. And the rise of hybrids and electric vehicles is depressing fuel consumption and fuel-tax revenues to TransLink.

There aren't even any more gas stations in downtown Vancouver.

These trends were reflected in a chart in TransLink's 2014 Base Plan and Outlook.

It showed that fuel consumption in Metro Vancouver fell by 200 million litres per year between 2007 and 2013.

TransLink

In 2016, TransLink's other taxation revenue came from the folllowing areas: $324.5 milion from property taxes, with the remainder coming from a parking tax ($67 million), hydro levy ($20.5 million), and something called a "replacement tax" (only amounting to $18 million).

Of the $541.6 million in fare revenue, about $11.6 million came as contributions from the province to help administer the U-Pass program and offset lost transit revenues from it.

To its credit, TransLink has not increased its overall revenue percentage from the farebox over the past decade.

That puts it in a better position than universities, which are increasingly gouging the users, i.e. students, to cover operating costs.

But this fare review raises the possibility of TransLink digging deeper into the pockets of its users, many of whom can barely afford the cost of monthly passes already.

Nearly a year ago, the regional transportation authority decided that transit fares would increase annually over a three-year period, starting in July 2017.

The chart below shows how this will play out.

TransLink

But if TransLink truly wants to shed transparency over its actions, it would do the following:

• provide a statement on its website showing the amount and percentage of revenue generated by fuel taxes, transit fares, and property taxes in each year for the past decade;

• include in this statement a forecast of the amount and percentage of revenue generated by fuel taxes, transit fares, and property taxes in each of the next five years.

It's a simple task and this should be included in any information package for journalists who attend the Monday meeting.

Because without this data, it's hard for any reporter to offer real insights into how TransLink is dealing with a difficult revenue situation and the financial impact of the transit-fare review.